Wherefore art thou Governor, Paterson?

Posted on April 23, 2009

By Chris Hilderbrant, Director of Advocacy

After a few days of trying to not watch Governor Paterson’s performance at the Legislative Correspondents Association (LCA) dinner, I finally got pulled into the drama.  After one of the local TV channels asked for a response from CDR and after a friend who himself has a disability called the Governor’s antics “appalling”, I decided to take a look and see if it was appropriate for CDR to respond.  (See for yourself at: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/04/patersons-sight-gag.html)

Having now watched the video a few times and discussed it with colleagues here at CDR, the universal sense is that we are extremely disappointed by the Governor’s behavior.  Setting aside the discussion of whether or not he was specifically disrespectful of people with disabilities, his behavior was totally unbecoming of the person that is supposed to be leading our state through tough times. 

I understand that the Governor was unfairly attacked in the commercials by the hospitals and unions.  In budget advocacy, we are finding ourselves with increasing frequency at odds with the hospital/union agenda.  In fact, in the commercial in question, one woman states that she can’t believe anyone would defend closing a nursing home.  CDR ultimately advocates providing the community services so that in the future there is no need for any nursing homes.  But in his satirical and bitter response to the attacks on him by the hospitals/SEIU, the Governor has gone too far.

For me, this is not the first example of him going too far in his humor.  When he was in Rochester for one of the town hall session, there was a moment that was similar for me.  When the Governor was questioned about cuts by a woman who was losing her child care subsidy, the Governor quipped back something like, “haven’t you been listening, we have a budget crisis” and continued with an attitude that felt essentially like a comedian tapping the microphone and saying “is this thing on?”

Much of the crowd laughed.  I didn’t.  I don’t think it’s okay to mock someone who is concerned that they are losing their ability to pay for their child care.  And I don’t think it’s okay to respond to bitter attack ads with satire, sarcasm and further bitterness – especially when you are a governor!

In his performance skit at the LCA, Governor Paterson is seated in a wheelchair as he delivers his political satire.  As he culminates the performance, he stands up and throws off the heavy black sunglasses, stating “You’ll stand again, Governor.  You’ll see again…” then does a cartwheel and a backwards roll, bows and leaves the stage.

This is where the Governor has definitely gone too far in using disability as a satirical tool to attack his attackers.  One of the reasons the Hospital/SEIU ads were not viewed as very effective this year is because people felt that they had gone too far by using an older African-American blind man to attack the Governor.  Essentially, the Hospitals/SEIU and now the Governor, used disability as a mechanism to make the other seem evil.  It’s exploiting and objectifying disability.  This is the problem.

When I was 14, I broke my neck and have used a wheelchair ever since.  When I was 15, I remember my friend Dave rolling around in my wheelchair, then suddenly springing up out of the chair shouting “I’m healed!”  In freshman year of college, I had a friend that would roll around in my chair and deliberately fall over in front of passersby to see if they’d help him up.  He was 18 and high at the time.

These antics are funny (to a degree) and acceptable if you are a teenager (and high).  The same is not true for governors.  The Governor owes people with disabilities, and all people in New York State, an apology.  That is not how any of us want to be represented.

© Copyright Center for Disability Rights : Free Our People • Powered by Wordpress.