And Still Even More Classy Republicans

One the heels of Erik's blog, Rush Limbaugh decides to go after Michael J. Fox, who is currently in a campaign ad for Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill, who advocates stem-cell research in a quest for cures for Parkinson's disease, which Fox has, and others. Fox apparently is *gasp* showing the effects of Parkinson's (severe, uncontrolled trembling and jerks throughout the body), which has for reasons unknown led Limbaugh to claim Fox was "acting" and "exaggerating" his disease. Limbaugh says he never saw Fox like this before, and while I haven't seen the ad, I've seen impromptu, unplanned footage of Fox, and his case isn't good. He, like any Parkinson's victim, shakes uncontrollably much of the time. I had a great grandmother who had Parkinson's for 15 years, and that's what it does. And once you've had it for awhile, medicine can only do so much. Yet Limbaugh remains convinced that Fox, who got this disease far sooner than anybody should (not that anybody should have to get it at all), didn't take his medicine on purpose or was acting in order "to mislead voters into thinking that their vote for a single United States senator has a direct impact on stem cell research in Missouri."

Memo to Rush Limbaugh: You probably have no good reason to know this, but some people take drugs because they are genuinely sick, and can't always count on the drugs to overcome diseases they actually have.