Pennsylvania Senators Square Off

In Thursday's USA Today, Andrea Stone profiles Pennsylvania's two Republican senators, Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, who are finding themselves deeply at odds over the issue of embyronic stem cell research. For the first time since Santorum's election in 1994, a public rift has developed between the two men: Specter supports increased federal funding for research on embryos that would otherwise be destroyed, while Santorum opposes such research.

"Their conflicting positions," Stone writes, "despite shared constituents and political affiliation, illustrate the rift within the Republican Party over the matter."

It's a piece worth reading; check it out if you have time.