From: AIDSVote96@aol.com Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 12:51:44 -0500 Subject: Forbes zapped: Talks about AIDS in Washington Note: sorry about the long cc list, aol didn't save the ( ) between names. Will fix that tonite. Technology can be so complicated for immediate release January 28, 1995 CONTACT Wayne Turner at 202.986.0435 from ACT UP Presidential Project AIDS activists zap Forbes at CBS Candidate calls for public and private efforts focusing on a "cure for AIDS and other deadly diseases" Today marks the first time Forbes has stated a position on AIDS AIDS activists from the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power confronted millionaire publisher Malcolm Stevenson Forbes today at a press conference outside the CBS studios in Washington to demand to know where the candidate stands on AIDS issues. "Today marked the first time Forbes has mentioned AIDS in front of cameras.. Any candidate for president should know the magnitude of the AIDS pandemic and must address the issue at every stop because AIDS is everywhere. It is the leading cause of death of all Americans between the ages of 25 and 44," states Wayne Turner of the ACT UP Presidential Project (ACT UP/PP). Steve Michael adds, "It has taken us over a week to get Forbes to say AIDS. We now have him on record supporting an aggressive public and private AIDS research effort. That is a start. We will continue to focus our efforts on Forbes. He is the only viable Republican alternative to Bob Dole. We still need to know where the candidate stands on needle exchange, condom distributions, the Ryan White CARE Act, as well as a Manhattan/Apollo style project to find, fund, implement and deliver a cure to AIDS world-wide. Michael adds, "ACT UP is calling on our friends at the Log Cabin Republican Club to join us in our efforts to make AIDS a campaign issue and to use whatever access they might have with the Forbes campaign to get the candidates support for progressive, compassionate and comprehensive national AIDS efforts." He continues, " They have a unique opportunity to learn from history and not make the mistakes that Gay Democrats did when they blindly supported Bill Clinton four years ago." Allen Ritter of ACT UP believes that Forbes has a unique opportunity to win the AIDS vote in this election. "He should take some of those millions he inherited from his Gay father and produce and air some hard hitting television spots that attack the failed Clinton AIDS record. Imagine those HIV negative Gay Democrats inside the White House trying to respond to commercials that remind voters of Clinton's pathetic AIDS policy. ACT UP's Lin Hagood wants Forbes to "issue statements in support of our HIV positive service members that Bill Clinton and Bob Dornan are booting out of the military. As a Gay Democrat I feel betrayed by my party and my president. In 1996 I will become a single-issue voter. I will support the candidate that is most willing to make AIDS a national priority. No more promises. I want positive AIDS action, not broken AIDS promises. I will no longer vote for the lesser of two or three evils." Hagood is typical of many Clinton supporters the AIDS community. More and more people are thinking about sitting this election out. While in New Hampshire last week, members of the ACT UP Presidential Project visited the Forbes campaign headquarters in Manchester and discovered that the campaign had no AIDS position papers. Ritter asked campaign workers, "How can a presidential candidate come to the statehouse in Concord and not even mention AIDS? Dan Sundquist, a Manchester-based AIDS prevention activist that focuses on needle exchange and harm reduction programs confronted the Forbes campaign as well. "Does Forbes support the distribution of a 7 1/2 c needle to prevent a $100,000 case of AIDS?" he asked. Michael concludes, " This was a win. It is clear to us that the only way to make any progress with any of the candidates for president is to force them to deal with AIDS in public. HIV positive AIDS activists must take a leadership role in our community. Backroom deals got us an HIV immigration ban as well as the firing of our HIV positive comrades in the military and Surgeon General Elders. Promises of jobs and invitations to buffets at the Navel Observatory made behind closed doors do nothing to save our lives. Those wishing to join the ACT UP Presidential Project may do so by writing at 25 U Street NW, Washington,DC 20001-1010 calling 202.986.0435 or emailing us at AIDSVote96@aol.com.