10.12.14
The Davis Wheelchair Ad – Justice
I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. This isn’t the first time Abbott has been attacked on this issue. It’s a pretty simple issue. Greg Abbott thought suing was fine when he was hurt, but pulled the rope up behind him so no one else could get the financial assistance he received. Via the Texas Tribune, Davis Pollster: Controversial Wheelchair Ad Working.
Davis pollster Joel Benenson, who advised Barack Obama in both of his presidential races, said the ad underscored the theme they’ve been hammering on for months: that Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott is an “insider” who sides with the rich and powerful over average Texans.
Asked about the use of the wheelchair in particular, Benenson noted that Abbott himself had “prominently featured himself in the wheelchair in his ads” in the Texas governor’s race.
“This ad is not about Greg Abbott in a wheelchair,” Benenson said. “This ad is about Greg Abbott’s behavior and actions with other victims after he had his opportunity and rightly sought justice and received a substantial amount of money.”
Abbott was injured in a freak accident while jogging in 1984. He was struck by a tree and left paralyzed from the waist down. Abbott later sued the homeowner and the tree company and received a multi-million dollar settlement.
The ad suggests Abbott is a hypocrite for seeking justice for himself in the court system while using his power as a judge and later attorney general to deny it to others, including a rape victim and a woman whose leg was amputated.
And all the pearl-clutching on the from the right wing is much ado about nothing. They’re just jealous they can’t do the same. The ad is not making light of Abbott’s disability. The ad points out that he is unwilling to show the same compassion for others that was shown to him.
The ad is called “Justice” and ends with the line “Greg Abbott, he’s not for you”. Conservatism has always been a selfish ideology built on the premise that “I got mine, you get yours”. That Abbott embodies that to a tee, is what the wheelchair ad is highlighting.
Further Reading:
Brains and Eggs, Wheelchair ads.