Another Slap Down For Rand Paul As House Unanimously Honors Americans With Disabilities Act 20th Anniversary

I just couldn't resist taking note of the fact that this evening the House voted 377-0 to recognize and honor the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The rules were suspended and it had to be agreed to by 2/3 of the House. This happened at 6:42pm. No one voted against it. That was odd. Did pathetic little Rand Paul even get abandoned by his father? Ron Paul was one of 55 members who didn't vote.

Many of the ones who didn't vote are back home running for office, like Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK), whose primary is tomorrow; Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) and Zach Wamp (R-TN), busy losing gubernatorial primaries in Michigan and Tennessee; Adam Putnam (R-FL), running for State Agriculture Commissioner of Florida; and Meek (D-FL), Moran (R-KS), Hodes (D-NH) and Tiahart (R-KS), all running for Senate. Others, like John Shadegg (R-AZ), Gresham Barrett (R-SC), Vern Ehlers (R-MI), Parker Griffith (R-AL), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Bart Stupak (D-MI), either are retiring or have lost primaries and are being retired and no longer care enough to bother coming in to work. Several are prowling K Street lining up new jobs as lobbyists.

But Ron Paul (R-TX), of course, fits none of those categories. I had a hunch. I looked to see what the next vote was. And sure enough, a few minutes later Ed Markey's H.R. 3101, the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, came up for a vote. It was opposed by a gaggle of far right-wing loons-- cranks like Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Steve King (R-IA), Tom Price (R-GA), John Campbell (R-CA), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Tom McClinton (R-CA) and... Ron Paul. I knew it!

It must have been humiliating for Ron with his crackpot son having denounced a piece of legislation that has made the lives of millions of Americans much richer and fuller and given them the freedom and liberty he's always squawking about but seems to think only belongs to wealthy white "normal" males. Earlier in the day Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway was hailing the anniversary and the legislation at a nonpartisan rally on Lexington. "Twenty years ago today, " he told the crowd, "when President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act and 'let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down,' we made our country stronger and our people more equal and free. Today, working together, we can continue to improve the lives of those with disabilities." His campaign released a press release blasting Rand Paul's position against the bill:

Jack Conway understands the importance of this landmark civil rights legislation, which, since its enactment on July 26, 1990, has served as a bill of rights, helping over 50,000,000 Americans with disabilities to more actively engage their communities and seek out the American Dream.

Further, Jack Conway recognizes the ADA's importance to Kentucky. Kentucky is the state with the third largest percentage of non-institutionalized, working aged people with disabilities. These individuals depend on the ADA to help safeguard their rights, including the right to seek employment, to utilize public accommodations, and to access basic public services.

By contrast, Jack Conway's opponent Rand Paul has repeatedly expressed his disgraceful opposition to key provisions in the ADA, putting the rights of businesses over the rights of disabled American citizens. He even suggested that businesses employing disabled persons confined to a wheelchair should not be required to comply with federal standards and maintain an elevator, suggesting instead that the employer simply "get them a job on the first floor."

Jack Conway will stand up for Americans with disabilities-- our friends, neighbors and fellow citizens.

This must have been terribly embarrassing for Jeb Bush, who found himself stuck hosting a fundraiser today for the son of another politician, a non-certified eye doctor in Kentucky.