Getting Out the Message on Medicare and Prescription Drugs: Michigan CSE Shadows Vice Presidential Candidate Dick Cheney

“This is great!” – Lynne Cheney’s response upon receipt of CSE’s Medicare T-shirt.

Troy, MI – Immediately following the opening of Michigan CSE (MI CSE) earlier this month, MI CSE Director Stephen Flaherty and Grassroots Manager William Turenne hit the road, educating citizens and delivering CSE’s Medicare and prescription drug coverage message. For the first stop, MI CSE attended the “Blueprint for American Families” event co-hosted by the Troy Chamber of Commerce and the Polish American Cultural Center. We were able to place CSE’s Medicare message front and center before vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney, his wife Lynne Cheney, and the more than 400 other citizens in attendance.

Grassroots Presence – MI CSE staff and activists arrived at the event early and in force. CSE distributed its Medicare and prescription drug coverage fair cards to attendees as they entered the event, ensuring that our message announcing that “Al Gore’s Empty Promises Aren’t the Prescription America’s Senior Need” was heard loud and clear. After Mr. Cheney delivered his speech, MI CSE Director Stephen Flaherty approached Mrs. Cheney to deliver CSE’s message and “Empty Promises” T-shirt. After a brief salutary exchange, Flaherty presented Mrs. Cheney with CSE’s Medicare T-shirt, and gave her an extra one for Mr. Cheney. Mrs. Cheney read the T-shirt’s message aloud and enthusiastically stated, “This is great!”

Following the event, MI CSE staff and activists continued the grassroots education by distributing CSE’s Medicare and Prescription Drugs Summary Comparison Chart, which compares and contrasts the Medicare plans proposed by presidential candidates Bush and Gore. MI CSE will continue to place these issues in front of key policymakers and candidates as they campaign in the state.