60 Plus Association Aims to Give Senior Citizens Conservative Alternative to AARP

Often, people talk about supporting senior citizens, but they don’t always give them a way to share their point of view, said Amy N. Frederick, president of the 60 Plus Association. They’re smart and savvy, she said, and their choices help shape the future for their children and grandchildren.

“It’s so important to give seniors a voice,” Frederick said after the association’s bus tour stop in Brecksville on Monday.

About 80 people gathered in the Brecksville Community Center for the 60 Plus Association’s “Let’s Do Better” bus tour. Chairman of the 60 Plus Association James L. Martin pitched the group as a conservative alternative to the AARP. The advocacy group believes in reining in government spending and is against the health care reform known as “Obamacare.”

The crowd seemed receptive to the message, save for one attendee. One member of the audience fought back when Martin began naming Democrats across the country who would lose in November, yelling that some were winning and calling the candidate who made the comment about legitimate rape—Todd Akin—a “nut ball.”

The man was shushed by the rest of the audience, who broke out in applause when Martin said Sen. Sherrod Brown would probably lose the election in November.

“You control the election,” Martin told the crowd.

Monday’s event featured comments from Martin and Frederick, as well as guests who spoke against the changes in the health care reform bill. These guests included C. L. Gray, a doctor who founded Physicians for Reform, and Shana Holmes, a resident of Canada who turned to the U.S. health care system when a tumor threatened her vision and her life. The Canadian system put her on a wait list.

“I had a place to run to,” Holmes said, asking where U.S. residents would turn if their health care system was socialized.

After the event inside wrapped up, attendees were invited to sign the bus outside the Community Center.

“We’re sending a message back to Washington,” Martin said.