From Todd Mayfield, Jefferson City, MO:

November 3, 2008
Rally at Jefferson City, MO, state capitol.

Elijah Roark Mayfield, 12, and Gov. Sarah Palin

From Todd’s account:

“… In the group standing around us there was a dad with a small baby that had Down syndrome, too. When Gov. Palin entered the stage that dad held his baby up high to make sure she saw him — she did and she acknowledged him by placing her hand over her heart and making an adoring facial expression. She didn’t make her way over at that time, but she did continue to look their way several times.

“At the end of her speech, (more…)

From CQ/Washington Post:

Speaking at the annual conference of the Republican Governors Association, Sarah Palin told of the families and people with disabilities she met along the campaign trail. An excerpt from the transcript of her remarks:

I will remember with gratitude all the families with special needs children who were the stars of the show in our rallies: kids with autism and some in their wheelchairs and these beautiful kids who maybe before were made to feel like there wasn’t a place for them in the life of our country.

… You know, and always being warned you can’t cry on the campaign trail or you can’t show that — well, my goodness, speaking to some of these families and the challenges that they have — and they who aren’t asking anything from government or from anybody else — perhaps a hand up, but not a handout, these families.

I would see them in the audience, and they would hold up their banners. And I’ll tell you, I came close to crying few times, because they just touched my heart.

(more…)

From Politico.com:

Respected political analyst Michael Barone drew criticism Tuesday when he told a conference of academics that journalists trashed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin because “she did not abort her Down syndrome baby.”

Audience members erupted in angry boos, and some walked out of the annual meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges in Chicago.

“The liberal media attacked Sarah Palin because she did not abort her Down syndrome baby,” Barone said, according to accounts by attendees. “They wanted her to kill that child. … I’m talking about my media colleagues with whom I’ve worked for 35 years.”

Barone did not dispute the accounts of his remarks, and said in an email that he was “attempting to be humorous and, as many in public do, went over the line.” His apology is here.

Barone is a senior writer for U.S. News & World Report and principal coauthor of “The Almanac of American Politics.” He is also a regular commentator on Fox News.

(U.S. News photo)

Writing in the Rocky Mountain News, parent Renee Beauregard calls on opponents of Amendment 51 to come up with the money to fund basic services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Colorado. The measure, which was defeated at the polls last week, would have raised the sales tax by a fraction of a percent to eliminate the state’s waiting list for services.

The defeat of Amendment 51 does not mean this enormous problem is going away. To those of you like Rep. Doug Bruce, Rep. Kevin Lundberg, Jon Caldara, Mark Hillman, and the anonymous anti-tax groups and others who said that Colorado simply needs to “reprioritize” where it spends its money and redirect funds to help these people, I am going to call upon you now. Because you believe that Colorado has this money somewhere, and because you made a concerted effort to help defeat Amendment 51 through your words, I look to you now to help find that money. Instead of just saying “no,” please begin to ask the question “how.”

From Todd Mayfield, Jefferson City, MO:

November 3, 2008
Rally at Jefferson City, MO, state capitol.

Elijah Roark Mayfield, 12, and Gov. Sarah Palin

From Todd’s account:

“… In the group standing around us there was a dad with a small baby that had Down syndrome, too. When Gov. Palin entered the stage that dad held his baby up high to make sure she saw him — she did and she acknowledged him by placing her hand over her heart and making an adoring facial expression. She didn’t make her way over at that time, but she did continue to look their way several times.

“At the end of her speech, (more…)

Editors of the Denver Post say it’s time for state lawmakers to find a way to care for Colorado children and adults with disabilities who remain “tragically underserved.” State voters last week rejected Amendment 51, a measure that would have raised the state sales tax by 0.2 percent to pay for “services that should be available now to 10,000 children and adults on a years-long waiting list for help.”

An excerpt:

We did not endorse Amendment 51, largely because we think the general budget should serve the disabled and not a special, earmarked tax raised during uncertain and difficult economic times.

So, now is the time to start fighting for that money.

… As we said in advance of Election Day, it is a disgrace that our budget for the developmentally disabled and their families excludes nearly half the disabled population

From KCCI-TV, Des Moines:

Iowa voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to remove outdated language defining mental competency for voting rights from the state Constitution. The measure will eliminate a phrase withdrawing voter eligibility from anyone found to be an “idiot or insane person.” With the revision, the Constitution would read “a person adjudged mentally incompetent to vote.”

Rep. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, who advocated for revising the 1857 language, said the change reflects heightened societal respect for people with disabilities. Jochum’s 31-year-old daughter has an intellectual disability.

The measure was leading by a more than 4-to-1 margin with 63 percent of precincts reporting.