October 31, 2006

FOX STEM CELL ADS BRING REPUBLICANS OUT SWINGING, AND SLINGING MUD (NYT, RUSH, CBS)

By Nancy Vialatte

Michael J. Fox�s recently debuted political ads, which beseech folks to support stem cell research by voting Democratic in Maryland, Missouri and Wisconsin, have created a flurry of comment and controversy.

The actor, diagnosed with Parkinson�s disease in the 90s, shows the visible signs of the malady�s effect on him has created a powerful message while also causing a fair amount of mudslinging.

Republicans immediately came out against the ad with Rush Limbaugh calling the commercial �misleading� and labeling it at �attack ad.� On his radio show, yesterday, Limbaugh said,

�One of the tactics the Democrats have -- and they've used this consistently. They bring forth people who they think are victims for the purposes of exploiting them, and when you bring forth -- for example, if you're talking about embryonic stem cell research, and you want to convey the notion that the Republicans are opposed to it, and in effect they're for people having Parkinson's Disease. Make no mistake that's what the intent is.

Then you bring forth a person who's suffering the disease, and you illustrate the disease and the ravages and the suffering on TV to create sympathy and infallibility, because you're not supposed to be able to attack somebody or criticize somebody in any way or in any regard if they suffer from the disease. It's considered cold-hearted and cruel. What's happening here is that Michael Fox has entered the political arena with his attack, which includes false information about Senator Talent and Michael Steele in Maryland. That's fair game, and I am not going to follow the script that says we're not allowed to comment on the things said by participants, "victims," what have you, that the Democrats put forth as infallible in the middle of a political campaign.�

The New York Times weighs in today to say that Limbaugh�s attack on Fox pretty much only hurt Limbaugh himself. The republicans also quickly put together a response ad that included messages from Patricia Heaton and Jim Caviezel.

Further, Limbaugh accused Fox of purposely not taking his medication in order to play up the disease�s affects. But the NYT says:

�If Mr. Fox did forgo medication for the advertisement as Mr. Limbaugh suggested, it could hardly be considered fraudulent: if anything, masking the extent of the disease�s ravages is the deception, not revealing them. (A spokesman for Mr. Fox said his tremors were caused by his medication.) It was certainly the most dramatic way Mr. Fox has to personalize the issue; he used his infirmity much the way the late Christopher Reeve did when he lobbied for stem cell research to seek a cure for spinal injuries.�

Meanwhile, stumping in Illinois, Fox responded to Limbaugh�s attacks and said, �"I'm kind of lucky right now. It's ironic, given some of the things that have been said in the last couple of days, that my pills are working really well right now.�

Related Links

Making Stem Cell Issue Personal, and Political (NYT, sub)
Michael J. Fox Is Not Infallible; He's Just the Latest Victim Used by the Democrat (RUSH)
Michael J. Fox In Town To Campaign For Dems (CBS)

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