October 13, 2014      4:03 PM
Davis stands by wheelchair ad and says it's solely about Abbott's hypocrisy
Even some critics who initially had nasty reactions to the wheelchair advertisement now admit that highlighting Greg Abbott’s record on victims’ rights is “a good and decent point to make.”
Sen. Wendy Davis on Monday personally owned the wheelchair commercial first
unveiled by her campaign on Friday which drew national attention and became the
latest flashpoint in the race for governor. The ad caused significant controversy
because its opening moments feature an image of a wheelchair while an announcer
describes how Republican Attorney General Greg
Abbott was awarded millions following a freak accident years ago in Houston
that left him paralyzed.
Speaking in Ft. Worth,
Davis hoped to deliver the kind of nuance that is often not possible in a 30-second
television advertisement.
The Democratic nominee for
governor, flanked by Texans with disabilities who agree with and support her,
said Monday that Abbott "deserved justice for the terrible tragedy that he
endured." But she added that he spent the rest of his career denying the
same kind of justice to victim after victim. Davis said Abbott has "built
a career kicking the ladder down behind him."
“What makes Greg Abbott believe
it’s ok to deny them, his fellow Texans, the justice
that he rightly went to court to receive?” Davis asked. “One of the things that
Greg Abbott doesn't seem to understand is that the defining characteristic of
leadership is about seeing the value in the stories of others. About
understanding that we're all the same,” she said. “It's about building upon our
own experiences and using them to champion causes of others.”
Abbott’s campaign has
called the ad “disgusting” and he personally told the San Antonio Express-News that
“It's her choice if she wants to attack a guy in a wheelchair. I don't think
it's going to sell too well.”
By Scott Braddock
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