WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)—October 28, 2010. As part of its efforts to make sure candidates tell voters where they stand on issues important to voters 50+, AARP is launching a video and fictional campaign website spoofing political attack ads that have deluged the 2010 election season.
The almost-too-real “Jack Phillips for Congress” campaign includes many of the trappings of a modern congressional race, including a campaign website (www.jackphillipsforamerica.com), Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/pages/Jack-Phillips-For-America/150352101675159) and YouTube page (http://www.youtube.com/Jack4Congress). The campaign also includes unrelenting attacks on a political opponent, Claire Lee.
“Despite an atmosphere of growing partisanship, older Americans share many of the same concerns on key issues,” said AARP Senior Vice President Drew Nannis. “You better believe that they’ll show up to vote, so politicians should discuss where they stand and stop the attacks that distract from what’s important.”
The “Jack Phillips for Congress” campaign is being emailed out to millions of AARP volunteers and is part of AARP’s voter education efforts, which include state and federal voters’ guides featuring candidates’ positions on key issues for older Americans (available at www.aarp.org/yourvote).
According to a recent AARP survey, almost all (95%) AARP members who are likely voters in this election say it’s important that a candidate pledge to protect Social Security as a guaranteed, life-long benefit, with similar support among Republicans (94%), Democrats (98%) and ticket-splitters (95%). The overwhelming majority of AARP members in Medicare (81%) and those younger members not yet eligible for Medicare (86%) are concerned about the impact of a looming physician pay cut on their access to a doctor. Republicans are more likely than Democrats (67% – 53%) to vote for a candidate who promises to fix the system and prevent future doctor pay cuts.
Another recent AARP analysis found that, if current election trends hold, two of every three voters in the 2010 elections will be age 45 and older – doubling the number of voters younger than 45.
For more information, visit www.aarp.org/yourvote.
Source: aarp.org
