I guess you could put this under the heading of liberal values. When you want to pass new, restrictive laws then bring forth the victims. From Jim Brady to Gabby Giffords the democrats will try to short circuit your brain and engage your heart strings. It is all about banning guns. Both of the shooters of the victims mentioned above were both crazy but they don't talk about that.
Healthcare; lets bring forth a husband whose wife has died of some disease. Don't think that the disease may have killed her anyway, or that Obamacare may not have caught the same disease early enough to make a difference. No, just focus on the dead woman and the inference that she died because she had no healthcare. She died in a hospital and they diagnosed her disease with the plumber I guess.
The opposition should bring forth the victims of goverment overreach. The famer who lost his farm because of water regulations in California. The fisherman who is struggling to survive with new EPA regs. The woman who is still alive because she had a high capacity magazine when her house was attacked by three men. Or the woman whose husband died because the 5' 3" female fireman could not remove him from a burning building.