Monday, August 27, 2018
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
#CripTheVote Fall 2018 Schedule
#CripTheVote is once again gearing up for major elections, the 2018 Midterms. On November 6, voters will choose candidates for all 435 seats in the U.S.House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate. In addition, 34 states will elect governors, and literally thousands of local and municipal offices will be up for election.
#CripTheVote has held periodic topical chats and hosted ongoing conversations on disability in electoral politics since January, 2016. In the run-up to the 2018 Midterms, #CripTheVote will host the following chats, and live tweet the results on election day. Times, guest hosts, and questions will be announced.
September 9: Partisanship and the Disability Community
Exploring what ‘partisanship” means, in terms of political parties, ideologies, and political beliefs, and what it means in practice for disabled people. [Recap of Sept. 9th chat]
September 23: State and Local Issues
How state and local elections and elected officials impact disability policy, and which disability issues are especially relevant to local elections.
October 7: Midterms 2018: What’s At Stake
An overview of the most active and urgent disability issues in this year’s Midterm Elections.
October 21: Voter Mobilization
What prevents disabled people from voting, and how can we “get out the vote” among eligible disabled voters?
November 6: Live-Tweeting Election Night
Join us as we share our voting stories, watch the results come in, and process the outcomes.
After the Midterms, we will take a bit of a break from electoral politics and focus on some more thematic, long-term disability issues:
November 11: Food Insecurity and Hunger
Exploring the multiple ways that hunger and disability are interrelated.
December 2: Poverty Narratives
Discussing how poverty is understood and talked about in multiple contexts, and how this relates to the disability community.
For more information on #CripTheVote:
Frequently Asked Questions
#CripTheVote has held periodic topical chats and hosted ongoing conversations on disability in electoral politics since January, 2016. In the run-up to the 2018 Midterms, #CripTheVote will host the following chats, and live tweet the results on election day. Times, guest hosts, and questions will be announced.
September 9: Partisanship and the Disability Community
Exploring what ‘partisanship” means, in terms of political parties, ideologies, and political beliefs, and what it means in practice for disabled people. [Recap of Sept. 9th chat]
September 23: State and Local Issues
How state and local elections and elected officials impact disability policy, and which disability issues are especially relevant to local elections.
October 7: Midterms 2018: What’s At Stake
An overview of the most active and urgent disability issues in this year’s Midterm Elections.
October 21: Voter Mobilization
What prevents disabled people from voting, and how can we “get out the vote” among eligible disabled voters?
November 6: Live-Tweeting Election Night
Join us as we share our voting stories, watch the results come in, and process the outcomes.
After the Midterms, we will take a bit of a break from electoral politics and focus on some more thematic, long-term disability issues:
November 11: Food Insecurity and Hunger
Exploring the multiple ways that hunger and disability are interrelated.
December 2: Poverty Narratives
Discussing how poverty is understood and talked about in multiple contexts, and how this relates to the disability community.
For more information on #CripTheVote:
Frequently Asked Questions
Gregg Beratan: @GreggBeratan
Andrew Pulrang: @AndrewPulrang
Thursday, August 16, 2018
8/26/18 Twitter Chat: #SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh
SCOTUS Nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh
Sunday, August 26, 2018
4 pm Pacific, 5 pm Mountain, 6 pm Central, 7 pm Eastern
Join #CripTheVote for this discussion about the nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Before the hearing for Judge Kavanaugh starts on September 4th, we will discuss what this nomination will mean for the disability community and the nominee’s record on civil rights and other important issues.
Additional links
Grassley: Kavanaugh Hearings to Begin September 4 (August 10, 2018)
Disability Rights Groups React to Premature Scheduling of Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing (August 13 2018, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law)
10 Reasons People with Disabilities Should Oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s Nomination (August 2018, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law)
Review of disability-related cases by Judge Brett Kavanaugh (July 2018, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law)
Kavanaugh Thinks It’s Okay to Perform Elective Surgery on People Without Their Consent (August 9, 2018 by Hannah Leibson & Rebecca Cokley)
Judge Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court Nomination Could Put the Americans With Disabilities Act in Danger (July 26, 2018, by Robyn Powell)
Center for Medicare Advocacy Statement on the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court (July 10, 2018)
AUCD Opposes the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States (July 15, 2018)
Plain Language: AUCD Opposes the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States (August 31, 2018)
Why DREDF Opposes Judge Kavanaugh’s Appointment to the Supreme Court (August 15, 2018)
The American Association of People with Disabilities Opposes the Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court (August 15, 2018)
NCIL Opposes Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to U.S. Supreme Court (August 8, 2018)
Oppose the Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States (July 17, 2018, CivilRights.org)
How to ParticipateFollow @GreggBeratan @AndrewPulrang @DisVisibility. When it’s time for the chat, search #CripTheVote on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation.
If you don’t use Twitter, you can follow along in real time here: http://twubs.com/CripTheVote
If you might be overwhelmed by the amount of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. The questions will be Tweeted 5-6 minutes apart.
Another way to participate in the chat is to use this app that allows you to pause the chat if the Tweets are coming at you too fast: http://www.tchat.io/
Here’s an article about how to participate in a Twitter chat: https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-join-a-twitter-hashtag-chat/
Check out this captioned ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc
https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/
Introductory Tweets and Questions for the Chathttps://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/
Welcome to the #CripTheVote chat on #SCOTUS nominees and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. FYI, throughout the chat SCOTUS refers to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Remember to use the #CripTheVote hashtag when you tweet. If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #CripTheVote”
Content warnings: abortion, bodily autonomy, medical coercion, forced treatment, forced surgery. Please feel free to mute or take a break from this chat if needed.
9/4 will be the first day of the confirmation hearing of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as #SCOTUS Associate Justice with questioning beginning 9/5 https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/grassley-kavanaugh-hearings-to-begin-september-4 #CripTheVote
Q1 Why does the Supreme Court, and the justices nominated to #SCOTUS, matter to you as a disabled person, to the future of the entire country? #CripTheVote
Q2 What are some recent and past examples of #SCOTUS nominees with significant track records on disability rights (both negative and positive)? #CripTheVote
Q3 Once the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh was announced, what were your thoughts about his professional background and rulings as a judge? #CripTheVote
Q4 On the Affordable Care Act, Kavanaugh dissented in a decision that said the #ACA was constitutional. What are your concerns on how this will impact access to quality healthcare? #CripTheVote http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/center-for-medicare-advocacy-statement-on-the-nomination-of-judge-brett-kavanaugh-to-the-united-states-supreme-court/
Note on language: ‘dissented’ means disagreeing with an opinion or decision held by a majority of people. ‘Affirmed the constitutionality’ means a decision or law that is in agreement with the United States Constitution #CripTheVote
In the case Doe ex rel. Tarlow v. D.C, Kavanaugh vacated a decision that protected disabled people’s right to self-determination & decision-making with elective surgeries including abortion. For more: https://talkpoverty.org/2018/08/09/kavanaugh-thinks-okay-perform-elective-surgery-people-without-consent/
The case: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-dc-circuit/1348102.html #CripTheVote
Q5 What are your thoughts and concerns about this ruling by Kavanaugh in Doe ex rel. Tarlow v. D.C and how it will impact the disability community if he is confirmed to #SCOTUS? #CripTheVote
Q6 What are some other ways the Kavanaugh nomination to #SCOTUS will impact reproductive choice, voting rights, civil rights, workers rights and other important issues? #CripTheVote
Kavanaugh also has an expansive view of the Executive Branch, believing that presidents should not be subject to civil lawsuits or criminal investigations while in office. https://civilrights.org/oppose-confirmation-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-united-states/ #CripTheVote
Q7 How will Kavanaugh’s view of Presidential power put the checks and balances at risk between the legislative, judicial, and executive branch of the federal govt? For more about the different branches of govt: https://www.aucd.org/docs/policy/Plain%20Text_Nomination%20of%20Judge%20Brett%20Kavanaugh.pdf #CripTheVote
Q8 What can individuals do to voice their opinions about Kavanaugh or any #SCOTUS nominee?
This concludes our #CripTheVote chat on #SCOTUS nominees and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Thank you for joining us today. A compilation of Tweets from this #CripTheVote chat will be up shortly. Check out our blog for the latest: http://cripthevote.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Take The #CripTheVote Challenge
With less than three months until the Midterm Election on November 6, now is the time for disabled voters to take the #CripTheVote Challenge. Pick three disability issues you care about most, and ask candidates about them.
We invite #CripTheVote readers, participants, and friends to make this a group effort.
First, choose your three issues and compose a tweet for them. Don't forget to include the #CripTheVote hashtag in your tweets so your questions and replies become part of the larger conversation.
Example:
Disability policy questions for @CandidateX -
1. Would you include coverage for home care in any #Medicare4All bill you would support?
2. Do you support ending subminimum wage for disabled workers?
3. Do you support the Disability Integration Act #DIAtoday?
#CripTheVote
Or, you can do one tweet per question if there's more you need to say about each one.
Next, ask candidates in your areas the three questions you have developed. Again, use Twitter and the #CripTheVote hashtag so everyone can see the impact we are having, and also see any candidate responses you get. Of course you can also ask your questions in other ways: personally at campaign events, comment sections on candidate websites, on other social media like Facebook and Tumblr, Letters to the Editor of local newspapers, and direct letters to candidates. Adding other, related movement hashtags to your tweets can also help introduce others to disability issues.
If you’re not sure what disability issues to ask about, check out these links to disability policy statements and overviews:
Don’t let candidates get through the campaign without addressing disability issues. Join the #CripTheVote Challenge!
If you have any questions about this or any other #CripTheVote initiative, contact:
Alice Wong
Twitter: @SFdirewolf
Gregg Beratan
Twitter: @GreggBeratan
Email: g.beratan@gmail.com
Andrew Pulrang
Twitter: @AndrewPulrang
Email: apulrang@icloud.com