Noted Fan of Andrew Sullivan Exploits Down Syndrome for Political Gain
President Obama is currently exploiting Down syndrome at his website barackobama.com. He has published a letter, ostensibly from a grown Downs adult (although at the end she says she had help writing the letter from her obviously partisan relatives), that begins as follows:
Hello! My name is Brittany and I live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I am 25 years old (but I will be 26 on October 3rd!). I am a registered Democrat and I have been voting since I was 18. I am one of the 47% of Americans who fall under Mitt Romney’s definition of “entitled” and “unable to take responsibility for my life.” I have Down syndrome.
. . . .
I have also included my picture, not just because I’m cute, but because I wanted to give you a face of one of the 47% to share with Mr. Romney.
I wish you would come to Pennsylvania because I would really like to meet you.
Please say hello to your wife, Michelle, for me. I wish I could live in the White House, too, and I like your dog, Bo.
—Brittany
P.S. My mom and her friend helped me write this.
I bet mom and her friend would like to come along to the White House, too.
If Barack Obama could feel shame, he would probably start with his inclusion of this letter on his site. First of all, Obama supports allowing women to kill babies like Brittany, at least up until the time they are born.
Second, one of the most prominent Down syndrome babies in recent years has been Trig Palin. And while I’m sure you can find evidence of Obama giving lip service to the idea that Sarah Palin should not be mocked for keeping Trig, he didn’t go out of his way to tamp down the mockery his supporters heaped on her. Indeed, perhaps the most prominent Trig Truther, Andrew Sullivan, is a favorite of Obama’s:
I read all of the New York Times columnists. Krugman’s obviously one of the smartest economic reporters out there, but I also read some of the conservative columnists, just to get a sense of where those arguments are going. There are a handful of blogs, Andrew Sullivan’s on the Daily Beast being an example, that combine thoughtful analysis with a sampling of lots of essays that are out there.
Obama loves Sullivan so much he invited him to a state dinner at the White House this year.
But wait! I’m not done yet! How about those upcoming ObamaCare taxes? Looks like they’re going to hit the parents of special needs children especially hard:
The 30-35 million American who use a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) at work to pay for their family’s basic medical needs will face a new government cap of $2,500 (currently the accounts are unlimited under federal law, though employers are allowed to set a cap).
There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are several million families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.
This Obamacare tax provision will limit the options available to these families.
Please, President Obama, don’t pretend you’re on Brittany’s side, on the side of Down syndrome babies/fetuses or their parents, or that you have any right whatsoever to exploit this particular issue.
Thanks to dana.
Sully MilkyLoad PowerGlutes disgusts me. So does Barcky.
JD (318f81) — 10/2/2012 @ 7:50 amIt’s actually worse, than that Patterioc, as RS McCain and Riehl discovered, his minions were behind the lie, separate from Sullivan,
narciso (ee31f1) — 10/2/2012 @ 7:52 amJust win, baby!
Icy (a8d089) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:10 amThis is disgusting.
Ironically (or not, actually), Obama favors aborting “fetuses” that are recognized during pre-natal procedures to be mentally challenged.
I have enormous love for people with Down, but this manipulative episode actually confirms Romney’s assertion that the people who receive entitlements (or in this particular case, disability benefits that nobody on our side of the aisle wants to eliminate) are voting for Obama.
As the letter written by her relatives proves, she’s casting her vote for Obama. Now, obviously, I must state for all of our Media Matters trolls, that the woman’s disability excludes her from being characterized as a “freeloader.”
But if the lefties wanted to disprove Romney’s assertion, they should highlight someone who receives entitlements who is voting for Romney.
Elephant Stone (65d289) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:13 amIn fact, Obama and his wife support killing people like Brittany a little after they’re born, too.
Say “hi” to Michelle Obama’s partial-birth abortion fundraising letter, Brittany.
CrustyB (69f730) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:21 amI wonder if precious Brittany knows that Obama wants her parents to give her birthday present money to him?
Icy (a8d089) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:25 amHello! My name is Darlene and I would have lived in Cherry Hill New Jersey. I would have been 18 years old. I might have been a registered Democrat, and I would have been looking forward to voting next month. I would like to have been a lot of things. But alas, I never got the chance. Barack Obama did not want my mother to be punished by having me. I was diagnosed with Down syndrome in utero and was aborted. And Barack Obama is fine with that.
–Darlene
aunursa (7014a8) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:25 amClearly Brittany has a great quality of life, is a productive citizen and a robust, viable member of her family and community. As such, she is a living/breathing condemnation of Obama’s abortion stand, as well as pointing a sharp finger of rebuke right in the eye of the real war on women that the president and his party continues to wage.
Dana (292dcf) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:31 amI guess I have two different emotions about this. On the one hand, I am disgusted that Obama goes to the emotional manipulation card by distorting Romney’s and his own records on the issue. On the other hand, I am grateful that dana and Patterico are here to highlight this ugly, cheap pandering, since clearly the old media would be happy to let this fall through the cracks.
JVW (f5695c) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:42 amOn another point regarding Brittany’s claim that she is one of the 47% Romney was referring to, it seems to me this is more a reflection of Social Security imposing hurdles as they penalize people from earning too much money. It clearly evidences the need for Social Security reforms – it should be encouraging, not discouraging those on SSI to become more greater wage earners.
Brittany sounds very capable, articulate, able to reason, she votes (which would indicate she is able to discern between candidates and their varying views), thus it seems she might be able to have a higher paying job, and should be able to without having to face penalties.
Dana (292dcf) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:49 amMy real question, has Britney ever gone bowling with President Obama?
Pious Agnostic (7c3d5b) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:04 am==I just got my own apartment and share it with another girl like me. I get to pay rent now ($325 a month) and pay for my telephone and cable because I like the Disney Channel==
This is certainly an interesting and thought/comment provoking story, but call me cynical. Brittany’s (with help) choice of words and themes seem rather purposeful and manufactured and “narrativ-y” to these eyes. Unfortunately, I believe nothing, absolutely nothing the Obama website posts.
elissa (98fd68) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:05 amSSI is welfare. It is not earned retirement SS credits. So, yeah, if the lady can work why should the taxpayers give her gifts?
nk (875f57) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:08 amDowns kids are high functioning but they plateau at around age 12 IQ as measured. Maybe we ought to look at our measuring tape?
nk (875f57) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:12 amPat, being a prosecutor, I’m sure you’ve dealt with many a law breaker that had no remorse, that felt no guilt and probably felt justified in doing the crime they were convicted of.
It’s part of a criminal mindset.
It’s a mindset that is similar to many Progressives and is mirrored in their attitudes and actions on a daily basis.
Obama is a con, a bunco artist, a South side Chicago 3 card Monte dealer who has no sympathy or remorse for those who will pay for and those who will be ruined by the actions of his regime.
If he had a conscience, he wouldn’t have gotten elected.
Jcw46 (b4329c) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:42 amDisgusting, 0 is.
htom (412a17) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:45 amEnlightenment escapes him.
Shameless, foolish, 0.
I have low blood sugar and I think obama sucks a bag of dicks
happyfeet (b5795c) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:47 amelissa, apparently a mother of a Downs Syndrome child (age 12) not only agrees with you but makes a sound point. Of course, she neatly ignores the point that it’s nothing personal to the Down Syndrome baby being aborted – it’s simply about making sure women retain the right to make the choice…or some such blather.
Dana (292dcf) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:54 amLook I don’t want to doubt the beautiful young woman in the article has opinions and the great independent life she describes (all the more power to her). However, if anyone honestly believes a 25-year old Down Syndrome woman actually put all that together, wrote it herself, and then sent it off to Obama at the White House all by herself … Well then, those same believers need to explain exactly WHY they believe Down Syndrome unborns need to be aborted, because she sounds pretty smart and together to me … not some dumb unviable lump of cells! And even if she had a lot of outside help with the letter, her life achievements to date fly in the face of the pro-abortion advocates who claim otherwise when justifying their reasoning … Don’t they, Obama???!!!??? I mean YOU would have agreed with her mother and supported her choice to abort “Brittany” from her womb.
“I am now working for a store, folding clothes and doing returns. I like my job a lot! I make $4.98 an hour”
Is Brittany exempt from the minimum wage? Does the EEOC know?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 10/2/2012 @ 10:13 amDaley, I was wondering that, too. I found this (note the bold print),
PA Minimum Wage
$7.25/hr
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. This is the same as the Federal Minimum Wage.
The minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for most employees in Pennsylvania, with exceptions for tipped employees, some student workers, and other exempt occupations.[1]
Special certificates can be obtained to pay learners or students as little as 85% of the minimum wage, or to pay certain disabled employees under the minimum wage. Students paid under the minimum wage may only work 20 hours a week. Approximately 8% of Pennsylvania’s hourly workers are paid at or below the minimum wage.
Farm and domestic workers, seasonal camp or recreation employees, elected officials, paper deliverers, and golf caddies are all exempt from Pennsylvania’s minimum wage and overtime laws. Employers are allowed to deduct the reasonable cost of lodging or board provided to an employee from their pay.
Pennsylvania employers may not pay you under $7.25 per hour unless you or your occupation are specifically exempt from the minimum wage under state or federal law. All Pennsylvania employers must display an approved Pennsylvania minimum wage poster in a prominent place to inform employees about the minimum wage and their worker’s rights under Pennsylvania labor law.
Dana (292dcf) — 10/2/2012 @ 10:22 amThankfully, Brittany doesn’t understand that Barack would have aborted her and had the government pay for it.
Patricia (e1d89d) — 10/2/2012 @ 10:24 amDana – Thanks. Good to know the Obama Administration supports the economic exploitation of disabled people who are not aborted.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 10/2/2012 @ 10:48 amI would’ve aborted her too cause I don’t have the kind of resources you need to take care of a down syndrome kid properly and i’m not some 47 per center what wants government help to take care of my kids.
happyfeet (b5795c) — 10/2/2012 @ 10:50 amI also bet Brittany could take Obama easily two out of three in bowling.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 10/2/2012 @ 10:51 amMr. Feets – You are a very high maintenance person.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 10/2/2012 @ 10:52 amI would’ve aborted her too cause I don’t have the kind of resources you need to take care of a down syndrome kid properly and i’m not some 47 per center what wants government help to take care of my kids.
So then be responsible for your actions: don’t do anything that might make a baby have to pay the price for your irresponsibility, Downs Syndrome or not.
Dana (292dcf) — 10/2/2012 @ 11:07 amInteresting about the whole minimum wage thing with this young lady. If her employer is taking advantage of the loophole that allows them to pay less to “certain disabled employees” then it isn’t hard to imagine that “clothes-folder” is a job that is probably offered more out of a sense of civic responsibility than out of a burning need to have somebody in that position. And yet I would imagine that organized labor in PA fought tooth-and-nail against allowing that exemption and was probably only trumped in the end by advocates for special needs individuals.
JVW (f5695c) — 10/2/2012 @ 11:16 am______________________________________________
Please, President Obama, don’t pretend you’re on Brittany’s side,
Beyond that, Obama also can be labeled not “pro-choice” but “pro-abortion” without that being an overly politically loaded characterization of his POV. That’s because he has been clearly and aggressively supportive of not just early-term abortions — or what’s allowed under Roe vs Wade — but late-term ones too.
His type — supposedly so humane and full of wonderful brotherly love and spirit — often is more bothered by the welfare of Fido and Kitty than a late-term human fetus. That to me speaks volumes, and is both scary and repulsive.
Mark (6d5e0d) — 10/2/2012 @ 11:25 amhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HOBTUCv4o0
Wait, this President?
Holmes (f2bdcc) — 10/2/2012 @ 11:28 amAsking Obama to forgo pretense is like asking the wolf to spare the lamb. It’s not in his nature.
ropelight (70821d) — 10/2/2012 @ 12:09 pmI’m the father of a young lady with Down Syndrome, who is now 22 years old. I have to give credit to Brittany’s mother that she values life and didn’t abort her daughter. I’m guessing, but I would imagine that since Democrats favor abortion, they would be more likely to abort a child with a DS prognosis. Thus, the fact that her parents are Obama supporters likely make them (parents with a child with DS, and Democrat) a minority.
My daughter still lives at home and apparently qualifies for SSI; however, I have not applied for it on her behalf because I feel that it is my responsibility to take care of her, NOT THE GOVERNMENT’S!! Just like it is my responsibility to take care of my health care, NOT THE GOVERNMENT’S!! So, yeah, the use of an adult with DS on the Obama website is rather sickening.
Ken (440319) — 10/2/2012 @ 12:33 pmKen – Thanks for commenting. Brittany is just another prop to the Obama campaign.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 10/2/2012 @ 12:38 pmKen,
Ghost (2d8874) — 10/2/2012 @ 12:56 pmA lot of people who are pro-choice would never do it themselves. Luckily for me, my mother was also a pro-choice non-aborter as well. “I could never do it, but I can’t take that choice away from others.”
Remember Andy’s lucky day: “In a strongly worded memorandum issued Thursday, US Magistrate Judge Robert B. Collings said the decision by Acting US Attorney Michael K. Loucks to dismiss a federal misdemeanor possession charge against Sullivan flouted a “cardinal principle of our legal system’’ – that all persons stand equal before the law.” From boston.com
So Andy get caught red handed with some Muggles on fderal land and then gets to skate. Gee, I bet BO had nothing to do with this.
Ipso Fatso (1e3278) — 10/2/2012 @ 2:50 pmKen,
sybilll (9d4af2) — 10/2/2012 @ 2:52 pmMajor kudos. Special needs children are truly gifts from God. I have a priceless autistic nephew, and when he was diagnosed, my then very liberal sister’s “friends” all suggested he be put in foster care. He is 19 now, and those “friends” did what I could never do for my sister: convert her to Conservatism.
TONIGHT: OBAMA’S OTHER RACE SPEECH on Hannity…
‘We don’t need to build more highways out in the suburbs. We should be investing in minority-owned businesses, in our neighborhoods’…
DAILY CALLER: ‘For nearly 40 minutes, using an accent he never adopts in public, Obama describes a racist, zero-sum society, in which the white majority profits by exploiting black America’..
Colonel Haiku (503e2c) — 10/2/2012 @ 4:34 pmObama describes a racist, zero-sum society, in which the white majority profits by exploiting black America’..
I predict the reaction will be, “Yes, so?”
Pious Agnostic (2c3220) — 10/2/2012 @ 5:45 pmDitto what Pious said.
JD (ab8eee) — 10/2/2012 @ 5:48 pmThe media dances around the sh*t I’m listening come out of 0bama’s mouth right now and there needs to be a reckoning, forced or not. The people covering this crap up need to be held accountable!
Colonel Haiku (97505b) — 10/2/2012 @ 6:20 pmhttp://dailycaller.com/2012/10/02/obama-speech-jeremiah-wright-new-orleans/
Colonel Haiku (97505b) — 10/2/2012 @ 6:22 pmThis is all old news. The transcript has been available since 2007. There are clips on YouTube from this speech. RethugliKKKans are desperate.
JD (ab8eee) — 10/2/2012 @ 6:29 pmso they’ll say… wrong answer.
Colonel Haiku (97505b) — 10/2/2012 @ 6:37 pmSomeone should tell Obama that Down Syndrome belongs to the right now, thus they can’t be in the 47%.
unskew (6181a3) — 10/2/2012 @ 6:46 pmComment by JD — 10/2/2012 @ 6:29 pm
Is that the “real JD”. I agree that the little I saw is not a game changer.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 10/2/2012 @ 6:58 pmTell us more about the “accent” Mr. Drudge.
unskew (6181a3) — 10/2/2012 @ 7:01 pmUnskew has commented under a variety of names. Same passive aggressive BS regardless of the name it chooses. Lemonwetgood once regaled us with imaginary tales of over 750,000 voters in PA being disenfranchised.
JD (318f81) — 10/2/2012 @ 7:21 pm“This is all old news. The transcript has been available since 2007. There are clips on YouTube from this speech. RethugliKKKans are desperate.”
I assume this is parody or a troll. The transcript, as is well known now, did not include the Rev Wright stuff or the phony accent.
Mike K (326cba) — 10/2/2012 @ 7:59 pm“I’m the father of a young lady with Down Syndrome, who is now 22 years old. I have to give credit to Brittany’s mother that she values life and didn’t abort her daughter. I’m guessing, but I would imagine that since Democrats favor abortion, they would be more likely to abort a child with a DS prognosis. Thus, the fact that her parents are Obama supporters likely make them (parents with a child with DS, and Democrat) a minority.”
Ken the figure I see is 90% aborted. My only worry about these kids is when the parents are gone. The functional level, as I’m sure you know, is quite variable.
Mike K (326cba) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:01 pmWhat about the accent?
unskew (6181a3) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:06 pmDoes lemonwetgood think it becomes less douchey if it keeps repeating the question?
JD (318f81) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:31 pmWould it know the difference, JD,
narciso (ee31f1) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:36 pmThis blind man was so disgusted with Obama’ using the Down syndrome woman that he came out for Romney, to show that O doesn’t own the disability vote:
The Sanity Inspector (93bc4f) — 10/2/2012 @ 8:49 pm“I’ve been a conservative since the days of the Iran Hostage crisis and my first vote for president was for Ronald Reagan. He inherited a much worse economy from Jimmy Carter and never once blamed him for the mess he had to fix. But, unlike President Obama, Reagan came into office having been a governor of a state. He knew how to fix the problem with pro-growth policies that helped create 25 million jobs. Romney can do the same. President Obama is a Leftist ideologue who has no clue how the economy runs other than taxing the private sector to increase the size and scope of government. President Obama measures America’s greatness by how many people get a government check as opposed to a private sector job. That’s his vision and it’s wrong for America. He prefers giving out 16 million free cells phones instead creating 16 million jobs. President Obama is not a leader. He’s an aggregator of government power who offers false hopes for the millions he misleads. People are hurting because of him and that’s why he needs to go. I may be legally blind, I see well enough to know he’s wrong for the country.
— Samuel Gonzalez, conservative Republican blogger, in response to an Obama ad using a disabled woman to slam Romney
What a grotesque campaign.
Dustin (73fead) — 10/2/2012 @ 9:34 pmI don’t think any of you remembered this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HOBTUCv4o0
Follow the link to watch Barrack Obama make fun of special Olympians.
I have been called a racist today for objecting to that. sigh.
Aaron "Worthing" Walker (23789b) — 10/3/2012 @ 12:01 amThat’s not fair!
You should only be called a racist for misspelling “Barack”.
Icy (a8d089) — 10/3/2012 @ 12:05 amAaron @54 – See #24 above.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 10/3/2012 @ 12:21 amAaron @54 and daley @56 – Also, #11 above that. 🙂
Pious Agnostic (7c3d5b) — 10/3/2012 @ 5:55 amHello! My name is Brittany and I live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I am 25 years old (but I will be 26 on October 3rd!). I am a registered Democrat and I have been voting since I was 18. I am one of the 47% of Americans who fall under Mitt Romney’s definition of “entitled” and “unable to take responsibility for my life.” I have Down syndrome.
This is shooting a straw man with an elephant gun!
It’s only on the website because it is only useful for engraining people in their prejudice, not creating it, buit that’s useful too for motivating people to gove money or to vote.
Here’s what romney said is that secretly recorded tape of his conversation with – it sounds like more bundlers – people who raise money from others – than contributors:
For the last three years, all everybody’s been told is, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you.” How are you going to do it, in two months before the elections, to convince everybody you’ve got to take care of yourself?
Romney: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. And I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49, 48—he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect. And he’ll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean that’s what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people—I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not, what it looks like. I mean, when you ask those people…we do all these polls—I find it amazing—we poll all these people, see where you stand on the polls, but 45 percent of the people will go with a Republican, and 48 or 4…
Romnney did not say, that people with Down Syndrome ought to be able to take care of themselves.
They found the most disabled person they could find, who is not too disabled to vote.
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