Bash-the-AARP effort off to a smarmy start

[DoYouEverWonder]

February 23, 2005

It's like a Washington sequel to "Reservoir Dogs."

Finally rested up from their cynical assault last year on John Kerry's patriotism, the most ruthless smear squad in American politics is back together again.

And they're revving up for another nasty job.

Their latest ugly enterprise? Sliming the AARP, which had the nerve to come out against President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security.

This is the same gang of rhetorical hatchet men behind the deceptively named Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. During last year's presidential campaign, they were telling vicious lies about Kerry's combat record in Vietnam. Now, they're turning their trash talk on the nation's largest and most effective senior citizens lobbying group, which they'll try to tar as an extreme left-wing cabal.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyhen234154690feb23,0,677280.column?coll=ny-nycpolitics-headlines

[China_cat]

1. This one's going to backfire on them big time.

They seem to forget what the largest growing population group in this country happens to be at the moment. The admin might think the Gray Panthers are dead but they haven't looked around them much.

Gray Panthers were a group that wasn't included in the 'don't trust anyone over 30' screed of the hippy 60's. Guess what age most of us who used that phrase are now?

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. trust me that phrase will come back in fashion I suspect

with a variance, don't trust anybody who is rich.

[still_one]

10. I wish it would, but it really isn't getting much coverage

until liberals and progressives start their own network, we will not win

[leftchick]

3. This is beyond the pale. I sure hope it backfires on these assholes...

<snip>
Any reason not to name names?

Ex-Marine Chris LaCivita, who wrote the incendiary Swift Boat commercials ripping Kerry's war record, is coordinating the anti-AARP media campaign.

Rick Reed, whose Virginia-based ad agency Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm handled production on the Swifties' print and broadcast ads, will be standing over the editing console again.

Creative Response Concepts of Arlington, Va., the Swifties' public relations firm, is handling PR this time, too.

And lurking in the shadows nearby, ready to rush out any late-breaking anti-AARP books, is the hard-right print shop known as Regnery Publishing. These are the ruthless knife-twisters who published the hateful anti-Kerry screed, "Unfit for Command."

Keep a jaundiced eye out for "Unfit to Get Old."

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. The one group that doesn't get mentioned

is the Free Republic Network, who are the ones who have started and organized these attacks.

[rodeodance]

15. yes

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. won't work, and here's why

too many senior citizens get good deals from AARP. They aren't going to believe that AARP is extreme when they can get car insurance really cheap, and other benefits. Seniors using AARP now realize it for what it is--and this attack is bringnig some back into the fold who left after the AARP supported the Medicare Drug benefit.

[RebelOne]

7. Yup, I am a member of AARP and there is no way

I would cancel my membership and lose my cheap car insurance and other discounts.

[LynnTheDem]

6. This will take the SB Liars down with them.

Good. Too bad Americans are so much more stupid now than they were 30-some years ago, when even the right laughed O'Neill & his bullshit lies out of town.

And only a blind ignorant fool can now doubt that bush was indeed involved with the SB Liars and was LYING as usual when he denied it.

[gademocrat7]

8. AARP members

will sink the swift boat frauds and send these rats overboard.

[rodeodance]

16. you are pretty optimistic--as the swifty boaters are MEAN--but hope that

you are right.

[liberal N proud]

9. If you are over 50 Join the AARP to support their vital role

They are the largest lobbying group for people over 50 in this country.

[union_maid]

11. Just renewed

We let our membership lapse because of their support for Bush's prescription non-benefit plan, but now we just renewed for 2 years.

[Catchawave]

12. Here's some more comments from News Hounds....

...We Watch Fox so you don't have too.....LOL...from Jan05:

http://www.newshounds.us/2005/01/06/demonizing_aarp.php

Demonizing AARP
What interesting timing that FOX News should pick yesterday to attack AARP. What a wild coincidence that this should happen just as George Bush is getting ready to unveil the details of privatizing portions of Social Security, a scheme that AARP opposes.

You know right away that there's something suspicious about AARP from the title of the article on FOXNews.com and the accompanying video available on the web, AARP Rakes in Cash.

As the title promises, a large chunk of the article is devoted to describing the millions that AARP "rakes in" from royalties, its magazine, membership dues, investments and sales of insurance policies and prescription drugs.

A few paragraphs in, FOX moves in for the attack. "AARP's newest crusade... calls for a stop to the president's push for allowing young workers to invest a portion of the taxes they pay for the retirement account into the stock market." FOX describes Bush's plan to "allow young workers to invest" in a positive light, yet leaves out a few important details of Bush's privatization scheme such as the fact that it will siphon funds away from the current social security system and raise the deficit by at least a trillion dollars.

more......

[China_cat]

13. Right, at $12.50/year

for which you get a gloss magazine to boot, they're really getting rich.

Our AAA membership is 5 times that much and we get a newspaper once in a while.

One magazine that I get, that has double the amount of ads that MM does, costs me $21/year for 4 issues. Frankly, I don't see how AARP can really afford the work they do AND publish MM.

[Catchawave]

14. The AARP discounts pay for the membership alone!

http://www.aarp.org/benefits/

[seasat]

17. But...but...weren't the swifties only formed to oppose Kerry...

due to Kerry's opposition to the Vietnam war? That's what all the Repugs said about the reason for the nasty ads by the swifties. How can they oppose AARP? Did the AARP protest the Vietnam war? (sarcasm off)

This just confirms the self serving hyprocisy of the Republican party. It's members won't even blink at this contradiction. They'll simply reply Bah Baaaaah when its pointed out. :mad:

[bunkerbuster1]

18. The Shit Floaters are a fundraising operation

Nothing more or less.

If you think of them that way it's a lot easier to deal with this hackery.

I know it's stating the obvious, but we tend to lose sight of this. I saw one of the Shit Floater grand poobahs on some CSPAN-televised conference a couple months back, and he was talking dryly about expanding their operations just like any businessman trying to expand market share.

Go after AARP? Why the hell not? These guys have no other mission at the moment; SS is a big political deal. If the Shit Floaters hadn't done this, some other RW group would've.