McCain - Too Much Time On The Trail Talking To Activist Moms

John Sidney McCain has been spending too much time talking to activists on the campaign trail.  Per Jake Tapper of ABC News, McCain semi-endorsed a link between thimerosal and autism; we trace this back to an earful he got in Iowa last fall, and further back to the debate over protection for Eli Lily back in 2002.  Back then, McCain was a minor hero to the left for believing in a thimerosal-autism link, or at least being willing to let a lawsuit settle it. 

Here is Mr. Tapper:

At a town hall meeting Friday in Texas, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., declared that "there’s strong evidence" that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was once in many childhood vaccines, is responsible for the increased diagnoses of autism in the U.S. -- a position in stark contrast with the view of the medical establishment.

McCain was described as somewhat more qualified once past the inflammatory lead:

McCain said, per ABC News' Bret Hovell, that "It’s indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what’s causing it. And we go back and forth and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines."

McCain said there’s "divided scientific opinion" on the matter, with "many on the other side that are credible scientists that are saying that’s not the cause of it."

The good news is he is aware that this was controversial; the bad news is that it is not nearly as open a question as he thinks.  The Weekly Standard pummels him, and Megan McCardle offers a couple of ideas about how this frog climbed into McCain's mouth:  Briefly,  (1) most people don't care, but a small group of families care very much and will like McCain's talk; or  (2) c'mon, we expect these candidates to be oracular 24/7/720 when running for the White House.

James Joyner blames Deirdre Imus (also my first guess) [Check YouTube].

But let me nominate this newspaper article as possibly taking us back to the current headwaters - back in Iowa last fall, a couple of activist moms lobbied every candidate they could pin down with their tail of woe:

[Lin] Wessels not only is pushing for more funding into autism, she's prodding the presidential officeseekers to look into whether mercury poisoning from a vaccine preservative is a major cause. She points to the preservative thimerosal, which is 49 percent ethyl mercury by weight. Wessels said the safety of thimerosal was never tested, that it's creation came in 1929 before the FDA was created in 1940s, and thimerosal "was just grandfathered in" by the FDA as acceptable.

Sam has high levels of mercury, and that can only come, she said, from dental amalgams, consuming fish or environmental factors like coal emissions.

"I believe thimerosal is the major contributor... Not all parents believe it to be the cause. I don't believe it to be the only cause, but it is part of it," Wessels said. "Doctors don't want to go anywhere near the mercury issue, and that's what I'd like to change."

...

Barb Romkema of Le Mars, Iowa, is the parent of a 27-year-old autistic son and also works with A-CHAMP. Romkema in 2000 began her own dogged autism activism.

"There are thousands of us out there who have discovered the same truth -- that our sons were poisoned" by thimerosal, Romkema said.

She, along with Wessels, questioned McCain in the summer in Le Mars. Romkema has steered most of her work toward the Iowa Legislature, in the quest to have vaccines with thimerosal banned in Iowa. Having Wessels working the cause is helpful, Romkema said, because it is tiring to keep working for public policy changes.

"I am just superproud of Lin. I'm thrilled with what she's done," Romkema said.

Wessels said a Urinary Porphyrin Profile Analysis can show whether a person has mercury poisoning, and she wants it required that a UPPA is done on every child diagnosed as autistic. She had long suspected that Sam had a high mercury level, so in March he underwent a UPPA -- coincidentally, the same day Wessels questioned McCain in Sioux City.

"His was considered toxic. This makes perfect sense -- the higher the toxicity, the lower the function, the more impaired that child is," Wessels said.

A UPPA rating greater that 200 is out of the safe range, and Sam's was 254. When Wessels, Sam and many relatives attended the Monday campaign stop by McCain in Rock Rapids, she delivered to him 208 high UPPAs from children in 35 states.

"This is proof positive from people in 35 states that kids with autism have mercury poisoning," she said.

She's been gratified to speak with six presidential candidates, although Wessels feels McCain, who's she seen three times, has been the most receptive. The other candidates include Republicans Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Tommy Thompson, and Democrats John Edwards and Barack Obama.

McCain picked a bad time to be paying attention.

As the Weekly Standard notes, Robert Kennedy led the charge in unearthing the Administration / Big Pharma cover-up, so it is fun to see lefties bashing a guy for believing what they were touting a few years back.

Some background and Kennedy-bashing here.

As to the initial impetus, the seed that thimerosal was linked to autism was probably planted in McCain's mind when the Senate took up the topic tangentially back in 2002.  Back in the day, Mark Kleiman was outraged that Evil BushCo would protect Eli Lilly from thimerosal lawsuits and John McCain was a bit of a hero for opposing that protection.

Kleiman did acknowledge that maybe the courts weren't the best venue for tackling this, and by 2006 declared the thimerosal debate to be over.  Now, of course, Kleiman assures us that McCain is reprehensible for not having kept up.

What's the "Animal House" line?  "You fucked up - you trusted us."  Remind John Sidney that his "friends" on the left aren't friends at all.

YOU CAN COUNT ON A TRIAL LAWYER:  Let's see how the ambulance-chaser tackled this before dem voters flushed him:

The National Institutes of Health have concluded that childhood vaccines are not the cause, but many families are not convinced.As president, I will double funding for autism research, issue an all-hands-on deck challenge and follow the results wherever the science takes us.

Pandering from John Edwards, who would no doubt be thrilled to see this in the courts.  I'll bet he was roundly thumped for it, too.

Comments

[Rick Ballard]

AGW causes autism. If you study the increase in CO2 very carefully, there is an obvious correlation between its increased level in the atmosphere and the number of diagnoses of autism.

So McCain's brilliant acceptance of the need to control CO2 emissions will also cut the number of diagnoses of autism.

BHO just wants to throw money

In the U.S. Senate, Obama is a cosponsor of a measure that would expand federal funding for life-long services for people with ASD, authorizing approximately $350 million in new federal funding for key programs related to treatments, interventions and services for both children and adults with ASD.

while McCain searches for the root cause and will provide the correct solution through taxation rather than through wasteful expenditures.

Perhaps he should stick to things that he..... nevermind.

[kim]

I told you he was crazy. Or crazy about pandering.
=================================

[Rick Ballard]

Imus and McCain discussing evil pharma and thimerosal in 2005. The phrase "how interesting" comes to mind.

Kim,

I never disagreed with your assessment. Never will either. He shines only in comparison to the Copperhead Twins.

That and the fact that he will have a very hostile Congress tripping him (regardless of which party is in the majority) are the only reasons he'll get my vote.

[GMax]

very hostile Congress tripping him (regardless of which party is in the majority) are the only reasons he'll get my vote.

Well I understand the sentiment. If fact I think it may have rolled off my tongue a time or two, at least with regard to a hostile Republican House.

You ( and I ) will like it a whole lot better if one of the hostile Houses is held in at least nominal Republican control. Is the House leadership up to the task, we shall see.

Two conservative Supreme Court nominees and some coattails for the House candidates is all I ask, and if I could have one more wish at least John, try not to make me grind my teeth on a daily basis.

[GMax]

Any one know if we have a mutual defense treaty with Columbia? It would be such a well deserved ass kicking for the rotund one de Venezuela, that I am hoping a bit that he tries something. I am betting there is a predator with his name on it.

[GMax]

out spot

[MayBee]

I'm enjoying imagining a time...maybe two years from now...when Republicans are mocked by the left for pandering to those who still believe GW is an important scientific issue.

[SteveMG]

Mark Kleiman apparently is never shy about expressing outrage at the drop of a ballcap (who wears hats?).

Before there was Olberman, there was Kleiman.

Not something to be proud about.

[Rick Ballard]

MayBee,

Climate change is an important issue - read the China piece at ICECAP.

In the disaster-stricken prefectures, 130,000 people had run out of fuels, 350,000 people in need of food and 110,000 others short of warm clothes or quilts, said the provincial government. Currently, the province’s task was to evacuate 11,000 people of 2,000 herdsmen households for the local conditions were not fit to live any longer.

They're acknowledging 129 dead and a $20 billion economic hit.

Makes me wonder how the Norks are doing.

[Paul Zrimsek]

Kleiman did acknowledge that maybe the courts weren't the best venue for tackling this, and by 2006 declared the thimerosal debate to be over....What's the "Animal House" line?

"Nothing's over till we say it is! Was it over when Halliburton finally took Alar out of breast implants?"

[Gordon Groupie]

After watching days of a hearing on autism, the one thing I learned is they don't know very much, but the real culprit seems to be the rise in popularity of designer vitamins over good ol' fashioned cod liver oil full of Vitamin A. Seems the rise in autism directly correlates with the fall in the old cod liver oil as the primary source of Vit. A starting with babies. I know I had to stand at the sink every morning while my Mother squeezed a dropper full in my mouth each morning and I'd bet that most of those of my generation can say the same. Autism was much rarer then.

[clarice]

I actually liked cod liver oil and ate my sister's, too,(she hated it) when my mother's attention was averted during the morning oil ceremony.

[Porchlight]

And now there are a zillion fancier, more expensive ways to get your Omega-3s and EPA and DHA and Vitamin A and all that stuff. I think I'll go buy some cod liver oil.

[ben]

My mom used to chase me around with spoon in hand..Scott's Emulsion...but now they have strawberry and orange flavored cod-liver oil, kids actually like it.

[Rick Ballard]

A long time clinician's view on autism. His description of parents using the "ever since X" as a rationale since before autism even had a diagnosis is pretty interesting.

[BumperStickerist]

There's a cart/horse aspect to all this. And perhaps somebody with Tom's acumen can put this into

Mercury exposure, including Thimerosal, is at an all time historic low. Ergo, if Thimerosal has a causal effect, you'd expect there to be a tremendously large cohort of easily diagnosable, profoundly autistic people aged 25-55 who lived in a time when we were all playing with mercury therometers, pushing blobs of mercury around on the desk in school and then licking our fingers, getting our MMR vaccinations with thimerosal-laden syringes and human diploid cells, et cetera.

Yet. That isn't the case.

The CDC has a list of contrindications for childhood vaccinations: It's here: CDC Contraindications

While the correlation in the annecdotes between the vaccination and the onset of the symptoms for autism is high, one thing also present in a significant number of the stories is one (or more) of the contraindications for vaccinations. For example, the child had a cold, had an allergy, wasn't feeling well, et cetera.

fwiw, Lindsay Beyerstein at Majikthise had a good fact/reality-based take down of the Kennedy vaccine article. Which was something of a surprise given the Blue on Blue nature of the situation.

-

[Sara]

I keep forgetting to change my name after leaving my son's new sports blog. Sorry. I, too, liked cod liver oil. I don't know if the lack of Vit. A is the problem. All I know is at the hearing over several days (about 6 or 7 years ago), it was brought up as a possible cause more than any other thing and seems to be one of those Vitamins that is especially important in the toddler years for proper development. Even back then, they were pretty dismissive of the themersol theory, if that is the one tied into immunization shots.

[Sara]

The hearing was a Congressional hearing, BTW, and was panels of scientists and researchers. It was very interesting, but very much for those in the medical and scientific fields as opposed to a bunch of wishful parents.

[JM Hanes]

Clarice: "I actually liked cod liver oil..."

LOL! At our house, Mother played MaMa Bird, and we four Baby Birds would peep our little hearts out, beaks in the air, while she fluttered her way around the breakfast table, dosing us with cod liver oil from an eyedropper. I don't even remember how it tasted, I just remember the peeping and the laughing.

[clarice]

What a clever mother,JMH.

[Sara]

JMH, mine used an eyedropper too and sang, "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians" plop. She sang the same song to get me to take a mouthful of peas. LOL.

[JM Hanes]

She was great, Clarice. Every time I decided to handle something differently with my own children than she did with us, it felt like a maternal version of jumping the shark!

[MayBee]

Hm.
The closest I've ever come to that kind of good parenting is when we're out for the day and one of my kids complains about being hungry. I tell them they can peck on my throat like a penguin and I'll vomit something up for them.

I bet my kids will have no problem handling things differently.

[clarice]

HEH

[Sara]

LOL Maybee.

[Elliott]

MayBee,

I'd say that's a strong candidate for a top 10 on a countdown, though the final choice belongs to the selection committee.

[JM Hanes]

"I bet my kids will have no problem handling things differently."

Yeah, but they'll also be quoting you on blogs someday, to great effect!

[Cecil Turner]

The Weekly Standard pummels him, and Megan McCardle offers a couple of ideas . . .

I liked the McArdle article, but I think all of these rather miss the point. He ain't no brain scientist (nor rocket surgeon), and his opinion is necessarily amateurish. I don't care what John McCain thinks causes autism, I care what he thinks should be done about it. If that solution is: "let 'em have court cases," then my predisposition would be that he appears to be on the right track. However, vaccine lawsuits are apparently a bit of a special case, and Kleiman's e-mailers have persuasive arguments for legislative protection for vaccine manufacturers:

When Congress established the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in 1986, it was a rare legislative acknowledgment that the tort system is incapable of serving the public interest. At the time, you may recall, vaccine manufacturers were leaving the industry, vaccine prices were skyrocketing, and vaccination rates were falling sharply. VICP created a no-fault system for vaccine-related injuries. The system is inevitably imperfect, but it's clearly served the public interest. Vaccine prices and availability improved; the number of lawsuits plummeted; program costs have been modest ($110 million a year for pre-1988 injuries; an excise tax of 75 cents per dose for post-1988 injuries); and compensation to genuine victims has been non-trivial (VICP has paid over 1500 claims averaging just under $1 million per).

If McCain is suggesting we need to scrap VICP, that's not so good. If he's suggesting one big lawsuit to settle the issue with thimerosol manufacturers, it's less worrisome. In any event, this looks like a failure in staffwork, because any mention of thimerosol lawsuits ought to drive a lawmaker to discuss VICP, rather than a review of the scientific data.

[granny]

I am the proud Grandmother of a beautiful, VERY bright 6-year-old girl who happens to be high-functioning autistic. Our family has read EVERYTHING we can find on the subject. The most plausible current theory is that the huge statistical increase in autism is due to re-education of physicians on the subject and reclassification of children who earlier would have all been classified as mentally retarded. Those statistics have gone down, while those for autism have gone up.

Nevertheless, IMO this is definitely an area in which we need to THROW SOME MONEY into research. You have no idea what these families go through.

[paul]

hmmm...
most of what I read in college suggested autism was genetic, running in families.

IF advocates of vaccine caused autism are true believers, they should request that any funding that explores genetic links be switched to environmental studies.

Who can argue with their certainty?

[paul]

My personal theory?

Autism is synaptic pruning gone awry.

"The purpose of synaptic pruning is a simple means of removing un-necessary neuronal structures from the brain; as the human develops, the need to understand more complex structures becomes much more pertinent and more simple associations formed at childhood are thought to be removed for more complex structures."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synaptic_pruning

advances in brain chemical study, identifying minute by-products(indicating a deviation from norm) in the blood system will eventually, 5-10 years, point to a child failing to begin pruning their synapses and developing autism characteristics.

My fear is that an acceptable norm will become standardized, reducing the number of cases of autism, but also eliminating those who develop unique extensive synaptic pathways, which translates into genius.

My faith in society to get it right is nil.

[granny]

Paul, interesting theory and gives me another subject for study. Thanks. That's why I support more research money for studies of the brain and genetics.

[paul]

granny-

general research 'of the brain and genetics' is a far better use of tax payer dollars versus populist, topical, funding.

My favorite anecdote is actually aids research. The actual investment in its research was astronomical, with zero results.

Any advance that a critic might point towards was coopted off of an independent discovery.

It's like spending all your money to find/extract oil in a tiny land area, versus multiple small sights around the globe and investing in them AFTER they show promise/results.

the future of humanity is in precise reading of dna- right now there is just the 'shotgun' method(Celera genomics), which offers averages.

Still it's method could have performed the task of the human genome project, in 6 weeks and for 100,000 dollars. The hgp took 13 years and ridiculous amounts of cash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Genome_Project

[M. Simon]

The same goes for schizophrenia. A mild case is an adjunct to creativity. Severe cases lose contact with reality.

You hear voices whispering to you from time to time and the advice is mostly helpful and you don't have to listen if you don't want to? Good.

If they are shouting all the time and you can't turn them off and you feel compelled to listen? Bad.

One indication of adult schizophrenia is a tobacco "addiction".