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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2006-10-24

Boy, That's A Bit Over The Top

I just saw the Michael J Fox ad run in Missouri by the McCaskill campaign.

My first impression? Over the top, out of bounds, unnecessary. It struck me as a desperate move taking advantage of the affliction of a famous person . . .

to propogate the lies that the Left has invested in about embryonic stem cell research. ANY cures brought about by this research are at least 20 years away; in the meantime, the Left is completely--even stubbornly--silent on the more promising research into adult stem cell research and cord blood stem cells.

But, not being one with a vested interest in this research, maybe my credibility isn't real strong. So I cede the rest of the space for this discussion to the guest blogger at Hugh Hewitt's site, Dean Barnett--who, by the way, suffers from cystic fibrosis.

The most distasteful aspect of the ad is the way it exploits Michael J. Fox’s physical difficulties. Fox is an actor, and clearly knew what he was doing when he signed up for the spot - no victim points for him for having been manipulated by the McCaskill campaign. The ad’s aim is to make us feel so bad about Fox’s condition that logical debate is therefore precluded. You either agree with Fox, or you sadistically endorse his further suffering as Fox accuses Jim Talent of doing.

This is demagoguery . . .

While Michael J. Fox (like me) has some skin in the stem cell game that most people don’t, that doesn’t give him any special appreciation of the moral issues involved with embryonic stem cell research. Sick people may want cures and treatments more than the healthy population, but that doesn’t make them/us experts on morality.

The ad’s disingenuousness also merits consideration. While Fox mentions “stem cell research,” the word “embryonic” is strangely lacking. Given that the entire debate centers on the ethics and morality of embryonic stem cell research, this omission is noteworthy.
Posted by: Michael / 10/24/2006 12:32:00 AM

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