Mr. Dart stated that former Speaker Newt Gingrich voted against the ADA four times and that Speaker Designate Hastert voted against the ADA eight out of nine votes. These facts are easily verified by referring to the Roll Call section on the House website. The point is that sometimes we benefit from the policies of one party and sometimes we benefit from the policies of the other party. We can only do ourselves harm by alienating one political party and giving essentially thoughtless allegiance to the other. As the 106th Congress begins, the choice is ours.
Effective advocates are good educators and negotiators.
They understand the issues and concerns of all stakeholders. They are not self-serving or easily manipulated by others. They recognize that it is unreasonable to expect policy makers, or anyone else, to have our level of understanding of disability issues, if they have not had our experience. Those who live with the reality of disability and those who genuinely care about improving disability policy need more allies - not more enemies. Instead of allowing ourselves to become involved in partisanship, I am optimistic that we will be wise in our advocacy strategies and contribute to a more productive 106th Congress.