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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