Excuse me while I put my hip waders on, because I was reading Jessica McBride talking about the Michael J. Fox ad:

I agree with Hot Air: Ann Coulter had a point. The Democrats have made a habit of this: Propping up traumatized spokespeople the rest of us aren't supposed to disagree with. It's their way of shutting down debate. It's their way of painting Republicans as heartless. It's a tactic that people resort to when they can't win the debate on the issues. Such as: How promising really is the research? Should society take life to sustain it?

The subtext is: That mean Mark Green/Jim Talent don't want Michael J. Fox to be cured! Mark Green could go get some Parkinson's afflicted guy who can hardly talk and who disagrees with embryonic stem cell research, I suppose. But then the media would say they were being exploitative.

Because Republicans never ever do this on issues they care about right Jessica?  George Bush doesn't constantly evoke 9/11 when talking about the Iraq War does he?

He may never draw a direct connection between the two, but the two sure do come up together a lot.  And anyone who dares question portions of the Patriot Act, or terrorist surveillance is soft on the War on Terror... so much so that they might as well be shooting American soldiers in Afghanistan themselves... or at least that's what some would have you believe.

And if you think Internet gambling shouldn't be banned, or if you question tactics used in the Drug War, or don't think ISPs should be required to retain access data ... well... you can't do that.  Those always seem to go through without much debate, because to say anything else means you don't care about "the children".

And let's not even get started on the abortion debate.

Look... both sides have their emotional draws that they've learned how to use over the years to shut down debate.  After all, the easiest way to win a debate is to figure out a way not to have one.  And Republicans have figured out just as many ways to do it as Democrats.  Don't kid yourself.