By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — When something as important as healthcare and financial security for all Americans is at stake, there is no room for political bickering. With that in mind, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has launched Divided We Fail, a national initiative designed to engage American citizens, businesses, non-profit organizations and elected officials in finding bipartisan solutions to ensure affordable, quality health care and lifetime financial security for everyone.

On Friday, the Rhode Island Office of the AARP got the campaign rolling in Pawtucket, where Mayor James Doyle signed a symbolic Divided We Fail pledge card, making the city the first in the state to support the mission. Behind the pledge is a promise to work across party lines in support of health and financial security issues.
At a morning rally at Pawtucket City Hall, Kathleen Connell, AARP State Director, spoke of the importance of educating the public about how important these issues are to them and to their families.
Those issues, Connell said, can be boiled down to the fact  that every American should have access to affordable healthcare coverage, including prescription drugs, without burdening future generations with these costs.
In addition, Connell said every citizen should have a secure retirement by strengthening Social Security, and encouraging personal savings and effective retirements plans. They should also have a choice when it comes to long-term care, so people can maintain their independence at home or in their communities.
Connell said the AARP is pushing for action, answers and accountability from America’s political leaders, including choosing the nominees for the 2008 election. “Health and financial security must be the domestic issues that are front and center in every race--especially for the presidential candidates,” Connell noted.
“You can join with millions of other Americans to demand action, answers and accoutnability on health and lifetime financial security from candidates and elected officials,” said Connell.
Connell said that she and the other Divided We Fail volunteers would be holding a series of “community blitzes” at various locations throughout the state. During the two-day “Champs For Change” blitz in Pawtucket, volunteers planned to visit the Leon Mathieu Senior Center, followed by a town luncheon at the Volcano restaurant on Mendon Avenue. During the afternoon, AARP volunteer teams were scheduled ro visit other senior living sites.
Today (Saturday), a public rally will be held at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center at 175 Main St. “Champ,” the national mascot of AARP, will pose for photos at the Visitors Center.
Connell and the other Divided We Fail volunteers are encouraging people to she their thoughts, ides, experiences and cocnerns regarding health and lifetime financial secutiry on its Web site, www.dividedwefail.org.
Connell said that AARP chose to start the campaign in Pawtucket because the city “exemplifies what we call a liveable community.”
Mayor James Doyle thanked the AARP officials for choosing Pawtucket “to launch this national effort to enhance the quality of life for senior citizens through calling for non-partisan support for a variety of issues that have for too long gone unresolved.”
“I am confident, that with their strong advocacy, the American Association of Retired Persons, through this Divided We Fail campaign, will succeed in generating these vital changes,” said Doyle.
Doyle joked that one of the likely reasons that the AARP chose Pawtucket to begin its campaign is because he is “probably the oldest mayor in the state.”