I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
America's elderly are being fleeced by the very people they think are helping them. Rat bastard AARP sellouts!
OK, the question is, is it helpful to bash the AARP or not?
Wait a second? A membership cooperative (which is what AARP is in this regards) sees advantages from a system where they can directly serve their members with health care-- rather than depend on a possibly GOP-run Medicare bureaucracy?
Declaring war on AARP is about the most idiotic thing the Left can do over the Medicare bill.
Apparently, the GOP has already won, with divide and conquer policies.
Agree or disagree with AARP, but you can disagree with their strategies without accusing them of venality.
What's sad is that the AARP is such a dominant force, they truly have the monopoly on protecting seniors' rights. Now that they've sold out, where do seniors turn?
How to get the word out on this? Terry McAuliffe's lazy ass must be sitting on a database stuffed with retirees. It's probably a no-win for the Dems, but they oughta fight this by turning as many of AARP's members as they can on it, then mounting a drive to dump Novelli. That slippery bastard! Like taking candy from a baby...
The healthcare industry owns a majority share of the GOP. If we can take this shit back, we oughta hit 'em from every angle -- ban pharma sales reps, CME, DTC, allow reimportation, reintroduce single-payer, etc. I wanna see these vampires scream.
Nathan,
You're giving the AARP leadership a purity of motive which just doesn't necessarily exist. Big for profit corps aren't the only organizations whose leadership doesn't always have the interests of their members (called shareholders).
...in mind
I don't call the aarp's stance on the medicare prescription drug bill "protecting seniors' rights " I call it a sellout to the insurance industry and I also feel they have been intimidated by the Republicans. Now it's time for aarp members to intimidate the aarp by cancelling their memberships. Remember the aarp is not a charitable institution..it's a profit making company. I feel I've been taken for a ride and I don't like it. The thought that my membership fees are going towards financing that seven million dollar ad campaign to promote this infamous bill makes my blood boil. Out with the rascals.
I think venality is an entirely appropriate criticism.
However, I do think declaring war on the AARP is incredibly stupid. I think the best thing to do is sign the bill and work to eliminate the bad parts, denouncing them all the way.
God bless capitalism!
The Grey Panthers are the ones who lobby for senior citizens. AARP is nothing more than a business co-op built on the foundation of "seniors" who get benefits from joining. Of course it will be interested in protecting its business interests first.
Didn't AARP back another version of Medicare "reform" in 1988 that had to be repealed once seniors realized the effects?
Anyway, the dem candidates for prez are not afraid of AARP. They criticized the bill and AARP at an AARP-sponsored debate today:
He [Edwards], and others on the stage, said they wished their hosts -- the AARP -- had not endorsed the bill. When an AARP television ad -- part of a $7 million campaign designed to help push the measure through Congress -- was played in the hall, there were scattered boos and hisses from the 800-strong audience.
http://tinyurl.com/vko7
It's time AARP was reminded who it is supposed to be working for. I think a member revolt is in order and a thorough housecleaning.
http://community.aarp.org/rp-leg...gislative/
start
The AARP took a real pounding yesterday as a result of their endorsement of the GOP prescription drug plan. Hundreds of their members (including me) bailed out of the organization. Check out their message board (link above.)
yeah, i was just gonna ask about that - lining up behind the prez' plan. seems rather contradictory, considering what i've heard of the plan.
can anyone post a link to a recent story on the healthcare plan?
peter jung - I'm really glad that there have been repercussions for AARP's betrayal. Most seniors blindly trust AARP. Most buy their supplemental insurance, too. Maybe if their insurance sales suffer, they will rethink their perfidy.
AARP deserves the harshest criticism possible. I have called and written them and made sure my Congresspeople and the democratic leadership knows that AARP doesn't represent seniors interests.
A brief review of the AARP Message Board will show you how well-received this horrible decision has been.
We are not just talking about a flawed bill, we are talking about a bill bent on DESTROYING Medicare as we know it and placing seniors at the mercy of the insurance companies. That just won't work and many will die as a result of not receiving adequate care.
Too harsh? Not at all...people are dying every day because of our lousy health insurance system.
This group is planning a rally tomorrow with Kennedy and Pelosi:
http://www.retiredamericans.org/
Vote Red Ken in '04
London Mayor Ken Livingstone, who this week called Bush "the greatest threat to life on this planet that we've most probably ever seen," complained that £2 of a typical Londoner's local taxes would be spent on policing the visit.
"I think most Londoners would be happy to give £4 for him not to come," said Livingstone, who has planned an alternative anti-war reception at City Hall on Wednesday.
Horace-- I am all for promoting the Alliance of Retired Americans, the AFL-CIO affiliated seniors group.
And while I don't think defeating the bill is necessarily the best strategy for the Dems, it's quite reasonable to criticize the AARP for making a bad strategic decision.
But I think it's ridiculous to immediately jump to accusing them of venality. There are quite reasonable tactical reasons to take half-a-loaf rather than nothing, and they see the bill as better than nothing. Some see it as worse, but from what I've seen of the bill, I don't think that's a slam-dunk truth. It's still $400 billion more for prescription drug coverage, and even if large chunks get siphoned off to corporate types, that still leaves a lot available for seniors themselves who desperately need some help.
The AARP has a long history of tough, impressive advocacy for seniors. That's one reason everyone is so upset with them now, because it matters that they defected on this bill. But they haven't been corporate shills in all past fights, so it's hard to go claim that's all that's going on right now.
Nobody seems to give a flip about conflicts of interest, e.g., the Bush White House and Haliburton, Wallstreet brokerage houses' investment research and investment banking, the Bush White House and Justice Dept investigation of leaks (whatever happened with that? anyone?). I'm sure we can name more high profile ones as of late. It seems like there is no public outrage, save some ranting on a couple blogs. People do not seem to care. Cable News sure doesn't. Woops there another conflict I stumbled upon. The brokerage houses settled and moved on, business as usual. "Nothing to see here, move allong."
what is AARP? Why would I want to join? To buy cheap insurance? Anything else? Ohh maybe it's this - a place where past consumers can feel they still are consumers?!?
Like many other scammers - it seems that AARP simply uses FUD to get seniors to buy more and more insurance.
Insurance is not the answer! I know I live in the Insurance state - CT!
Nathan,
You are right in saying that AARP has done a whole lot of good for low income seniors on many fronts.
But c'mon....We can wait a year and run on a mandate to get something that truly brings costs under control -- and then do it with a new president.
AARP's mistake was getting way too involved with the minute details in conference (so they could feel like "players"). They are being used and by all accounts it's backfiring on them.
Now that all the major candidates have come out against it, I say it's time to stand up and fight.
Praktik,
AARP is in the insurance business. Their auto policies are more expensive with less benefits than Allstate or State Farm. Their medicaire supplement policies are expensive and so is their pharmacy policy. The current Republican medicaire and pharmacy bill will cost enough to push seniors into buying private medical insurance. And AARP stands to reap the benefits. Look at their magazine. It is geared to rich mostly white seniors with lucrative retirement plans. They have done very little for the class of seniors who lost their jobs and had very little to retire on. They are useless in age discrimination issues. Their advice is to keep skills current hinting that companies get rid of over fifties only because they aren't performing. They offer no insights into the a.d. issue apart from that one. As a lobby they are on the side of profits for AARP and the hell with the rest of us. I'd love to see them audited. Who can seniors rely on? No one if this administration stays in power. And definitely not AARP in any case.
Horace- We can also pass this bill, criticize its inadequacy, and run on improving it.
In fact, a bill passed by Bush locks the GOP into the details of this bill and they can be held accountable for it, since they wrote it. And yes, seniors won't be happy with its inadequate coverage and bad other details.
But passage will just highlight those inadequacies-- defeat will just mean that the details will fade and all the GOP will say is "Dems defeated prescription drugs for seniors." I say take the half a loaf and then spit it in the GOP eyes next election.
Seniors can get the double message-- Dems settled for a bad bill because it was rammed down their throats, but now we need to repeal Bush's tax cuts and pass "the real bill" with better benefits.
And if we don't alienate AARP, they'll be right there with us.
Private Insurance provides
government-like economic organization
only without democracy.
Nathan,
We can only hope that your scenario is workable. Sadly, I think it is not. More likely, when (if) this bill is revisited the country will be in even more dire financial straits--with the result that benefits will be reduced further while premiums get jacked up to "save" Medicare.
As the posted clips make clear, AARP is dealing from clear conflict of interest on this issue. It is NOT in the interest of AARP as a corporation to back the Democratic alternative or anything else that attacks the roots of the problem. Why, then, should anyone think that "having AARP with us" is ever going to happen? Do you think they will suddenly divest themselves of their own insurance business?
More likely, they will continue to peddle misleading and downright false advertising to the membership. Fleecing old people has rarely resulted in anything other than those doing the fleecing getting rich.
Naathan,
You're dreaming. The AARP will be with where their profits are. You seem to be afraid of them. If we alienate them and get their members to desert in droves then maybe we'll have them where we need them. Kissing their asses only makes them richer. That goes for all political organisations that don't represent their constituency.
Jeanne- I'm "afraid" of AARP because most seniors trust them, and they trust them for good reasons. My Mom, a pretty liberal person and well-informed on all these issues, took AARP seriously because they did good information to members and provided some of the cheapest and best services to their members.
Why can't people treat AARP as a general ally who you may have a strategic disagreement with in this case. They haven't said the bill is a wonderful perfect solution; they've said it's better than nothing.
This is basically a tactical disagreement-- you all would support a bill written by AARP in a heartbeat, but that's not the choice.
And you are playing into the rightwing's hands by playing divide and conquer. I've seen more blasting of the AARP in the last day than of the GOP-- it's Frist and company who wrote the damn bill, not AARP. But everyone's shooting the AARP. Bloody stupid in a year when we need to build a broad coalition to improve politics, dump Bush and move forward on new bills.
Nathan Newman - Ok, you got me with your last comment, because that is my line, too. We do need allies. Perhaps if the powers that be at AARP realize they have upset their membership, they will be more eager to join the Democrats.
I haven't seen as much bashing of AARP as I have disappointment with it. It is trusted - my mother relied on it, too. Their supplemental insurance was a great thing for her and for me on her behalf. Because they are trusted, they need to understand that they can't dance with the devil and still maintain their reputation.
People have cancelled their AARP membership today in droves.
You can organize people to sign this important petition. I will fax all the names to congress as each 100 of the names get signed.
Petition: TELL CONGRESS WE WANT A PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT UNDER MEDICARE PART B
(put this link in a browser at work and at a public library and leave the page showing. Make it a browser favorite too)
Location: http://www.thePetitionSite.com/t...ction/
383366962
Also tell people you meet about this petition.
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