Republicans are trying to repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act.

[thucythucy]

The vote in the House is scheduled for today for so-called "ADA Reform"--which essentially guts the enforcement provisions of the act so many people fought for for so long.

This is the latest update from DREDF--the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

PLEASE contact your representative and ask them to vote NO on this attempt to roll back the civil rights of people with disabilities.

Together with the attacks on Medicaid, SSI and SSDI, this is the worst assault on the American disability community in decades.

Please help us stop this horrid part of the KGOP agenda.

Thank you.

https://dredf.org/hr620

[unblock]

1. the ada might be the last major piece of legislation we can really call "bipartisan"

it was of course a democratic initiative and republicans dragged their feet in order to keep the business impact to a minimum, but they didn't oppose it and went along with it and positioned themselves to get credit for cooperating with it. about as bipartisan as things really ever get in the washington sausage factory.

since then it seems republicans have practically decided that whatever democrats are for, they are bound by some twisted principle to oppose.

[thucythucy]

3. Repealing or gutting the ADA has been on the GOP hit list

pretty much since its passage. Newt Gingrich spent years giving lectures on supposed "abuses" that all turned out to be your standard Republican bullshit.

But yes, the ADA did have bipartisan support, and not all of it was reluctant. Senator McCain, much as I disagree with pretty much everything else he says, was instrumental in drafting protections for Deaf Americans (along with Senator Harkin, of course).

It seems every gain since the 1960s is now under attack, which I think is why Republicans continue to support Benedict Donald. "He'll sign anything" is what one of them said, and this here is just another example of them ramming through their reactionary agenda while they can.

So many people are going to suffer, and it's all so a few millionaires and billionaires can pile up even more wealth.

It hurts so much now to see what's happening to this nation, and how many people are good with gutting the very core of what we're supposed to be about.

[unblock]

5. only going back to the 1960s?

they'd go back to the 1860s if they could.

there have been some quotes circulating about how giving women the right to vote was a mistake(!)

and you just know they'd be talking about the "'freedom' to buy slaves" if they thought for one minute they could get away with it.

[thucythucy]

6. You're right.

They want to bring back those "good old days" of absolute white male supremacy.

Thanks again for your support on this.

[unblock]

7. yes, history of its passage aside, it's something you can still find republicans in favor of.

most republicans i know stick to the foxnews party line on anything, which may include arguing one way on monday and the complete opposite way on tuesday.

i don't know what, if anything, foxnews says about the ada, but when the topic comes up, every republican i know talks about how they or some family member really benefits from it. somehow they don't seem to have the usual objections to the gubmint telling businesses what to do and all that.

republicans can sometimes be liberal on certain issues when they can see the impact of policies on themselves or their family.

[cvoogt]

2. just contacted my rep

unbelievable, the gall of HR 620.

[thucythucy]

4. Thank You!

Please help spread the word.

And thanks again!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. Justin Dart, who was the force behind the ADA, was a friend of Ron and Nancy.

It's the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Signed into law in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

A leading force behind the ADA was Justin Whitlock Dart, Jr.

Justin Whitlock Dart, Jr. (August 29, 1930 – June 22, 2002) was an American activist and advocate for people with disabilities. He helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, co-founded the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and is regarded as the "Godfather of the ADA."
....

Background

Dart came from a wealthy Chicago family. His father, Justin Whitlock Dart, Sr., was President of Dart Industries. His mother, Ruth Walgreen Dart, was the daughter of Walgreen founder Charles R. Walgreen and his wife, Myrtle Walgreen. Justin's brother Peter Dart also developed polio.

Dart contracted polio in 1948 before entering the University of Houston, where he earned undergraduate degrees in history and education in 1954; however, the university refused to give him a teaching certificate because of his disability. The university is now home to the Justin Dart, Jr. Center for Students with Disabilities, a facility designed for students who have any type of temporary or permanent health impairment, physical limitation, psychiatric disorder, or learning disability.

Activism

During his time at the University of Houston, which was then segregated, Dart organized the first student group to oppose racism.

After graduating, Dart was a successful entrepreneur who founded three Japanese corporations, but in 1967 he gave up the corporate life to devote himself to the rights of people with disabilities, working in Texas and Washington, D.C. as a member of various state and federal disability commissions. In 1972, Dart switched from identifying as a Democrat to become a Republican.

He opposed the efforts of President Ronald Reagan, a personal friend of the Dart family, to revise the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, and in 1981 accepted an appointment from President Reagan to be the vice-chair of the National Council on Disability.

[thucythucy]

9. Justin Dart Jr. was an amazing man.

Despite being a Republican, he was all out opposed to the Gingrich "Contract on America" attempts to turn back civil rights, including the civil rights of Americans with disabilities. He and Fred Fay and Becky Ogle organized "Justice for All" one of the first progressive list serves to combat attacks on disability rights.

He'd be dismayed I'm sure at what's happened to the Republican Party, and as an ethical businessman he'd be thoroughly disgusted by the Trumps.

[NCDem777]

10. And some Dems have signed on