A new ad featuring actor Michael J. Fox will soon be hitting televisions across the state. The ad, paid for by U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill, again links the upcoming Stem Cell initiative to the heated campaign for U.S. Senate.
“Unfortunately Sen. Jim Talent opposes expanding Stem Cell research,” says Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease. “Sen. Talent even wanted to criminalize the science that gives us a chance for hope.”
In February, Talent withdrew his support for a bill he co-sponsored to ban all forms of human cloning (including embryonic therapeutic cloning techniques that are seen as crucial to stem cell research), angering many of his pro-life supporters.
Talent has said he personally opposes the current embryonic stem cell ballot initiative, instead favoring research involving adult stem cells.
UPDATE: This video from a Chicago TV station and this story in USA Today outlines some of the controversy stemming (no pun intended) from Michael J. Fox’s ad and comments made in response by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.
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October 20th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
Man, that is so depressing.
October 21st, 2006 at 6:34 am
True, it is depressing. What’s more depressing is seeing how Talent systematically sells out to his rightwing base…and the repercussions of that ’sell-out’ on the lives of those who can’t help themselves.
October 21st, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Very powerful. Here’s hoping that it helps.
October 22nd, 2006 at 12:39 am
What is more depressing is how Claire continues to lie about Senator Talent.
Is he currently on the bill? No. He changed his mind.
Do you know what the bill is about? Probably not.
Just like the votevets group and nearly every other commercial she has rolled out it is nothing more than another lie about Jim.
October 22nd, 2006 at 7:52 am
You say that “Jim” (I guess you know him personally, probably not) changed his mind. I say he ‘flip flopped’. He certainly isn’t going out of his way to tell all those so-called Pro Lifers in West Saint Louis County. Who knows what this guy will say or do to pick up a thousand votes.
October 22nd, 2006 at 7:58 am
Wow, that may be the most powerful political issue ad I’ve ever scene.
October 22nd, 2006 at 7:21 pm
What disturbs me is the political ads against the Amendment to protect stem cell research.
They say the Bill specifically allows cloning and sale of embryos, yet it actually bans them in specific language.
(1) No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being.
(4) No person may, for valuable consideration, purchase or sell human blastocysts or eggs for stem cell research or stem cell therapies and cures.
http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2006petitions/ppStemCell.asp
The reason this is being made a Constitutional Amendment is so Missouri Courts or Legislature cannot ban them. A Constitutional Amendment will protect stem cell research indefinitely and it will ban cloning and sale of human eggs indefinitely.
There is nothing wrong with adding this language to the Missouri Constitution as State Constitutions have language concerning issues that some wouldn’t expect to see in a Constitution. State Constitution are often very specific and enumerated whereas the US Constitution is broad and contain unenumerated provisions. The argument that this language shouldn’t be added to the Constitution is moot since many trivial or mundane provisions exist in State Constitutions. This is an important issue which should be enumerated. Doing so will protect stem cell research and ban cloning.