Op-ed: Palin doesn’t speak for ‘special needs children’
October 29th, 2008Geoffrey Dunn, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, responds to Gov. Sarah Palin’s pledge to be a “friend and advocate” for children with disabilities: “I don’t think so.” An excerpt:
I know I’m not the only special needs parent who has been disgusted by the manner in which Palin’s infant son has been passed around as a political prop on the campaign trail.
… let me make clear what Obama did not: Sarah Palin does [not] speak for me, for my wife, for my children or for many of the other parents of special needs children with whom my family has worked, prayed, laughed and cried over the past decade and a half. Being a special needs parent, as Palin and her family are no doubt learning, is a full-time job, 24-7, not a stepping stone for one’s political ambition. One doesn’t talk the talk in this world, one walks the walk.
Geoffrey Dunn is a documentary filmmaker, author and UC Santa Cruz lecturer. He has a 13-year-old daughter with both cystic fibrosis and epilepsy.
Our RSS Feed
November 26th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
The difference between Sarah Palin and me on this issue is that I never claimed to speak on your behalf. Sarah Palin claimed to speak on mine — and on behalf of all special needs families. She is a fraud. Her opposition to stem-cell research alone disqualifies her from being a special needs spokesperson. So let me be clear: I never claimed to speak for anyone else. Only myself. And for my special needs kid. And I will never let Sarah Palin speak for me. Ever.
October 29th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I am a special needs parent and Geoffrey Dunn most definitely does not speak for me. I was thrilled when Sarah Palin was chosen by John McCain. Why would he think that Sarah Palin is not walking the walk as well as talking the talk? How dare he say that she is using her baby as a prop. The same people who expressed concern that Trig wouldn’t get time from her if she were campaigning are complaining that he is with her too much. She can’t win.