How Democrats can support and win the disability community in 2018
So I’m seeing a lot of new left-wing candidates run for office in 2018. Challenging conservatives in place they’ve never been challenged before. They are awesome. I hope they win, if for no other reason than to give the GOP a good reason to take control of their party back from conspiracy theorists who want to dismantle the government.
And permit me to give them, and all other Democratic candidates for 2018 some advice to get some voters in your corner: Embrace disabled people. And I don’t mean have them on stage for stump speeches or using them in ads (which are good things). I mean have actual good disability policies ready to go and campaign on said policies. In public. Not buried in a white paper on a website. Not on an online video that most people won’t see. In ads on TV. In speeches. Have some people knocking on doors saying “This is what we’ll do to make America more accessible.”
For a long time, Democrats really have been the lesser of two evils in terms of disability rights. Yes, they haven’t been openly hostile towards things like Medicaid but haven’t done nearly enough to move the ball forward either. And sometimes, they’ve been willing to sell us out in ways they’d never be willing to sell any other group out. There are about a dozen Democrats signed onto a Republican effort to dismantle the Americans with Disabilities Act going by the name “ADA Education and Reform Act” (H.R. 620). It would essentially make the ADA impossible to enforce. Could you imagine Democrats signing on an effort to gut the Civil Rights Act? No.
Yet these constant betrayals have led at least half the disability community thinking that both parties are the same and that there’s no point in considering disability issues at all in their vote. Special needs parents had all but given up on Democrats until the Trumpcare debacle. Public schools regarding IEP’s as optional is fertile territory for anti-government folks. How do you fix this? Hint: The answer is not to rely on the GOP candidate saying stupid things about disabled people. You have to actually fight for us.
At the Federal level:
Embrace the Disability Integration Act (S.910 and H.R. 2472). The DNC has already embraced it. But a Medium Article isn’t enough. Candidates actually have to campaign on this.
Currently, many state Medicaid providers prioritize choosing expensive and often abusive nursing home settings over community-based programs (which are often on the chopping block). The DIA reverses this dynamic. All states would be required to prioritize community-based programs over institutions. Fun fact: The community-based programs are less expensive.
Disability crosses political lines, a fact that many Republicans forget. Parents who have kids with severe disabilities in both red and blue America lay awake at night and wonder what will happen to their kids in the event they become incapacitated or dead. The DIA provides some answers in this regard and will help push special needs parents in your direction. Say that if elected, you’ll become a co-sponsor.
The other ones are obvious. Fight for Medicaid, CHIP, the ADA, and Olmstead. Fight for special education. Fight to end seclusions and restraints in schools. Fight for us. Don’t rely on the Republican to say stupid things. Be the one to do the smart things.
At the State Level:
A lot of the things I just said apply here. Fight for Medicaid, community-based services (you don’t have to wait for the DIA), shoring up special ed, ending seclusions and restraints. There are things state-level representatives can do. So let’s get into more specifics.
A big start would be fighting for more accessible polling places. According to a GAO study, more than 80% of polling places had accessibility issues. This depresses turnout. Don’t just say “vote by mail.” The law says that all buildings that are performing a government function must comply with the ADA. Fight for that.
Another good idea? End this moral panic about opiates. I get it. A lot of people have been hurt by the over-prescribing of painkillers. However, the pendulum has swung entirely too far. For many disabled people with legitimate chronic pain disorders, it is almost impossible to get painkillers now. You have to find the one doctor in a billion who believes you aren’t lying. Then find the pharmacy who will fill it.
This is harder and more spiritually taxing than it sounds.
The fact is, a few doctors being unethical isn’t the problem. The problem has been drug dealers. And guess what? If people can’t get pain relief because every doctor assumes they’re lying, they’ll go elsewhere.
Just like abortions.
At the Local Level:
You’d be surprised what you can do at the local level if you want to help the disabled. Those curb cuts that are broken up or at weird angles that make people in wheelchairs feel unsafe? If you’re on a city council, be the one to fix that. Run on being the one to fix that. Are you on a school board and getting reports of teachers and principals thinking that IEP’s and 504 plans are a cafeteria system and they can pick and choose which ones to follow? Crack down.
Police are another major source of things to do. Half of all police shootings involve disabled people. Many parents of kids with things like autism really hope and pray that their kid never meets a cop without them being present.
And this is why. Don’t cop out and just say “cops need more training to learn how to deal with disabled people.” Trust me, cops have gotten training. They just ignore it. Raise the standards. Make it easier to fire bad cops.
Conclusion:
This is by no means a definitive end all be all list. There are probably more things out there that I didn’t think of. Like I said though, the disability/special needs parent vote can’t just be won by relying on the GOP being stupid. Dems have to step up their game.