So one of the few things we actually know about this lady who want to be vice-president is that she has a baby, Trig, who has Down's Syndrome. This issue is near to my heart because of a close friend I had growing up named Mark who had Down's whose love for life and people changed my life. Ms. Palin has not been shy about toting Trig around on stage and has used his birth to rally the anti-choice (as both parties now have in their constitution to reduce the number of abortions in America) crowd to her side since she did not have an abortion. Ms. Palin, who went back to work in the governor's office a shocking THREE DAYS after having Trig, remarked in her address during the Republican Convention that parents who have children with special needs would have a 'friend in the White House.' Let's take a closer look at the actual facts to see what kind of a 'friend' Ms. Palin was to children in need in Alaska.
To be fair to all sides, I'm going to clarify some rumors from the left. Rumors have been floating around that Ms. Palin cut funding to Special Education in Alaska by 64%. These cuts were a shift in accounting practices by the "Alaska Challenge Youth Program," a military program for high school dropouts (it kind of baffles me though that this type of program is coupled with developmental disorders for babies like Trig though). Anyway, this link will give you more info into that stuff. What I'd like us to notice is what kind of advocate Ms. Palin was for CHILDREN with Autism Spectrum Disorders, because a program for high school dropouts, while great and everything, just doesn't cut it for me.
A non-profit organization called The Commonwealth Fund, which studies health policy, recently conducted a state-by-state study of child healthcare systems. One would expect that the 'advocate for children' would have made her state rank near the top. However, Alaska ranked 42nd in measures of health care access, quality, costs, equity and health outcomes in children. Included in the study were several indicators that related directly to children with special health care needs. Of children aged 1-17 with an identified emotional, behavioral, or developmental problem, only 52% had received mental health care the last year (rank: 47). For children with special health care needs needing referrals to specialty care, only 23% got them (rank: 32). And while it doesn't apply specifically to children with special needs (but certainly affects their quality of care), only 38% of Alaskan children have a medical home (rank: 47). (These rankings were found first at THESOCCERMOMVOTE.COM. So let me ask the obvious, What in the world kind of advocate is that??? I think I would rather hire Phil Fulmer to be my advocate for why the Georgia Bulldogs are awesome or an apple farmer to tell me why pears are so delicious. So Ms. Palin.... YOU GOT SOME 'SPLAININ TO DOOOOOO!!!!!
On the contrary Sen. Obama has a stellar record as a champion of children with developmental disorders. As a state senator AND as a U.S. senator, Barack Obama championed bills that increased health coverage and health screenings for children with autism spectrum disorders. As President, he'll end the war on science that has been waged by George Bush and John McCain and free the greatest minds in the world to research how we can stop these genetic disorders in their tracks. If you want to see more of his positions and ideas, I highly suggest you check out this link, because I could go on about this for a while.
Folks, the fact of the matter is that while I praise Ms. Palin for keeping her child, it saddens me that as Governor of Alaska, she found time hire a lobbyist to go to Washington to secure an earmark to build a new hockey rink with heated seats so she could watch her kids play in Wasilla, but could not find time to improve the lives of children with special needs in Alaska. That's not the change we need, and that's no maverick, that's just more of the same.
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I believe the fact that Sarah Palin has a child with a disability would have a natural advantage for her as an advocate for disabled children....BUT... I feel this way because, let's face it, our society is generally driven by emotions and easily deceived. People see Palin, who bore this child and is a proud mother, as an avid supporter and expert in the field of disabilities. This is simply not the case....Seriously, the statistics are astounding, and for me, as a future educator, I would be ashamed to vote in support of such selfishness. People (including myself) need to wake up and read between the lines and stop patronizing candidates.
Get 'em ash!
Hey Jackson,
I'm Brad Witzel's wife :) Your mom told me about your blog and I just wanted to tell you how awesome it is. I have been really inspired by this campaign to do my research, and you are helping people do just that! Thanks for such a great blog!
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