AARP rallies for its cause

Elizabeth Huff • The Enquirer • July 11, 2008

Representing about one-fourth of voters, the AARP rallied local residents Thursday to light a fire under their representatives to work together for health care reform.

"We will not press on the candidates our own pet solutions," Eric Schneidewind, AARP Michigan state president, said. "We'll put the heat on them to work together."

During a Divided We Fail town hall meeting Thursday at Burnham Brook Community Center, a couple dozen people — mostly politicians and event sponsors — shared their stories about a broken health-care system.

Carl Gibson, Calhoun County senior services manager, spoke of his wife, who recently died of cancer, and how hospice drained their savings.

Mindy Fernandes, a Divided We Fail state coordinator, spoke of her late father, a small-business owner who came home at night and cried because he couldn't afford adequate heath insurance for his employees.

Already Battle Creek and Calhoun County governments have passed resolutions in support of the Divided We Fail campaign.

City commissioners Ryan Hersha and Chris Simmons said they stood together behind the movement.

"Even though we are probably on opposite ends of the political spectrum, we all agree that this system, the way the health care system in the Unites States, the way it is set up now, does not work and it is not sustainable and we need to do something," Simmons said. "We might disagree on how we get there, but let's all have a seat at the table."

Democratic political candidates Mark Schauer, who is running for Michigan's 7th Congressional District, and Kate Segal, who is running for the state House 62nd district, voiced their support for the campaign.

Segal, who has worked to bring affordable health care to Calhoun County's poor and uninsured, spoke of a mother she knew who worked more than 40 hours while fighting an illness and taking care of young children.

"She was trying to go to work so that she could keep food on the table, but she couldn't afford health care," she said. "No one in this country should have to be upset and not have someone to turn to for help, and that's why I support the Divided We Fail platform."

Schauer, who was one of the first people to sign the pledge, asked to be kept accountable to his promise.

"I think everyone in this country deserves to have health insurance, period," he said. "I think this is too important for letting us say the words and signing the pledge without delivering on that pledge."

Dale Bennett, a member of the Joint-religious Organizing Network for Action and Hope, told him not to worry.

"We have a dysfunctional relationship with our politicians," she said. "This is going to end that because this is a movement that is not campaign driven, and the day after the election, there is going to be someone from the AARP there saying, 'Hi, I've got 45,000 people from Michigan who are expecting you to deliver on your promise."

Elizabeth Huff can be reached at 966-0684 or ehuff@battlecr.gannett.com.

Originally published July 11, 2008
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