Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

From Families USA parking a slogan covered ambulance on Capitol Hill to activists passing out pacifiers in the halls of the Senate office buildings, the health care reform debate has been responsible for a great deal of political theater inside the Beltway. However, a recent project from a leading labor organization has brought a colorful portrayal of the reform message beyond the D.C. setting.

The “Highway to Health Care Tour”, sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), features a large RV being sent to over a dozen cities in an attempt to rally support for health care reform.

“We chose a kind of fun rock and roll motif,” said AFSCME Legislative Specialist Blaine Rummel, describing the RV’s florid paint job. “I think this stands in sharp contrast to what opponents of reform have been doing in the past few weeks with their negativity and mob mentality.”

Rummel, who went on the tour, said that the highlight of the three week trip was encountering supportive crowds, which Rummel claims numbered in the hundreds in some cities.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney noted in a speech Monday during the tour’s final stop in D.C. that the project was intended to be a rebuttal of the anti-tax tea parties being put on by conservatives across the country.

“[The tour] spearheaded our huge mobilization over the past month that called on Congress to act now on health reform and countered the tea baggers fronting for the insurance companies,” Sweeney said.