Is Michael J. Fox a Democrat tool?

I'm not trying to be an #sshole here, especially since it's usually obvious when I am trying to be one. But I'd like to know if Fox is being shamelessly exploited by Democrats here. For those who haven't followed the story, here's a brief recap, courtesy of the Washington comPost:

Limbaugh mocks Michael J. Fox political ad
Conservative talk show host accuses actor of faking Parkinson's disease

Wow...Rush said or implied that Fox doesn't really have Parkinson's disease? What a b#stard! Except for one thing...he did no such thing. Digging a little deeper, we see what he really said:

Possibly worse than making fun of someone's disability is saying that it's imaginary. That is not to mock someone's body, but to challenge a person's guts, integrity, sanity.

To Rush Limbaugh on Monday, Michael J. Fox looked like a faker. The actor, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, has done a series of political ads supporting candidates who favor stem cell research, including Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, who is running against Republican Michael Steele for the Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes.

"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," Limbaugh told listeners. "He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. . . . This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

There's a HUGE difference between saying someone doesn't have a disease, and saying that they have it but they're exaggerating the effects of it. To be fair, it looks like Rush may have been speaking out of ignorance here:

"Anyone who knows the disease well would regard his movement as classic severe Parkinson's disease," said Elaine Richman, a neuroscientist in Baltimore who co-wrote "Parkinson's Disease and the Family." "Any other interpretation is misinformed."
...
Limbaugh's shock at Fox's appearance is a measure of the disease's devastation, advocates say. Contrary to the charge that Fox might not take his medicine to enhance his symptoms, the medicine produces some of the uncontrolled body movements.

In other words, according to doctors and not talk radio hosts, his medicine may have had a lot to do with the movements. If it's all the same to you folks, I'll believe the doctors before I believe Limbaugh. Rush did apologize, as the article reveals.

So is Fox, then, being shamelessly exploited? I would say "Abso-freaking-lutely", and here's why: the MSM keeps referring to opponents as "opponents of stem cell research" instead of "opponents of additional federal funding of embryonic stem cell research."

Need further proof? How about the fact that Fox is endorsing Dem Congressman Ben Cardin in his Senate race in MD against Republican Michael Steele...despite the fact that Cardin voted against federal funding for stem cell research? He also ran ads against Jim Talent in MO, despite the fact that Talent supports stem cell research! So much for sincerity and principle!

The problem is that the left has been successful at framing opponents of using federal taxpayer dollars to fund additional embryonic stem cell research as being against the research itself. Another problem is that the GOP has been anemic at responding to the blatant misrepresentation of the left's position. Here's a similar analogy, one that even you lefties can follow:

Let's say that Candidate Demi Crat says that she thinks all children should own bicycles, and that Candidate Rip Ublican agrees. Let's say that while Rip thinks all kids should own a bike bought by their parents or guardians, Demi thinks that the federal government should buy these bikes...again, for ALL kids in America. Rip says that it's not the proper role for the federal government to fund purchasing the bikes, and that parents should buy the bikes themselves or go through private or non-profit organizations (or even their state governments) to get the bikes. Rip notes that a federal program (perhaps a pilot program) is already in existence that allows 100 bikes to be purchased and given to poor families, but he doesn't see a need to expand the program.

Demi immediately calls a press conference to denounce Rip as a man who wants to prevent American children from owning bicycles and, on top of being a Grnich and a Scrooge, is thereby contributing to the childhood obesity problem in America! Rip has said no such thing, and has merely insisted that there are other avenues (more constitutional ones) to take in order to provide "universal children bikeage" in America. No matter...Demi and her leftist ilk have gotten the word out via their friends in the MSM that Rip wants fat, bikeless children.

Sounds absurd? It is...yet it is happening today in America, with Fox and his leftist enablers disingenuously (some, including me, would say "knowingly dishonestly") arguing Demi's position.