One of TIME's People Who Mattered in 2006: Michael J. Fox

[DeepModem Mom]

Michael J. Fox
Making Stem-Cell Politics Personal

Anger, Pity and Hope, those powerful cousins, staked new political claims this year, and our campaigns may never be the same. This was the third election cycle in which actor turned activist Michael J. Fox supported candidates who favored expanding embryonic-stem-cell research, but it's the first time his intervention may have made the difference. "I think people were ready to hear a side of the story maybe they hadn't, about how it could affect them and what was at stake here," he told TIME. "That was lost in the noise before."

Until these elections, the commentariat doubted whether the stem-cell issue had the muscle to swing voters. But Fox's candidates won five out of five Senate races and 15 of 17 races overall, many by narrow margins. Fox, 45, who learned in 1991 that he has Parkinson's, is quick to remind critics that he has supported Republicans like Arlen Specter who favor the research. But the fact of 2006 is that he helped swing the Senate to the Democrats, which means that the chances of expanded stem-cell funding passing again and surviving another presidential veto have substantially increased. "It was infinitely bigger than me," Fox insists of the victory. "It was people waking up to the fact that they were responsible for the future and that these people work for us."

— By Nancy Gibbs

http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2006/people/12.html


(BEN BAKER/REDUX FOR PEOPLE)

[longship]

1. I'll bump and recommend this.

:kick:

[Vidar]

2. K&R.

[babylonsister]

3. Thank you, Michael J. Fox. Many of us have a big stake in this,

and your efforts might hasten the research along.

[Maraya1969]

4. Is there anyway you can stop a president from vetoing? I am sick

of this man having such power!

And thanks Michael. I always thought you were a special guy and now you've proved it.

[deadmessengers]

6. There sure is.

You have to elect a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress. That's the ONLY way to do it, and it's a goal we should set for the 2008 and 2010 Congressional elections.

[Hekate]

9. Maybe, just maybe, enough Repubs will cross party lines on this issue to make it veto-proof

Now that the Repubs know the score, which is that the majority of Americans actually support stem-cell research, and that they are on the wrong side of history on this issue.

Or at least we can pray for such enlightenment, while pressuring our congresscritters mightily. You never know.

Hekate

[mzmolly]

5. Tis essential to recogize Mr. Fox's role in our national "change of direction."

:toast: to the good man!

[Skittles]

7. he doesn't have to do what he does

but he knows he can make a huge difference - he HAS made a huge difference :thumbsup:

[lpbk2713]

8. No mention of Limbore on their list .... and that's how it should be.

That asshole really doesn't matter any more. He's on his way out, just as the conservative movement is on its way out into obscurity.

[WindRavenX]

10. breaks my heart. May we find a cure soon.

And may Rush Limbaugh and Jeff Suppan, and all those rabid anti-stem cell supporters get diabeties and other ailments that will be aleviated with stem cell treatment someday.