Braving the wind and ice, 3,600 people from Iowa and the rest of the country attended the Iowa Heartland Presidential Forum (HPF) to hear five presidential hopefuls offer solutions to everyday American concerns about healthcare, jobs, immigration, the environment, housing, and clean elections. Moderated by Cathy Hughes, Sens. Dodd, Edwards, Obama and Rep. Kucinich shared the stage one at a time (Sen. Clinton participated via phone) with 30 community leaders. Inhe Choi, NAKASEC Vice-Chair and longtime KRCC volunteer, was one of these community leaders. The Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC) in Chicago and NAKASEC’s affiliates in Los Angeles & New York mobilized 55 Asian Pacific Americans to travel 350 miles by bus to Des Moines from Chicago. The participants were a diverse mix of Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, and Vietnamese Americans, ranging from 14 to 84 years of age. Il Kwa Nori, KRCC’s cultural group and one of Illinois’ celebrated ethnic musical talents, closed out the Forum with a rousing poongmul performance. The HPF is one of the signature events of the Campaign for Community Values, a three-year campaign to infuse the vibrancy of shared community values back into politics.
