Subject: The campaign for Ohio Begins, AIDS VOTE 96
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 15:12:33 -0400

AIDS activists target Ohio's Electoral Votes
Presidential Signature gathering effort to begin Saturday in Columbus

The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power
ACT UP Washington DC             825 5th Street NE Suite A
Washington, DC 20002
phone 202.547.6780
fax 202.547.6782   e mail [email-masked]
for immediate release                                              August 1,
1996

 Ohio, with its 21 electoral college votes, will be a key battleground state
in the upcoming presidential election.  As Clinton maintains his considerable
lead in national polls, shoring up support in California and New York, while
Bob Dole struggles to maintain his lead in the South in repeated visits to
Florida and Texas, both campaigns are expected to step up activity in Ohio as
a critical swing state.

 We can put AIDS issues in the national spotlight as candidates and the
national media turn their attention to Ohio.  Following the Democratic
National Convention in 1992 at a Clinton/Gore rally in Columbus, a handful of
individuals working independently showed up with signs reading "Red Ribbons
Are Not Enough."  ACT UP activists trailed the Clinton 'bus tour' demanding
he discuss AIDS issues not just in New York or San Francisco, but in
America's heartland.  
A plan to remind Clinton of his 1992 AIDS promises
 There is little doubt that President Clinton will win re-election, despite
deep dissatisfaction with the Administration's performance on AIDS issues.
 From the lack of an AIDS Czar and a national plan to fight the epidemic, to
his failure to lift the federal ban on needle exchange funding, and launch a
Manhattan-style project for a cure, we need to remind Clinton of his 1992
AIDS promises.

 Elections provide a unique opportunity for visibility and discussion of
AIDS, of what can and should be done by elected officials to help end this
epidemic.  

 To this end, HIV+ activist Steve Michael from Washington DC and Ann Northrop
from ACT UP New York are working to place the AIDS Cure Party on the ballot
in several states as candidates for President and Vice President.  
ACT UP'ers will run un-censorable TV spots focusing on Clinton's failed HIV
prevention efforts
 As candidates, AIDS activists can generate more in depth discussion of AIDS
issues beyond a 15 second flash of a 'What About AIDS" sign on the evening
news.  Presidential campaigns are entitled to sizable discounts on television
advertising rates.  During the New Hampshire primary, we were able to air
three AIDS awareness commercials on the ABC affiliate WMUR in Manchester for
as little as $20 per sixty second spot.  One was a safe sex commercial
featuring two Gay men kissing.  The second spot focused on the dangers of
injection drug use and demonstrated how to clean a syringe with bleach to
avoid HIV infection.  The third featured a Vietnam veteran with AIDS
(Commander Hank Carde -USN, retired) calling upon Clinton to begin his
promised all-out war on AIDS.  
Two candidates
+
5,000 signatures
+
21 Ohio Activists
=
AIDS as a Presidential Issue in an Electoral Battleground
 Only 5000 signatures are required to place ACT UP members Michael and
Northrop on the Ohio ballot for the November election.  We're looking for
minimum of 20 people willing to spend a total of 5 hours each between now and
August 20th to circulate petitions.  We need to designate 21 people as
'electors' to represent AIDS and Ohio in the Electoral College.  
 The AIDS Cure Party is about to gain official ballot status in Utah,
Colorado, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Delaware.  We will be working in Ohio in
the coming weeks and are eager to make contacts.  If you have ideas,
suggestions, please don't hesitate to call, and help put AIDS on the front
burner during the 1996 election season.

Members of ACT UP and the AIDS Cure Party will be in Ohio from August 3rd
thru August 7th.

To arrange an interview or to volunteer call 202.547.6780