Disability rights leaders skeptical of Palin
February 25th, 2010
By Dana Goldstein at thedailybeast.com:
As Sarah Palin attempts to position herself as a national spokesperson on issues related to disability, disability rights leaders say they view her with skepticism. Palin, they say, is out of step or silent on most of their policy priorities. But some still hold out hope that she may yet approach their issues in a serious fashion.
“Since the end of the presidential election, we haven’t heard Sarah Palin articulate any specific policy proposals [on disability],” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc, a Beltway lobbying group representing people with intellectual disabilities. Like nine other national disability-rights leaders The Daily Beast spoke to, Berns pointed to Palin’s excusing of Rush Limbaugh’s use of the word “retarded”—even as she hammered Emanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff, for the same sin—as evidence of her lack of seriousness. “It has unfortunately politicized the issue in ways that are not productive, and it has converted what really are bipartisan issues into partisan ones,” Berns said.
See also: Palin, really a special needs advocate? — MSNBC
(Photo from thedailybeast.com)
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February 25th, 2010 at 8:01 am
This is exactly what I have been saying from day one about her. She is silent on policy issues, could not have said it better myself. It’s not about liking her or not liking, its about being objective and seeing through all the political pandering nonsense and asking yourself if someone who promised to be an advocate and an ally is having a positive impact on what your child, loved one, or you face on a day to day basis.
I really do hope she takes on a bigger role. She has the spotlight to do that, but she hasn’t yet.