Heartland Forum Will Focus on ‘Real People, Real Issues’

by Seth Michaels, Nov 29, 2007

Two dozen community-based organizations in Iowa have come together to host the Heartland Presidential Forum tomorrow afternoon in Des Moines. Five Democratic candidates will attend the forum, where more than 5,000 Iowans will gather to ask them about the social and economic challenges facing the country.

Sponsored by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and the Center for Community Change, the forum will feature Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

At the forum, which begins at 1:30 p.m. CDT, Iowans will have the chance to ask questions in person and share their own stories from the stage.

The mission is to get candidates out of the substance-free, detached-from-the-real-world mindset that has characterized many of the debates this election cycle. The Center for Community Change’s Movement Vision Lab blog asks, “Are the candidates in touch with America?” The blog adds: 

Americans in every corner of the map believe we’re all in it together and share community values of compassion and shared responsibility, knowing that we all do better when we all do better. Yet politicians and the media continue to represent fringe Right Wing ideas of isolation, hyper-individualism and us-versus-them competition as the only values in America. Politicians and media allow the phrase “values voter” to be defined by that fringe minority–rather than the community values the vast majority of us share.

But we, the people, know better. We know that the politics of our hearts, our homes and our communities are more important than corporate lobbyists. We know that the community values that we all share are the real values of our nation. But are the candidates listening?

Even if you’re not in Iowa, you can take part in the Heartland Presidential Forum by watching it online or taking part in the online discussion.

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