Posted on 02/11/2005 9:00:45 AM PST by ceoinva
The Battle has Begun! Art Linkletter, USA Next's National Chairman, recently appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto to discuss the liberal bias at AARP and the need for personal retirement accounts. They counter attacked "America's Grandfather" the next night.
Click Here For The Original Interview
(Excerpt) Read more at usanext.org ...
Too bad -- we had hopes for the AARP, but they have sunk to the bottom of the toilet.
My goodness, what is going on here today?
Something's up.
The left hides behind a "mask of compassion", they would attack their own grandmothers rather than allow the light of truth shine on them.
From an O'Reilly presentation: Factor Follow Up Segment
AARP: Honest, or agenda-driven?
Guest: William Beach, Heritage Foundation
The American Association of Retired Persons released a poll showing 70% of Americans oppose partial privatization of Social Security. In contrast, a poll taken by Fox News showed a majority in favor of partial privatization. William Beach of the Heritage Foundation said the discrepancy is a result of flawed methodology in the AARP poll. "This was a classic push poll," Beach contended. "They attached certain conditions to their questions. But that's not the worst of it ? they completely omitted people who are between 20 and 30." Beach contended the AARP seems to be driven by a desire to maintain the status quo. "Social Security is incontestably imbalanced, and AARP has the responsibility to take the leadership. And what's the first thing they do? They come out with a bogus poll." The AARP was invited to send a representative to The Factor, but declined.
"They counter attacked "America's Grandfather" the next night." Kids say the darnest things. LOL
AARP certainly does not speak for me.
My wife, all of 45, got her "AARP Complimentary Membership Card" (which we have to pay to activate) and a hearty congratulations on turning 50. I explained to Mrs. 50sDad that AARP gets more political clout the more warm bodies they can claim, so they are none-too picky whom they allow in. (And congratulated her for looking so hot at retirement age! To which I received a well-deserved rap on the head with a rolled up newspaper...)
Shucks! I was going to enroll my mother in AARP's supplement insurance program. (My father-in-law has it and it's always great). Now I don't know what to do! HELP!
I recently got a lovely sticker for my car from the ACLU which proclaimed "I will not surrender my Freedom! ACLU". A permanent marker and sissors yieled "I will not surrender my freedom to the ACLU!" which I now proudly display on my car.
THEY don't speak for ME either!
Linkletter looks incredibly energetic for a 90-something year old.
Lean living and red meat!
Do what works for you. If you think a boycott is worth the cost to you, then do it. If not, then don't. As I approach 50, I see needing to make those decisions. I personally have no problem being a member of an organization who promotes a particular agenda if I can be vocal about my opposition to that agenda. But to each his own.
Thank you, Art, for creating this controversy. I didn't know about his alternative to AARP.
Shop around. You will generally find their deals aren't to great.
"I personally have no problem being a member of an organization who promotes a particular agenda if I can be vocal about my opposition to that agenda. But to each his own."
You really have no problem with funding a lobbying group that pushes a socialistic agenda? That lobbying group has the ability to have frequent conversations with your elected Representatives and your cash gives them that voice.
Is the chance to save a few bucks worth sacrificing our country to socialism? Besides, shop around and you'll be able to generally meet or beat their deals.
Thanks Liberty. I will be a hard decision since I've always heard AARP is a liberal group, but it doesn't hurt to shop around......especially where my mother is concerned. Hub and I are on an HMO that, so far, has worked well for us and that we can continue when we retire in a few years.
I also send my AARP junk mail back in the postage free envelope.It's good for the economy and helps keep my mail friends working.
I assure you that you are doing business with people with whom you don't share political points of view. I am a member of AAA, I use Windows operating system, and I might even support my local animal shelter (lots of vegans and greenies there ya know). I buy foreign oil (some from Muslims, I am pretty sure), eat vegetables that may be picked by migrant farmworkers (legal or not). I even work with AFL/CIO union members. I give to the United Way and even (gasp) the Red Cross. I have friends who teach who join the NEA for professional liability insurance purposes. That doesn't mean I agree with everything they say or do. That means they provide some services to me or others that I view as beneficial. If not, then I wouldn't do business with them, but I would have no reason to do so.
Is AARP a lobbying group or a service provider to a certain demographic group? The answer is yes. It is up to the individual to decide which weighs more on his needs. Few, if any groups are pure, and the degree of purity is in the eye of the beholder.
Before the poster decides to forego insurance for his/her mother, I think suggesting checking other options is a reasonable approach, but I can't vouch for the political purity of any company. We all do what we can and what we feel is right. This litmus test for companies to do business with is only effective if there is an alternative. Just hounding people for their choice is not helpful. Use the service, and write your congressman about your disagreement with the policy. That will be at least as effective I think. But buying insurance from AARP is different than joining Greenpeace or Planned Parenthood.
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