With midterm elections approaching, Democratic hopefuls are once again relearning the bare minimum about disability rights. Party operatives have determined that disabled people are a large enough voting bloc that candidates should know slightly more than nothing about them, which is why the DNC has hired disability political consultant Hope Frances to help.
“During my seminar, I have the candidates go around and tell me their biggest disability policy priorities, and they’ve said things like ‘the Affordable Disability Act’ and ‘protecting and expanding ADA care,’” says Frances. “I have my work cut out for me.”
Several campaign staff members have told Frances they want their candidate to be progressive by advocating for a return to institutional care, “but more humanely this time.”
The discussion of accessible housing is similarly difficult: “The attendees insist that the cost of housing is irrelevant if you can’t access the building,” explains Frances. “Then they say that affordability is not an accessibility issue and that we should focus on getting ramps into luxury apartments. They just know so little, it’s hard to figure out where they’re coming from.”
Frances also counts 11 times she has had to tell the candidates to stop casually using slurs.
“I overestimated them,” admits a frustrated Frances. “I wonder if having them brush up on the basics is actually worse than doing nothing at all.”
After Frances’ seminar, DNC officials are developing a disability media strategy consisting of “tearjerking” reels on the history of disability exclusion, dire warnings about what Republicans would do in office, and several unauthorized uses of the image and likeness of Leroy Moore. A longer television ad, set to Coldplay’s “Fix You,” has footage of a non-disabled actor using a wheelchair while voting.
The DNC tells The Squeaky Wheel that it probably will not develop concrete platform points before the election, at which point Democrats will go back to forgetting that disabled people exist.