On the Friday before the New Hampshire primary, Clinton closed the debate by including “people with disabilities” in her list of groups whose rights needed defending, and she has kept the inclusion in her stump speeches ever since. Disability has since become a regular feature of Clinton’s rhetoric. Most importantly, the Clinton campaign has consistently worked on this issue, starting in January when it released a detailed plan to help autistic people and their families. Online activist movements such as #CripTheVote have made it possible for disabled Americans to demand better political representation. As I reported for The Atlantic in January, the non-profit RespectAbility sent reporters to events across Iowa and New Hampshire to ask disability-related questions and persuaded every campaign except Trump’s and Cruz’s to fill out a detailed policy questionnaire. Trump’s mockery galvanized protest among politicians and activists alike last November. Even elected officials and campaigns that want to support the disability-rights movement too often focus on parents instead of disabled people, on cute children rather than adults, and on white people with disabilities rather than the diverse community of people with disabilities.ĭisability has received an unprecedented amount of attention in the 2016 election so far. The ad, however, also plays into stereotypes about disability, revealing tensions between disability-rights activists and mainstream politicians. It’s exciting to see disability issues play a role in the campaign, and gratifying to see a politician take heat for humor that offended many people. “Grace” may well prove to be an effective ad. The general consensus: One effective way to rally negative sentiments about Trump is to focus on his attacks on a group for whom nearly everybody has sympathy-people with disabilities. It’s received around 730,000 views on YouTube and widespread media coverage. Priorities USA, a progressive Super PAC, is working to label Donald Trump a bully, most recently by putting $20 million behind an ad called “Grace.” The spot features two parents of a child with spina bifida named Grace talking about how they felt when Trump mocked a disabled reporter-the New York Times writer Serge Kovaleski-last November. presidential primaries are over! Release the attack ads.
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