http://us.imdb.com/news/sb/2006-10-27/
Actor Fox's Ads Hurting GOP, Says Study
Michael J. Fox's political commercials supporting embryonic stem cell research may be harming Republicans according to a study conducted earlier this week and reported today (Friday) by CNSNews.com, a unit of the conservative Media Research Center. According to the study by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, support for such research increased from 78 percent overall to 83 percent after those surveyed viewed the ad by Fox, whose Parkinson's symptoms are apparent in it. The survey also concluded that Republican respondents' support for a Republican candidate decreased by 10 percent after seeing the ad while Independents' support for Democrats grew by 10 percent. Meanwhile, in an appearance on the CBS Evening News Thursday, Fox denied that charges by conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh that he had stopped taking his medications in order to exaggerate his Parkinson's symptoms. The medication, he pointed out, counteracts the rigidity of Parkinson's and allows him to speak. "The irony of it is that I was too medicated," he told anchor Katie Couric. "Would you support a Republican candidate?" Couric asked later. "I've campaigned for Arlen Specter, the Republican Senator from Pennsylvania who supports stem-cell research." (Fox also portrayed a conservative preppie on the long-running Family Ties TV series.)
No mention of whether the reaction to Fox's ad (like Rush's comments) had anything to do with this.
