Texas Democratic State Rep. Dawnna Dukes on Saturday accused Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott, a paraplegic, of thinking he can just “roll around” and deny voters in the Lone Star State the same right to sue for injury that he enjoyed when he lost his ability to walk.
“And then we have this guy who kind of just rolls around thinking that he can get tort reform for himself but take it away from everybody else in the state of Texas,” Dukes said this weekend at an event to support Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis.
Pflugerville really was pfired up today! Thank you @KirkPWatson, @CeliaIsrael, @DawnnaDukes, @TCDP & #TeamWendy! pic.twitter.com/w6xffV6f3G
— Wendy Davis (@wendydavis) October 26, 2014
A falling limb struck Abbott during a storm when he was 26 years old, paralyzing him from the waist down. He later sued and won millions in a settlement for lost wages — an outcome that Democrats now say is hypocritical, considering his subsequent support for tort reform and for caps on certain kinds of payouts in lawsuits.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate, for his part, has responded by noting that he only sought payment for lost wages — which are not capped — and that he did not seek punitive damages in his lawsuit.
Dukes’ “rolling around” remark comes at a time when the Davis campaign continues to weather criticism for airing an ad that attacked Abbott over the same issue, prominently featuring an empty wheelchair in a dark, ominous setting.
The ad, which has been roundly criticized by both the left and the right, features the image of an empty wheelchair, ominous music and a narrator saying: “A tree fell on Greg Abbott. He sued and got millions. Since then, he’s spent his career working against other victims.”
Abbott responded to the ad during an interview on Fox News: “If she wants to attack a guy in a wheelchair, that’s her prerogative. As for me, I’m running a different type of campaign … I will focus on the future of Texas while my opponent continues to attack me.”
The Texas Republican Party chair, Steve Munisteri, added in a statement: “I expect in campaigns that candidates will run negative and misleading ads; however, I never expected a candidate to use another candidate’s physical disability as a prop in an ad or to their advantage.”
“The Wendy Davis ad is easily the most offensive and despicable ad I have seen in my 42 years in politics. … Using a wheelchair as a prop for political advantage is an affront to all disabled people,” the statement said.
