I’m not sure how to respond to that. My first reaction is “So What?” We’re not allowed to talk about whether Republicans actually support families with disabilities or only give it lip service because Republicans haven’t gone parading their disabled kids before the public?

Nobody is particularly eager to discuss their special needs children in public. (Not out of shame, but more from a respect for the child’s privacy and to avoid subjecting them to the preconceived notions others have of those with special needs). This is even more true for politicians who tend to want to project an image of having a “typical”, happy family.

So I have no doubt that there are a lot of Republicans in office who have special needs children or grandchildren. But short of a lot of original, intrusive research I don’t see any way to prove it.

But in any event, so what? Whether they do or don’t have such kids in their families, what has that got to do with discussing what their actual level of support for those who do?

Jay Tea: Unless you’d like to cite something else Biden might have been referring to, I think it’s pretty open and closed that Biden was using Palin’s infant son to score political points.

Sure, I’ll cite what Biden actually said. It’s part of which you yourself emphasized in italics: “Republicans”. As others have pointed out, he doesn’t mention Palin or her family. He speaks of Republicans in general. So you may think it’s pretty open and closed that he was talking about Trig palin, but you’d be wrong.

And there are certainly many instances of various Republicans speaking of families who have to deal with children with developmental disabilities who have voted against stem cell research.

To pick just one example, Bush has spoken many times about helping children with disabilities (15 pages of links to speeches, press releases, budgets, etc at whitehouse.gov) but has repeatedly fought against stem cell research. Which is the actual point Biden is making.

Now, you can disagree with his point, you can say Republican’s ARE actually supportive of disabled children in deeds and not just words (and provide evidence to back that up, please), but don’t mis-state what he was actually saying and then dismiss it as “open and closed”.

Which is PRECISELY what I was referring to when I said “and Palin’s son having Down Syndrome.” Which is PRECISELY what I was referring to when I said “and Palin’s son having Down Syndrome.”

Read your own words once again:

There have been exactly two instances involving Republicans and children with birth defects. Sarah Palin allegedly cutting the funding for special needs students (another Kos bullshit story; Palin nearly TRIPLED the state’s spending on special needs students, from 26K to over 73K a year, as lauded by Education Weekly), and Palin’s son having Down Syndrome.

There has been NO other discussion of Republicans and children with developmental disabilities. Unless you’d like to cite something else Biden might have been referring to, I think it’s pretty open and closed that Biden was using Palin’s infant son to score political points.

Now let’s go to Gov. Palin again:

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.

And children with special needs inspire a special love.

To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.

Gov. Palin does not mention her own son in this passage. So if Sen. Biden responds to what she said–also without mentioning her son, how does that prove your point exactly?

P.S. Thank you both for proving my point.

You may feel as though you’re surrounded, but there’s just one of me, Mr. Tea.

J.

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.

And children with special needs inspire a special love.

To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.

Did you sleep through Ms. Palin’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention? She promised that families raising special needs children will have a friend in the McCain administration.

I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy, because there’s joy to it as well, the joy and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect. Well, guess what, folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support stem cell research?

There have been exactly two instances involving Republicans and children with birth defects. Sarah Palin allegedly cutting the funding for special needs students (another Kos bullshit story; Palin nearly TRIPLED the state’s spending on special needs students, from 26K to over 73K a year, as lauded by Education Weekly), and Palin’s son having Down Syndrome.

There has been NO other discussion of Republicans and children with developmental disabilities. Unless you’d like to cite something else Biden might have been referring to, I think it’s pretty open and closed that Biden was using Palin’s infant son to score political points.

Like I said… stay classy, Plugs.

J.

Pretty sure he thinks he has.

Let me get this straight. I asked for a link from Snopes or Factcheck.org, and you gave me a link to a Google search.

Please don’t tell me you think you’ve made a persuasive argument.

Stay classy, Plugs.

OK, so let me get this right. ANY discussion of stem cell research is not allowed because Palin has a special needs son.

And by similar logic, ANY discussion of her positions on abortion are not allowed because she has a pregnant daughter (so such discussions would clearly be an attack on her family). ANY discussion of her qualifications is not allowed because criticizing a woman in any way is sexist.

Got it.

Stay reasonable, JT.

For an impressionistic view of the depth and breadth of crap being flung about Gov Palin , you have to see this for yourselves

http://tinyurl.com/3jwyll

Don’t even say the “high road” and Democrats until 2012

Do you have a link to the Snopes page that debunks that?

Hardly. It appears to me that he is addressing her directly. Since she is more aware of the problem than most others, why doesn’t she support research that might alleviate the problem for others?

In other words, why is Palin completely lacking in empathy? Seems like a legitimate question to me.

Of course, if you added up all the empathy from everyone who attended the GOP convention you would still have the sort of vacuum that exists only between galaxies.

Republicans don’t do empathy.

J.

“I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy, because there’s joy to it as well, the joy and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect. Well, guess what, folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support stem cell research?”

I’m sure that it is just a wild coincidence that Biden’s counterpart on the Republican side has an infant son with Down Syndrome.

Stay classy, Plugs.

I think it’s about time to say “that’s not the Joe Biden I named as my running mate.”

J.

“Strategy” suggests that there is some planning and awareness behind it. That someone has knowingly said “We have no ideas/experience, etc. so our plan is to distract folks”. And while that may be true for a very few, the vast majority on the right really, truly think that hurling insults and focusing on non-issues is just all there is in a political campaign.

Like some rich socialite just believing the world should wait on her because it’s all she’s ever known and hasn’t the brain power to ever realize things aren’t actually like that.

Bwah-HA!