Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) has a new TV ad starring actor Michael J. Fox, who has become a top activist for medical research in the 12 year since he publicly disclosed his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
“In the fight against disease, you can look back or move forward. Arlen Specter is moving forward,” says Fox. “He’s won the battles to double funding for biomedical research, to find cures, and to save lives. The next discovery is right around the corner. That’s why we need Arlen back in the Senate. He’s smart, tough, and always moving forward.”
Fox previously starred in a Specter ad in the 2004 general election, when the then-Republican Specter was easily re-elected against Democrat Joe Hoeffel. But it was in 2006 when Fox’s political activism played a truly major role, after he taped ads for Democratic candidates in key Senate races. Rush Limbaugh then accused Fox of faking his Parkinson’s symptoms in the ads, further heightening Fox’s political profile and giving the ads themselves even more attention.
The ads, and the fallout over Limbaugh’s remarks, may have possibly played a decisive role in Democrat Claire McCaskill’s narrow victory in Missouri against incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Talent. The state simultaneously had a hotly-contested referendum on stem-cell research, which also won by a small margin similar to McCaskill’s.
