Besides admitting to ditching his wife for politics not a lot of people are aware of how McAuliffe ignored people with disabilities while he was chairman of the DNC back in 2004.
In a letter written by the Center for Disability Rights to Terry McAuliffe requesting that he publicly apologize for the attitudes of the then Senator John Edward's blithe and uncaring attitude towards people with disabilities like patting on the heads of adults in wheelchairs.
Here's the letter in question:
March 2, 2004
Mr. Terry McAuliffe, Chairman
Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol Street SE
Washington DC, 20003
Re: Disability Issues and the Democratic Party
Dear Mr. McAuliffe:
The disability community is appalled that disability issues have been excluded from the speeches and debates of the Democratic Presidential contenders. We are further outraged at the actions of one candidate in particular, Senator John Edwards.
As you are aware, there have been significant issues with the way that Senator Edwards has interacted with people with disabilities. During a campaign stop in Rochester, NY, Senator Edwards’ staff did not make American Sign Language Interpreters available, despite the fact that Rochester has the largest per capita number of Deaf people in the world. During this same campaign stop, while Senator Edwards was shaking hands with the audience, he actually patted two women who use wheelchairs on the head.
As if this was not enough, on March 1, 2004, the NY Times ran an Op-Ed piece written by Senator Edwards, in which Senator Edwards provides a comparison between a person’s life before the person acquired a disability and after. To illustrate this comparison, Senator Edwards writes, “And the once broad-shouldered man now spent his days hunched in a wheelchair, surrounded by fast-food containers, overflowing ashtrays and plastic bags filled with his own urine. He was forced to communicate by typing words on a keyboard.”
Once again, Senator Edwards has managed to reinforce a deep systemic bias that individuals with disabilities must confront everyday. His description of this person with a disability is actually a perpetuation of a stereotype of our community. The perpetuation of stereotypes about any minority group is simply unacceptable behavior. In addition, his attempt at conjuring sympathy for people with disabilities is equally offensive. Our community does not want sympathy or pity; we deserve the same respect that is afforded to any other group.
That Senator Edwards, and the rest of the Democratic Presidential contenders, refuse to talk about our issues and instead resort to stereotypical depictions of individuals with disabilities is an outrage. Senator Edwards’ actions, and the lack of disability issues in the public discourse, reflect badly on the entire Democratic Party.
Therefore, we are requesting a public apology from the Democratic National Party regarding Senator Edwards’s behavior and the exclusion of disability issues. In addition, we are requesting that you meet with ADAPT and leaders from the disability community by March 31, 2004 to discuss how the Democratic Party will address the issues that are important to voters with disabilities.
Please contact Bruce Darling at 585-370-6690 to arrange for this meeting.
Sincerely,
Bruce E. Darling, Center for Disability Rights, Rochester, NY
cc: Becky Ogle, Director Disability Outreach, DNC
Daniel Okrent, Public Editor, NY Times
Senator John Edwards
In all those years did Terry McAuliffe ever issued a public apology from the DNC where he was once the chairman? Would anybody expect an apology from a guy who is very 'me-centric' where he's all about his wining and dining and back-smacking and schmoozing with the rich elite in politics?
Not really.