Divided We Fail has Strong Presence at Iowa State Fair
Mark the Date!
AARP and IPTV will be holding two Presidential candidate forums focused on the issues of health care and financial security on Sept. 20 in Davenport and Oct. 25 in Sioux City.
The Iowa State Fair, which annually attracts more than one million visitors, was seeing red this year. Divided We Fail "Champions for Change" were abundant and the message -- the need for the candidates, the public and organizations to come together to talk about the issues of health care and financial security -- was shared with thousands of attendees.
Volunteers from around the state worked two different Divided We Fail booths, where they collected nearly 8,000 voter pledges from fairgoers. The "Champions for Change" were also regularly spotted asking important health care and financial security questions to candidates as they roamed around the Fair and took their turn at the Des Moines Register's Soap Box.
Clockwise, from top left, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Duncan Hunter, and John Cox addressed the Maytag Variety Theater audience on health care and financial security.
The largest Divided We Fail event at the fair came the day before the Iowa Straw Poll, when over 250 AARP members and fairgoers jammed the Maytag Variety Theater at the Iowa State Fair to hear five Republican presidential candidates speak on health care and financial security. Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Mitt Romney, John Cox and Tommy Thompson were all given 20 minutes to address the crowd and answer questions on these vital issues.
The red-shirted "Champions for Change" -- Divided We Fail Iowa team members representing the Communication Workers of America, the Long-Term Care Guild of Des Moines, the Iowa Caregivers Association, SEIU Iowa, Iowa Health Care Association and Des Moines University -- were out in full force at the Iowa State Fair being seen and asking the important questions with regard to health care and long-term financial security.
A couple of common themes were shared by the candidates with regard to health care. Many emphasized the importance of individual's role in leading a healthy lifestyle, in order to prevent chronic disease. Most of the candidates were also in favor of using market-based approaches to help cover those who are uninsured.
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