12.6% in US w/ disabilities: Ambulatory 7.1%, Living 5.6, Cognitive 5.1, Hear 3.6, Self-Care 2.7, Sight 2.3. https://t.co/fV46GNYqVw
— Al Giordano (@AlGiordano) September 22, 2016
As Tip O’Neill famously said, Everybody likes being asked! And a cynic might say HRC knows what it’s like to live with a disability, because her lack of a penis has been treated as such by every misogynist & pundit for the last 40 years. Should we be happy that more people are finally getting the voice they deserve, or ashamed that it took this long?
ORLANDO — Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is pushing intensively to win over a group of voters who don’t typically get much attention during elections but who have become an increasingly potent political force: disabled people and their families…
Clinton is also targeting Hispanics, women, caretakers of the elderly and sick, and families of gun-violence victims, among other constituencies focused on specific issues. In the case of the disability community, which cuts across all partisan and demographic divides, Clinton may be trying to attract not only Democratic-leaning voters who are not excited by her candidacy, but also voters who may be leaning toward Trump — notably disabled veterans.
One very visible piece of the effort came Wednesday in a policy speech here devoted to initiatives to more fully integrate those with disabilities into the nation’s economy. It is an issue, Clinton said, that “really goes to the heart of who we are as Americans.”
Speaking in a packed community-center gym in this presidential battleground state, Clinton pledged to fully support “a group of Americans who are, too often, invisible, overlooked and undervalued, who have so much to offer but are given too few chances to prove it.”…
“A lot of families and people with disabilities are single-issue voters, where this is the primary issue in deciding who to vote for,” said Allison Wohl, executive director of the Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst, a group that seeks employment and self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. “So the campaign sees an opportunity.”
Before Wednesday’s speech, Wohl participated in a conference call between campaign aides and disability advocates to preview what the candidate would say.
And behind the scenes, the campaign had already enlisted more than 200 advocates for disabled people, who have been vouching for Clinton on social media, developing policy positions and raising some $1.3 million for her campaign, according to a Clinton adviser…
On Hillary Clinton Asking People with Disabilities for Their VotesPost + Comments (119)