Both Parties Failing to Deliver Disability Support

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Americans with Disabilities Underrepresented In Washington?
Both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama have campaigned on a platform of embracing and helping the American people, regardless of religion, race, and gender.

Yet according to a survey done this summer, a significant number of Americans agreed that none of the candidates were doing enough for people with disabilities and that this minority group receives less support than others. As more than 50 million Americans suffer from disabilities and many more have loved ones who suffer from the same, how the future president plans to address this hidden minority group should be of the utmost importance to voters.

According to survey participants,

• The disability “minority” is marginalized.  While some minority groups have been a fixture in the current presidential candidates’ stump speeches, many Americans believe that those with disabilities are not getting their due. One in four (25 percent) think that the current presidential candidates give people with disabilities less support than other minority groups.

• Equal does not mean the same. Though it is said that everyone is equal in the eyes of the government, sadly less than half (45 percent) of Americans believe that people with disabilities are receiving the same amount of support as other minority groups.

• People with disabilities have little, if any, advantage. A scant 5 percent of the population believes that those with disabilities receive preferential treatment from the current presidential candidates.
 
The survey, which polled 1,005 representative Americans ages 18 and over (with no distinction as to disability of lack thereof), was conducted by Kelton Research, a leading national public opinion company, in August 2008 on behalf of Disaboom.com.