No one would question that Donald Trump is a one-of-a-kind presidential candidate. He says things that would cause others to be eliminated from any contest. He appeals to the basest side of human nature. He reduces all human beings to binary categories -- winners and losers. These tendencies and others I referred to in an earlier blog post as things that, ironically, cause many people to tune into the presidential race much earlier than they would have otherwise.
Well his latest trash talk is really over-the-top. He mocked a reporter with a disability -- http://www.aol.com/article/2015/11/26/video-appears-to-show-trump-mocking-the-physical-condition-of-a/21273364/?icid=maing-fluid%7Camp-bon5-t%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D1333081439
I have a strong wish – – I want people with disabilities and presidential candidates to interact during the campaign cycle, to get to know each other and benefit from that interaction. However, with the exception of Jeb Bush, such exchanges have been limited so far. Perhaps, Donald Trump's latest remarks will get us off our couches and get us talking to people, one of whom will be the next president, about existing and proposed policies that affect people with disabilities -- including in those conversations what is said about them.
I think Donald Trump may apologize this time, at least I hope so.
Thank you.
Common Grounder
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Saturday, November 14, 2015
New Hampshire disability advocates: now is the time to weigh in with the presidential campaigns
Nonetheless, the time is now for those of you who live in
New Hampshire and care about issues that affect people with disabilities to
engage campaigns of your choice. Do not wait for the field to shrink. Do not
wait for candidates to decide on their own that disability issues are or are not
important. Positions and policies on the minimum wage, the tax code,
entitlement reform, access to healthcare, immigration, national security, the
family, and veterans could affect your life or someone you know with a
disability. By connecting with campaigns of your choice now you will be able to
influence how these initial policies and positions are fleshed out.
Every campaign website has information about where the
candidates stand on most of these important issues. Spend some time looking at
them and talking to your friends. Check out www.therespectabilityreport.org.
This site tracks what kind of things candidates are saying about the top
issues. There are many things that we need to know. For example, in entitlement reform does any
candidate plan to leave intact the benefits available now to people with
significant disabilities who have a work history or are poor? With regard to the minimum wage, if a
candidate supports it, does she or he think that people with disabilities,
regardless of where they work, have a right to it? If they don't support it, provide reasons why they should.
Now is the time to do our homework. Now is the time to do
research. I urge you to go to events where candidates are present. Ask them
questions. Tell them stories about how law and practice affect people with
disabilities in good ways and in not so good ways. Read and talk about what
they are saying. When we see evidence of candidates talking about and using
stories concerning people with disabilities in connection to major issues, we
will know we have had an impact and are not operating on the margins.
Candidate
|
N.H. State Director
|
E-mail
|
Twitter
|
Bush
|
Nate Lamb
|
@nathanslamb
|
|
Carson
|
David Tille
|
||
Christie
|
Matt Mowers
|
@mowers
|
|
Clinton
|
Mike Lacich
|
@mvlacich
|
|
Cruz
|
Ethan Zorfas
|
||
Fiorina
|
Lauren Carney
|
@laurencarney
|
|
Graham
|
Joe Diron
|
@joe_doiron
|
|
Huckabee
|
No information available
|
||
Jindal
|
Henry Goodwin
|
No information available
|
@henrygoodwin
|
Kasich
|
Simon Thomson
|
No information available
|
|
O’Malley
|
John Bivona
|
||
Pataki
|
Alicia Preston
|
||
Paul
|
David Chelsey
|
@david chelsey
|
|
Rubio
|
Karl Beckstein
|
@karlbeckstein
|
|
Sanders
|
Julia Barnes
|
No information available
|
|
Santorum
|
Nick Pappas
|
@NickPappasNH
|
|
Matt Ciepielowski
|
No information available
|
||
Thank you.
Common Grounder
Friday, November 13, 2015
Time to Think Strategically
We've never seen a presidential election cycle like this one. Those of us with experience and interest in the lives of persons with disabilities have a unique opportunity if we think strategically about how to approach presidential campaigns of our choice. The problem right now is that "disability issues" are seen as minority, niche issues. Most candidates do not see the value of talking about or including references to people with disabilities in their statements at this point. We need to change that. To do so they must recognize where candidates are and start there.
For example, the Democrats -- Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders talk about income inequality and the need to raise the minimum wage (O'Malley too). They talk about a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, how to provide greater access to higher education, and preserving and extending healthcare coverage to those who need it. We need to give them examples about how the policies they are talking about would benefit or hurt people with disabilities. We need to connect our issues to these broader themes. If we give them examples of how their policies would benefit people with disabilities they will use our examples in their stump speeches, debate answers, and in town hall exchanges.
The 12(?) Republican candidates talk about tax reform, boarder tightening, family supports, entitlement reform, job creation, threats from terrorists, over regulation that strangles the economy, and government not working for the people. Here too we must take on these broader issues and connect them to the lives of people with disabilities. For any policy they pose on these issues, how would it affect people with disabilities? We need to tell them. We have the opportunity to ask for a carveout, exemption, or clarification. If they agree with the idea, they will talk about it to show how much greater or smarter they are compared to their opponents or how different they are from them.
No one is going to elevate us to the "mainstream" unless we do it first. We are very adept about talking about our specialness. In this political cycle we must engage the campaigns in a smart way by talking to them FIRST about the issues that are in the forefront and how they affect us. By doing so they will see us as a vital voter block and not a niche group. Once we see candidates using examples concerning people with disabilities when talking about the benefits of policies they propose, then we can begin to introduce them to issues that are more disability specific.
I recommend that we all checkout www.therespectabilityreport.org. There we will learn what all presidential candidates are talking about. Then sit down and discuss how we would approach them and what we would share about how the candidates' policies would affect people with disabilities.
Remember we are part of the mainstream of America!
Thank you.
Common Grounder
For example, the Democrats -- Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders talk about income inequality and the need to raise the minimum wage (O'Malley too). They talk about a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, how to provide greater access to higher education, and preserving and extending healthcare coverage to those who need it. We need to give them examples about how the policies they are talking about would benefit or hurt people with disabilities. We need to connect our issues to these broader themes. If we give them examples of how their policies would benefit people with disabilities they will use our examples in their stump speeches, debate answers, and in town hall exchanges.
The 12(?) Republican candidates talk about tax reform, boarder tightening, family supports, entitlement reform, job creation, threats from terrorists, over regulation that strangles the economy, and government not working for the people. Here too we must take on these broader issues and connect them to the lives of people with disabilities. For any policy they pose on these issues, how would it affect people with disabilities? We need to tell them. We have the opportunity to ask for a carveout, exemption, or clarification. If they agree with the idea, they will talk about it to show how much greater or smarter they are compared to their opponents or how different they are from them.
No one is going to elevate us to the "mainstream" unless we do it first. We are very adept about talking about our specialness. In this political cycle we must engage the campaigns in a smart way by talking to them FIRST about the issues that are in the forefront and how they affect us. By doing so they will see us as a vital voter block and not a niche group. Once we see candidates using examples concerning people with disabilities when talking about the benefits of policies they propose, then we can begin to introduce them to issues that are more disability specific.
I recommend that we all checkout www.therespectabilityreport.org. There we will learn what all presidential candidates are talking about. Then sit down and discuss how we would approach them and what we would share about how the candidates' policies would affect people with disabilities.
Remember we are part of the mainstream of America!
Thank you.
Common Grounder
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Iowans with Disabilities, Friends, and Families: Engagement Time Is Here!
Engagement time is here. I know you know
that. I can’t believe we still have so many candidates– 16. My source was RespectAbility USA and its
presidential campaign blog – therespectabilityreport.org. RespectAbility teams
are on the ground in Iowa and New Hampshire interacting with all campaigns.
Of course, being a political junkie, I found out a few
things myself too. For example, there was a news clip, I believe on CNN, where
Jeb Bush commented on how meeting and being educated by a parent with a child
with a significant disability helped him understand and improve Florida state
services to people with developmental disabilities. That story is also part of
his bio. It’s available on his website – https://jeb2016.com/?lang=en.
And lo and behold, five days (11/7/16) later on the Tonight Show with Stephen
Colbert, John Kasich included people with a developmental disabilities in a
list of people government should assist. We are starting to see sign language
interpreters at big events associated with the Clinton and Sanders campaigns. I
am doing research on whether campaigns are captioning their videos.
What do these random points imply? Candidates are going to
invest time and energy in groups who help separate them from the pack. We
represent 56 million – that’s a pretty big group. We also have many friends and
families. However, candidates will not “discover” us unless we engage them and
share our concerns and priorities. In fact, if we were to hold a candidates’
debate on disability issues right now we would probably be seeing 12 or more
“deer-in-the-headlights” expressions. So please take the time to go to town
halls, other events to which candidates come, and to the caucuses (2/1/2016). The Desmoines Register keeps a calendar on candidates' schedules – http://data.desmoinesregister.com/iowa-caucus/candidate-tracker/index.php.
Those of you who live in Iowa are very important to the rest of
us. What you do to elevate issues that are important to people disabilities
will affect the status of these issues in other states. Below is contact
information for the senior person in Iowa for each candidate. Please connect
with the campaigns in which you have a strong interest. Ask them questions and
tell them what is on your mind. Weigh in on the economy, tax reform, the cost
of college, raising the minimum wage, and immigration, entitlement reform and
how their proposals would work or not work for people with disabilities. In
reality we are not a niche group. We are mainstream America! Those of you in
Iowa need to let the candidates know this.
The contact information is below, please use it.
Candidates
|
Iowa State Director
|
E-mail address
|
Twitter
|
Bush (R)
|
Annie Kelly
|
@annie_kelly
|
|
Carson (R)
|
Ryan Rhodes
|
@RyanRhodes
|
|
Christie (R)
|
Phil Valenziano
|
@PhilValenziano
|
|
Clinton (D)
|
Matt Paul
|
@MattPaulIA
|
|
Cruz (R)
|
Bryan English
|
@be_iowa
|
|
Fiorina (R)
|
Chris Rants
|
@c_rants
|
|
Graham (R)
|
Tracie Gibler
|
|
@traciegibler
|
Huckabee (R)
|
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
|
@SarahHuckabee
|
|
Jindal (R)
|
Matt Horihan
|
@matthorihan
|
|
Kasich (R)
|
Cory Crowley
|
||
O’Malley (D)
|
Jake Oeth
|
@jakeoeth
|
|
Patacki (R)
|
No information found.
|
||
Paul (R)
|
Steve Grubbs
|
@sgrubbs
|
|
Rubio (R)
|
Jack Whitver
|
@jackwhitver
|
|
Sanders (D)
|
Robert Becker
|
@rbecker51
|
|
Santorum (R)
|
Walt Rogers
|
|
@waltrogersforia
|
Trump (R)
|
Chuck Laudner
|
||
Thank you.
Common Grounder
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Campaign 2016: Are You In?
Attention to issues affecting people with disabilities is slowly seeping into debates and on some websites. However, the soundbite world we live in doesn't allow for much elaboration. As we ponder how to make attention to our issues more comprehensive and systematic there are four things we need to keep in mind.
First, we have to keep the pressure on campaigns by contacting and sharing suggestions with them continuously. If we delay our communications to a later time with the 20 plus campaigns out there, we will not become a first-tiered niche to which candidates respond. We need to test ideas now and see if they have traction, in essence, to see if they show up in speeches and questions asked at debates. As the candidate field narrows and if our issues stay in the mix of what is emphasized, we will know we have become a higher-tiered niche.
Second, we must ramp up our efforts up. Hillary Clinton has added a website page on disability rights (https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/disability-rights/)? A PAC supporting Bernie Sanders has a page on disability issues (http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-people-with-disabilities/). The topics of mental health, medical use of marijuana, vaccinations and autism surfaced in the last debate (http://therespectabilityreport.org/ ). At a minimum we need to let candidates know how we feel about what was said on these topics, and what we think their positions should be on these topics. These topics could also be a link to other important topics that we could raise.
Third, in communications we need to reflect outcomes that we expect on websites, in speeches, and answers to debate questions. Any communications with campaigns should include what we want them to talk about on their websites, at campaign stops, and in debates. There are many things on which people with disabilities are united and other things on which they have varied opinions (http://www.dailydot.com/politics/disability-voters-2016-election/). Candidates need to learn about these differences and develop responses to them that makes sense and attract voters with disabilities and their families.
Fourth, with the volatility in the polls it is important for candidates who want to be in for the long-haul to take the disability vote seriously and understand its complexity. If 3 million people with disabilities, who registered to vote, but did not vote in 2012, had voted, they could have changed the outcome.
The candidates are not going to increase their attention to issues important to us unless we start interacting with them now. I am optimistic. TheRespectAbilityReport.org is sponsoring/coordinating web-based town halls with candidates. Please check out its website and stay tuned. RespectAbility will be giving us a platform, ALL OUR OWN, to reach presidential candidates (http://therespectabilityreport.org/2015/09/17/disability-groups-to-host-presidential-town-hall-meetings/). Be part of these upcoming events and contact campaigns directly. We can influence the future if we adopt an engagement policy immediately. Are you in?
Thank you.
Common Grounder
Saturday, September 5, 2015
The Power of Positive Thinking
A friend shared a video with me that blew me away. The name of it was "The Power of Visualization". Here's the Link -- http://www.visualizedaily.com/
If what this gentleman describes is true, then there is great power in positive thinking. And evidently, if many of us visualize the same thing the effect is even greater. Where we do this visualizing in terms of distance appears not to matter. It's the fact that we do it that matters, and the more the merrier.
The way the world is right now we need a lot of positive thinking and collective positive visualization, for sure. There is ISIS, the pending congressional vote on the Iran deal, the slaughter of presidential candidates by their competitors on the airwaves, and the plight of the refugees from Syria and other conflict torn countries. I can't get that picture of the little boy on the beach, dead, out of my mind.
Everyone talking about these matters easily describes the negative effects. No one is aggressively advocating for strong bold solutions that reflect the resolve and commitment of the good guys to stop the bad guys, to apply civility in national political campaigns, and to show concrete compassion for refugees.
So as strange as it seems I suggest that we all start doing some positive visualization every day alone and together, maybe we can turn things around.
Thank you.
Common Grounder
Friday, August 21, 2015
Water Cooler Politics: New Community Page on Facebook
Many of you followed the Facebook page on the CRPD that two colleagues and I established in Aug. 2013. Today, Isabel Hodge and I created a Facebook community page on the presidential campaign -- www.facebook.com/watercoolerpolitics. We look forward to sharing facts, positions, and commentary with old Facebook friends and new ones. Please check us out and like us. We want campaigns to pay attention to issues that are important to people with disabilities. Our Facebook page is a way to put campaigns on notice and engage us.
Thank you.
Common Grounder
Thank you.
Common Grounder
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