



The people who really do represent people with disabilities and special needs increasingly doubt it:

In the past, such as during the Terri Schiavo controversy, disability-rights activists have allied themselves with the religious right, which embraced Palin's "death panel" rhetoric to fight health-care reform. Yet today most mainstream disability-rights groups are strong supporters of President Obama's proposed health-care overhaul. Though many of the disability community's priorities were excluded from the processleading to some grousing among advocates about Democratsthe various proposals would prevent insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions, a common problem for people with disabilities. The Senate version of the reform plan also contains a provision that would provide states with extra Medicaid funding if they agree to give disabled patients the option of being cared for at home, instead of in institutional settings such as nursing homes and mental-health facilities. Called the Community Choice Option, it is a top priority for disability activists. In 2008, the McCain-Palin campaign opposed a similar piece of legislation, the Community Choice Act, prompting activists from the group ADAPT to storm John McCain's Senate office, where they were arrested.

But this quote seems to me to be getting closer to the point:

"I don't think you can have a child with a significant disability and run away from these issues.

Your interest only deepens over time," said Imparato of the American Association of People with Disabilities. "It's the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Let's take a hard look: Where are we? Why are so many people with disabilities living in poverty? Why are the employment numbers not going up? Why do we have this use of seclusion and restraints in classrooms? "My hope is that Sarah Palin will take this opportunity to really look at and speak about these issues."

How many mothers who had a child with a significant disability would drag him around "like a loaf of bread" on a book tour as a prop?

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