By Christina Hines | Mom, Former Prosecutor, Candidate for Congress (MI-10)
How we treat our most vulnerable neighbors is the truest measure of our values — as a family, as a community and as a country.
And right now, disabled Americans are under threat.
We don’t talk about it enough. But we absolutely must — because what a society does to its most vulnerable citizens tells you everything about who holds power and how they intend to keep it.
This Isn’t Hypothetical — It’s Happening Now
Under the Trump administration, we’ve already seen:
Attacks on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — with proposed rollbacks that would make it harder for disabled people to hold businesses accountable for inaccessibility.
Cuts to Medicaid and home care funding, threatening the independence of millions who rely on those services not just to survive, but to live in their communities. Medicaid covers 10% of older adults, 35% of people with disabilities, and 63% of nursing home residents.
The return of cruel, eugenics-era rhetoric, with leaders mocking people with disabilities in public and spreading dehumanizing language from the highest offices in the land.
Neglect in crisis, where pandemic response efforts ignored disabled communities entirely, leading to preventable suffering and death — especially in institutions and long-term care.
Veterans — nearly half of whom are over the age of 65 and more likely to be disabled — are facing even more barriers. The Trump administration has proposed cutting over 80,000 VA jobs, including thousands held by veterans themselves. It’s also canceled hundreds of contracts supporting cancer research, toxic exposure screening, disability exams, and suicide prevention — directly undermining care promised under the bipartisan PACT Act. These aren’t just numbers. These are people who served our country, now being pushed aside.
Authoritarianism doesn’t start with mass violence — it starts with devaluing certain lives. And history has shown us, time and again: when democracy weakens, disabled people are among the first to lose their rights.
Disability Justice Is a Vision — and a Mandate
Disability justice is not a side issue. It’s a blueprint for the world we could build — one where care is abundant, dignity is guaranteed, and no one is left behind.
That means:
Fully funding public schools with inclusive services for disabled students
Protecting and expanding Medicaid, SSI, and SSDI
Guaranteeing accessible voting, transportation, and housing
Ensuring caregivers and support workers are paid fairly
Enforcing the ADA — with real accountability, not just lip service
Centering the voices of disabled people in every conversation
The Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the Department of Education and shift oversight of special education to an unprepared HHS would harm over 9 million students with disabilities. Stripping IDEA funding, firing civil rights staff, and threatening public schools for refusing to sign anti-DEIA loyalty pledges puts our children’s futures at the mercy of politics — not the law.
I’ve met with disabled advocates across southeast Michigan — people who are brilliant, resilient, and also exhausted right now. These are folks navigating broken transit systems, inaccessible polling places or court houses, and health care barriers that never should exist. I’ve listened closely. I’ve learned a lot.
And I want you to know: I see you. I hear you. I’ll stand alongside you.
As a Christian, I believe I must not only care for folks with disabilities, but to view them as indispensable to the body of Christ. As a person in my community, I try to show that in practice by fighting for a world where everyone is valued, and no one is forgotten.
Disabled Americans make up the largest minority group in this country — and the only group any one of us can become a member of at any time. We simply cannot leave these folks out of our conversations or policies.
We Won’t Go Back — Not Quietly, Not Ever
This campaign isn’t just about flipping a seat - no matter how many times you hear me say it is the ONLY OPEN FLIP SEAT IN THE COUNTRY.
This campaign is also about flipping the script — about demanding a country where everyone gets to have opportunities to prosper - not just the bare minimums to get by.
To every disabled advocate, every caregiver, every person who’s had to fight for access, recognition, and basic respect: I’m with you.
This is your fight. And it’s mine too.
Join Us. Bring Your Voice. Let’s Build a Future That Includes Us All.
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Because disability rights are human rights.
As a working mom, Christina understands the challenges families face every day. Christina wants to fight to protect our children and serve our community - and she’s sick of the extremists in Washington creating dysfunction and sowing chaos, like threatening to tear away at education, Social Security, and Medicare.
Christina will be a leader in Washington who will protect and serve our community’s interests, approaching each issue with strength, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to fight for America and Freedom for future generations. That’s why she’s running for Congress.
PAID FOR BY CHRISTINA HINES FOR CONGRESS