Tuesday, October 24, 2006
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Alex P. Keaton He is Not (Update: Patricia Heaton, Kurt Warner Video Response to Fox)
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Posted by:
Mary Katharine Ham at
6:04 PM
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Michael J. Fox showed up in another Dem's stem-cell commercial today-- for Ben Cardin in Maryland.
Only problem is, Cardin has a vote on his record against stem-cell research. Oops!
The Washington Post, predictably, slobbers over the ad:
The Fox commercial makes those ads seem shallow by comparison, said Paul S. Herrnson, a University of Maryland political science professor...
"It's why I support Ben Cardin," he says, lifting his hand to his heart. "And with so much at stake, I respectfully ask you to do the same."
I wonder if they'll look into the Steele campaign's evidence about Cardin's stance tomorrow.
Read Dean Barnett, who also has a lot at stake in this debate, on the Fox ads, here. He wonders today if Fox is manipulating us:
Specifically, regarding Fox, there’s something from his autobiography that merits a mention (HT: Leaning Straight Up). Writing about his first time testifying before the Senate, Fox said:
I had made a deliberate choice to appear before the subcommittee without medication. It seemed to me that this occasion demanded that my testimony about the effects of the disease, and the urgency we as a community were feeling, be seen as well as heard. For people who had never observed me in this kind of shape, the transformation must have been startling.
If you don’t think that’s manipulative and quite frankly outrageous, we’re just going to have to agree to disagree. It also begs the question, why did he make himself suffer? If his goal was to make a disingenuous statement about his condition, he didn’t have to refrain from taking his medication. He could have just taken his medication and pretended to be sicker than he was. After all, isn’t that in effect what he did?
If you want to make a statement about how important the future of medical progress is to you, it does seem rather ironic to deliberately deprive yourself of the benefits medical progress thus far has afforded you, just to make a point.
Steele's about 8 points down, but one poll found him tied last week. And, Geraghty's picking it as an upset for the GOP this year.
Donate to Steele, here. He'd be a great upset to snag.
Update: Jim Caviezel, Patricia Heaton, Kurt Warner and others get together to respond to Fox's ad. Click through to Jay Stephenson's round-up on this for all the facts.
Update: Rush is catching hell for alleging that Fox was off his medication for the ad. I wonder if Rush used the evidence Dean used, above. It's certainly something to be considered.
Update: Feel the Barnett Burrrrnnnnn!
Update: From a reader, one of whose relatives has Parkinson's:
I don't pretend to be an expert, but he gets shakey and termors when he TAKES the medication. (Without the medication, Parkinson's freezes the muscles - makes them rigid). The medication loosens the muscles, overdoing it, and thus causing the shaking.
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...from a wasting disease, I think I'd consider going off the meds to illustrate my point. And I don't think I'd see anything wrong with it.
Having said that, I agree with you guys - it's wrong to advance medical science. We should turn the clock back to just before the arrival of Asperin. Human life is sacred, unless it has made it out of the womb. After that, fair game. |
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Here's a second on your last update: to me, he did the spots while his medication was ON. I know this as my wife is in the same boat as Fox, early 40's with Parkinsons. When she doesn't have any medicine in her, she can barely move and walk, off balance and has tiny shakes (tremors) in her hands.
However, when she takes her medication and it hits, it's like overdrive mode, and she starts flailing her head and body about for about an hour (depending on other factors, like exhaustion, hunger, and that... um.. "womanly time"). Then as the medicine dilutes, she acts relatively normal for a few hours, then starts the cycle again.
The thing is, Parkinson's is a strange disease that effects every person differently, so you honestly can't tell just by looking. Though I'd safely guess his meds just kicked in before taping.
I agree with Piker... this is part of Fox's life, and what happens to him every day. I don't see anything wrong with showing the world how you have to live.
But I'm also saddened to see him used for political purposes, to imply that a vote for the other guy is a vote to keep him suffering. Especially since ESC research has had little progress compared to Adult Stem Cell treatements (but ASC doesn't allow for Bush bashing, so we never hear of it).
I want a cure for this just as much as he does. I just wish he'd drop the politics and funnel money to the research that shows the most promise. |
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Apparently you don't understand the difference between Adult Stem Cells and Embryonic. The vote against the Adult Stem cell option because he didn't want to let conservatives confuse the issue and mislead the public. Like you are here. Fox was speaking about their support for Embryonic Stem Cell research. Of course you know that, your just to intellectually dishonest.
As for one not taking their medication as to show the affects of the disease, you again are simply to intellectually dishonest, comparing not taking medication to acting.
That's okay, it looks like the public is beginning to see right through you neo-cons. It's about time. After 6 years of absolute republican control, 75% of the public think America is going in the wrong direction. If that is a repudiation of all that you stand for, I don't know what is. |
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Tom Embryonic Stem Cell Research to a vast majority in this country is just plain WRONG and has not proven to help anyone. Not only is it wrong but most of us feel that we should not be forced to fund embryonic cell research with our tax money. If you want that kind of research then fund it privately but don't try to force it on those of us that see it as morally and ethically wrong. |
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You hit the nail on the head, MJH!
Rush mentioned that he was going to catch heck during his mentioning of Fox's theatrics, but let's remember that Rush is deaf and has cronic back problems. He would be pro-stem cell if he thought it would benefit him, but he knows shoddy science when he sees it. |
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Just as many of us believe the war in Iraq is immoral and don't feel we should be forced to pay for it. I can assure you, Iraq will cost more money from my pocket (which I am opposed to) then Stem Cell research will take from yours. Not to mention the following things many of us are morally opposed to paying for, that we still pay for;
Faith based government paid services
Farmer Subsidies
Big buiness Subsidies
Abstience Only training
FCC
I could go on, but I think you get my point. We all pay for things we are opposed to. That doesnt' mean I don't understand where your coming from though and understand your objection.
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There is a question of manipulation, here. He admits to having gone off his medication in the past to make a political statement, so it's a relevant question. He's an actor, he's a public figure, he's a political figure, and he knows exactly how this stuff works.
We don't have to give him carte blanche simply because he has a disease. In fact, that would be rather insulting to Fox himself. That's what the Left is banking on-- just being able to say, "Hey, you're a big meanie because you oppose making this sick guy well again!" No, there's a little more to it than that-- complicated philosophical, moral, ethical, and logistical considerations that the Left is willfully ignoring in favor of the easy "Hey, this guy's sick" argument.
Tom, above, is someone on the pro-stem-cell research side who is capable of discussing this issue in a polite and intellectual way. He is a rarity. Bravo, Tom. Thanks for being in the comments. |
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It's nice to know that you though are an authority in everything. |
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Kimberly,
Darling, you're 0-for-2 in your pontificating, thus far this week.
Pardon the puns, but your waterboarding arguments of the other day failed to hold water, and now your defense of Michael J. Fox's manipulative ad on behalf of McCaskill is unstable.
MKH is correct.
Michael J. Fox admitted that when he testified before Congress a few years ago, he went off his meds so that his physical tremors would be more obvious to the Congressional panel.
Thus, Rush Limbaugh is merely pointing out that if Fox did it intentionally for political gain once before, it is reasonable to ask if that was his strategy now.
And Missouri voters can decide for themselves whether or not they appreciate being manipulated by the visual impact of Fox's suffering.
Kimberly, when one steps into the political arena and advertises one's self as an authority on said issue as Fox is doing, one also must be prepared to have one's positions and motivations scrutinized.
It appears that Michael J. Fox and McCaskill are not prepared for that.
I know you believe Republicans are evil, but everyone wants a cure for Parkinson's, Cystic Fibrosis, MS, etc---even we Republicans.
It's just a difference of opinion about which road to take to get there.
I find it amusingly ironic that you and the other angry lefty commenters sit behind the computer keyboard, furiously typing out screeds directed toward MKH, Dean, & Hugh, scrutinizing where THEY are wrong; yet you object to the three of them scrutinizing where Michael J. Fox, John Kerry, Cindy Sheehan, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, the Islamo-fascists, et al, are wrong.
To quote Alanis Morrissette, "isn't it ironic ?" |
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Kimberly,
It is apparent you didn't read my post very closely.
I did not say you or anyone else is not allowed to write a screed---to claim otherwise is a lie.
On the contrary, everyone is entitled to comment on politics---that's my point.
What I said is that it was rather ironic that you were writing a screed OBJECTING to the "screeds" of Limbaugh, Hugh, & MKH.
It's the equivalent of you YELLING at someone to 'stop yelling !'
---get it ?
Feel free to go back and re-read my initial post, but please do not misrepresent what I wrote.
What I said is that if MJ Fox is going to enter the political arena by doing commercials, he has to accept that people are going to scrutinize his advocacy.
If he cannot handle the heat of the scrutiny, he needs to get out of the kitchen, as they say.
The fact that he is suffering may elicit sympathy, but it does not give him a free pass from criticism about his advocacy for this issue.
We've already seen a similar strategy used by Cindy Sheehan. Her son died in battle, so she feels she has an automatic shield against anybody scrutinizing her political advocacy---and that's just not the way a democracy works.
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Clearly you have confused debating a position with attacking the person. If Rush, Hanity, or yourself wish to take a counter position to Fox's and argue against his view, more power to you. Attacking the man and claiming he isn't that ill and is just faking the illness is beneath contempt.
I don't think Fox is opposed to people disagreeing with his posiition, I think he might have surprised by the personal attacks on him. But that would only be because he hasn't been paying attention. If he had he would have seen the coulter type personal attacks in advance. |
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Folks, all of you on the Right AND Left, take a deep breath and say, "It just doesn't matter."
Want to know why? Because ALL stem cell research, including embryonic, is perfectly legal in the United States. If you want to do stem cell research, go right ahead. No one is stopping you.
Does anyone have a clue that federal funding is NOT a requirement for scientific research?
The ONLY question surrounding this issue is whether the federal government should fund embryonic stem cell research.
As for Fox, when you do a political television ad, then we as the viewing public have every right to take a position on YOU, as well as what you are using your own medical condition to promote/denounce.
As for Limbaugh, haven't you people figured him out yet? He is a radio talk show host. He makes a living saying things to get people riled up. The conservatives may agree with him, and the liberals may despise him, but they ALL listen to him. I am sure he is chuckling to himself even as all of you on both sides of the political spectrum give him more free PR than he could ever hope for. |
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