Geezers With Pitchforks Vs. The AARP

IBD Editorials ^ | August 7, 2009 | INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY Staff

[Kaslin]

IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure

Discourse: At a town hall last week in Dallas, an elderly "mob" with "manufactured" outrage questioned AARP's support for nationalized health care, asking: "Do you work for us or do we work for you?"

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There were no swastika-wearing grannies at Tuesday's meeting, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might claim. Nor were they "taking their cues from talk show hosts, Internet rumor-mongers . . . and insurance rackets," as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said.

But they were mad as hell at the perception that AARP was selling them out in the name of government-run medical insurance. That perception was not helped when the AARP town hall on the subject was shut down by the seniors outfit once the members dared to ask questions. The AARP representatives did not want to hear from the members at all. Just send in your dues, granny, and be quiet.

AARP denies being in league with the administration in pushing its medical insurance agenda. But as Mark Tapscott, editorial page editor for the Washington Examiner reports, that claim may be bogus despite a statement by AARP CEO Barry Rand in the July 31 issue that "AARP has not endorsed any of the bills currently being debated in Congress."

On Monday, Connie Hair of Human Events reported on a memo from Pelosi in which the speaker described the Democrats' plan to "partner" with AARP as part of a planned August recess PR blitz for government expansion of medical insurance. The fiasco in Dallas was an example of that partnership.

[CottShop]

[[Speaking of ‘manufactured’, Michael Ramirez has an excellent cartoon]]

We aught to mass email this cartoon to Obama with a little note “Way to go O, keep insulting us, keep treating the American people like idiots, and please, keep ramming through destructive policies and trampling on hte rights of your fellow Americans, Dear beloved leader!”

[CottShop]

[[What I found interesting in the video was that the AARP people conducting the meeting were in their 40’s and 50’s.....not even close to retirement age. One would think that it would be run by seniors, for seniors.]]

Nope- it’s run by healthy young bucks lookingto profit off the elderly- (or hte govenrment- whichever pays more)

[Kaslin]

That’s a good idea, but then you know, he will put you on the enemy list

[CottShop]

I’m probably already on it- Ran a conservative Christian website for awhile- I’m sure it was flagged as soon as the big o took office

[Piquaboy]

I use to send back their mailings to me all the time on their dime. With a note telling them that I did not join socialist organizations.

[AuntB]

"AARP does not operate a PAC, but its employees gave candidates, committees and parties $53,200, with Democrats receiving 90 percent of that."

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/02/special-interests-to-listen-ca.html

[bmwcyle]

This is nothing new with AARP and it is about as surprising as Obama is a National Socialist.