Posted on 06/28/2006 2:42:21 PM PDT by sitetest
WASHINGTON -- Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich has chosen a running mate, WTOP Political Analyst Mark Plotkin has learned.
Ehrlich will choose Kristen Cox, the current Secretary of the Department of Disabilities, as his lieutenant governor. Cox, who is almost completely blind, will be named by the governor in Annapolis on Thursday.
Cox, 36, served in the Bush administration in the Department of Education in 2001. She lives in Towson with her husband and two sons.
Incumbent Lt. Governor Michael Steele is currently running for U.S. Senate.
Ehrlich and Cox will face Democrats Martin O'Malley and Anthony Brown in the November election.
Well, Maryland has 500 kids in their school for the deaf - one of the best, if not the best, in the nation.
Ping list:
Youre added.
Regarding her difficulty and whether its a facor in how I'd vote:
I take a broader look at the persons character and beliefs. I would like to think I'm not so shallow/narrow a citizen as to simply vote based on disability.
If she right for the job then more power to her.
Regarding some comments on this thread:
Its interesting how often a persons difficulty doesnt hold you back........ but rather other people try real hard too.
Dont let discrimination stop those of us who live with a difficulty from moving forward.
That's correct. I've always known that Ehrlich worked well with disabilites in the state but I was still surprised that he took this step and appointed Kristen Cox as his running mate.
Frederick is almost an hour from me and WPSD in Pittsburgh is 3.5...but because we're in PA my daughter goes to PGH!
http://www.gonzaga.org/alumni/eyestreetheadlines/docs/mom.Gonzaga%20Commencement.doc
There, that's easier, lol.
Have at it! Btw, O'Malley's claim to not having political aspirations after being on the City Council is totally bogus. He said in 1982 or 81 that he was going to be POTUS!!
O'Malley is the perfect Maryland democrat. Shallow, silly and without substance.
I am amused to note that many Freepers think this is about the Lt. Gov. pick. It's not, it's about Ehrlich finally showing what a scared RINO he has become.
Yes, I am aware that he is a politician, but that gets him zip with me. He had a one in a million chance and look what he has become, just another poll-driven, pandering alleged conservative. I am right next door to disgusted, and no, I am not voting for him unless he does some serious repair. He has forgotten those that elected him in the first place. The Smith firing, the "gay" judge hiring and this transparent nomination is just about the last straw.
I think the only reason anyone should vote for Gov. Ehrlich is because they agree with his political philosophy and feel he is qualified to do the job. If Cox has proven herself in her present position, and has shown that she is qualifed to do the job, then her blindness should not have anything to do with he becoming Lt. Govenor.
Someone asked a good question yesterday about how Cox could read bills and survey damage in a disaster area if she can't see. Those are legitimate questions for the voters, and they have every right to ask Cox how she will deal with these issues. I'm sure Cox knows quite well by now that people will be curious, and maybe even concerned about how her blindness might hinder her from doing certain parts of her job. She will need to explain to people how she will overcome these obstacles and deal with these matters. There is nothing wrong with people asking these questions, and if Cox is offended by these kinds of questions, then she probably isn't the right person for the job. I think she is probably use to questions like this, and welcomes them so that she can educate people and reassure them that she is capable of dealing with these important issues.
Yesterday, a couple of people on this thread mentioned that Ehrlich would would get the sympathy vote having Cox on the ballot with him. I seriously doubt that would be the case. In my view, she will probably cost Ehrlich votes rather than bring him additional votes. There are quite a few narrow minded people who have prejudices against people who have handicaps, of one form or another, as you may have noticed on this thread yesterday. Some of these people think that Cox is not qualified to do the job just because she is blind. That's unfortuate, but there are a lot of people who think this way.
By the way, did you know that there are some FReepers who don't think deaf people should drive? There was a thread about this a few months ago. Yeah, there is a lot of ignorant, narrow minded people in this world, and sadly, a few of them are FReepers. If you are interested reading some pea brain comments on this subject--go here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1610025/posts
That's why the deaf community exists to protect each other against blantant discrimination. There will always be some ignorant people (even if some of them are FReepers) who believe that deaf people are incapable of doing anything.
This is a post for Vision, since he (she) is uneducated about disabilites.
Blind people are able to work, with several accomodations, which may include using braille and asking other people to read information for them.
Deaf people can work in the office by working on the computer and sending email to communicate with the world.
People who are physically challenged can use wheelchair to get around and to use elevators in an office building.
Hell, you can't even tell if I am deaf or hearing here. Or if I'm on a wheelchair (like the guy who founded Free Republic, what's his name again?) That's the miracle of information age that we all live in.
And also, to make a point, since this is a conservative forum, everyone should be able to earn a living, and it's not hard to do little things that'll help people with challenges to hold down a job.
Unless you rather all disabled people to collect welfare checks.
Dear dmw and wallcrawlr,
Thanks for your comments.
That confirms what I sort of suspected - for folks who may have disabilities, or close relatives with disabilities, a candidate's status as disabled wins little, if anything.
As I indicated, my son is partially deaf. He has significant hearing loss in one ear. He's almost nine (next week), and this has had modest impact on his life. He takes speech therapy because it's messed a little with his speech. He doesn't have the ability to tell from which direction sounds come, so we're more vigilant when he does things like cross the street. Technically, his partial deafness is serious enough that he comes under the legal definition of disabled with a hearing impairment.
But, at nine, he is also quite a classical pianist, having competed at the county and state level, and does some composing of his own. He's a wiz at math, loves to read and write, has remarkably deep theological insights, and had a conversation on illegal immigration with his speech therapist this week. When my wife said, "How are his 'r's'," the therapist said, "I don't remember. I was so blown away by his knowledge and sophistication in discussing illegal immigration that I forgot to check."
I know that physically, he has a modest obstacle to overcome.
But I just don't think of him as "disabled," and I don't think his mother or brother, or grandparents or aunts or uncles or cousins or friends or other homeschoolers or acquaintances do, either.
So, to me, the fact of Ms. Cox's disability really is neither here nor there. The suggestion that she can't do the job because she uses braille rather than reads with her eyes is just laughable. The suggestion that because she depends on other folks in ways that sighted folks don't need to is hilarious.
But so are the suggestions that this somehow makes her a better or more acceptable candidate, especially to us, as a family with a "disabled" member.
I think the only folks with whom this plays are typical guilty, well-off white liberals.
But I suspect, that's to whom this nomination was aimed.
sitetest
Dear dmw,
Well, the specialists have told us that the type of hearing loss he has in his right ear wouldn't be helped by a hearing aid. The deafness is at the nerve, and hearing aids increase volume but do nothing for clarity. He can actually hear from his bad ear (a little), but he can't accurately distinguish any kind of speech, no matter how loudly it's transmitted into the ear.
However, we are looking into a promising technology called BAHA. It's very cool. With this technology, the doctors surgically implant a small metal plate right behind the bad ear. It has a small connector that permanently protrudes through the skin. Once everything heals, a small hearing aid is attached to the connector. This conducts sound from the side of the head where the bad ear is located into the skullbone - an excellent and clear conductor of sound, which is then heard by the good ear on the other side of the head.
We've heard that it restores hearing from the bad side - through the good ear - to around 90% of the clarity of normal hearing. So, the good ear winds up hearing what it normally hears from the good side, and the good ear also winds up hearing everything from the bad side, with almost the same clarity!
There is actually a benefit to the small differential in clarity between what the good ear hears naturally, and what it hears through the BAHA device. It's reported in the literature that the brain figures out in short order the difference between the two audio streams, and uses the differential in clarity to figure out directionality.
Truly a technological miracle!
sitetest
Hey jackass....what the F is your problem?
You trying to get on my good side or what?
Are you happy or sad?
Many years ago I used to be in the hearing aid business and sold and fitted hearing aids. I'm very familiar with the bone conduction hearing aid. There are bone conduction hearing aids that a person could wear without having it surgically implanted. Has your son tried that yet? If he has tried that, and if it works successfully for him, then he obviously would do well with the BAHA. I'd recommend that he try the bone conduction hearing aid first before doing the surgical implant--if he hasn't already done so. Just a thought.
Pretty disgusting comment he made to MR, isn't it? This guy has serious self-esteme issues.
Dear dmw,
Actually, part of the process is that the doctors hook up an analog of the BAHA without the surgical implant, to see how well the individual patient might do with it.
That's part of the process of determining whether the BAHA is the right thing to do.
sitetest
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.