My 57 year old brother is disabled, physically and, to a lesser extent, intellectually. He has never voted, but at my urging, he registered last year for the first time. We haven’t talked much about the election. Mostly, we talk about work, his health, and the Redskins. As much as I wanted to tell him, "Just vote for Barack Obama", I didn’t want to influence him unduly. I wanted him to make up his own mind. After Barack secured the nomination, I told him that there would be debates. I said, "Watch at least one of them, and then make up your own mind based on what you hear."
But I knew it was unlikely he would watch, and probably would not vote.
Read on...
I have wrestled with whether or not to broach the subject again. With Virginia hanging in the balance, finally, I decided to go for it. I thought about the best approach, and settled on McCain’s proposal to tax employer-provided health insurance. This is critical for someone like my brother. With his disability and the numerous associated health issues, losing his group health coverage would be devastating. What’s worse, it’s unlikely he would be able to buy any decent policy on the open market for $2,500.
I gathered all the pertinent voting information (poll location and hours) and prepared an email for him. Today was the day I was going to say something. He called around noon, as is his custom. I asked... hey, are you going to vote? He said... "I was thinking that if I did, I would vote for Obama. I heard that McCain wants to tax my health insurance benefits. Is that true?"
I couldn’t believe it! He already knew! I was so proud of him at that moment. I won’t count the fact that he thought Sarah Palin was Barack’s running mate. He didn’t think much of her, but did admit she was attractive (how did I know he would say that!). Here is where the SNL effect is most evident. I think it’s the main reason he even knew who she was. Anyway, when I told him she was with McCain, that sealed the deal! Right before we hung up, he said "I wasn’t sure before, but now I DEFINITELY want to vote! And I DEFINITELY want to vote for Barack Obama." What a guy!
I only wish I could be there to act as his "assistant". I'm afraid he will be intimidated by the process. Hopefully, there will be a nice poll worker there to help him out.