Obamacare could kill AARP
Originally Posted At The Washington Examiner
By Mark Tapscott
July 30, 2009
Marketing operations don't get any slicker than the one behind AARP. Their invitation to join arrived in my mail box even before I turned 50. I joined for one year, but never renewed because I knew the truth about this famous group.
That truth is this: Millions join AARP and in return receive a host of useful services and resources. But their money and influence are hijacked to support causes that are absolutely inimical to their best interests.
The hijacking is the work of AARP's Washington staff, which is an integral part of the tireless liberal lobbying machine that runs 24/7 in the nation's capital pushing to protect and expand current government entitlements and to create costly new ones.
But AARP's leadership has outsmarted itself by going all out to aid President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their drive to nationalize America's health care system.
That was predictable, given AARP history. In 2005, AARP led the charge against President Bush's still-born proposal to reform Social Security by allowing younger workers to put a small portion of their contributions into private investment accounts. Two years before that, AARP backed Bush's Prescription Drug Benefit, the largest expansion of the Medicare program since its creation in 1965.
In short, stick around D.C. for any length of time during the past three decades and you likely figured out that AARP's national office was and is today a key player on the side of Big Government, higher taxes and more bureaucracy.
The group has no PAC, which creates a patina of non-partisan respectability, but a look at the political contributions of the people working in AARP's Washington office exposes the real AARP
A. Barry Rand, AARP's CEO, maxed out for Obama in 2008, giving $4,600 to the president's campaign committee and $4,300 to the Obama Victory Fund, a joint production of the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. And AARP general counsel Joan Wise gave $1,000 to Obama.
But FEC records reveal that big bucks for Obama from Rand and Wise are just the opening line of the AARP story. The following data are for 2006 and 2008 and only for individuals who listed AARP as their employer.
Policy director Jill Fensen gave $300 to Obama, while AARP research director Linda Fisher gave $750 to Obama, $2,300 to Hillary Clinton, and $250 to the Virginia Democratic Party. In 2006, Fisher gave a combined $2,300 to assorted Democratic campaign outlets.
Then there is AARP policy director Enid Kassner who gave Obama $750, AARP health advisor Lee Keiser who gave the DNC $500, AARP strategy consultant Joseph Liu who gave Obama $2,300, and AARP project manager Beth Lazur who gave Obama $1,500.
The list goes on and on: AARP speechwriter Erica Nash-Thomas gave Obama $2,350, AARP consultant Bryan Rawlings gave Obama $1,000, and AARP economist John Turner sent $900 to Hillary Clinton, $1,918 to the DNC, and $426 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. I could keep going here, but you get the picture.
There were a few AARPers here and there who gave to GOP candidates. Matthew Mitchell, who listed himself as an AARP "executive," gave Fred Thompson $1,000, AARP attorney Nancy Bell gave McCain-Palin $500, and AARP accountant Diane Knotts gave $500 to the Republican National Committee. But working for AARP as a Republican must be a lonely experience.
So why could Obamacare be the death of AARP? Among so much else, Obama and AARP promise seniors they can keep their present doctors, but an already worsening national doctor shortage will be made far worse by Obamacare. "Cost-saving" fee reimbursements and increased red tape will drive them out of the profession.
And Obama and AARP promise seniors high-quality care, but the Obamacare reality will be long lines and waiting lists for critical treatment and appointments with specialists here, just like in Canada, Great Britain and every other nation with government-run health care.
Finally, Obamacare will give seniors counseling to help them "consider their options" when their health deteriorates beyond a certain point. That's another way of saying Obamacare bureaucrats pull the plug, regardless of the family's wishes, so get ready.
In short, Obamacare means health care rationing for old folks, the sick and the terminally ill. There will be hell to pay for AARP with its members when this ugly reality becomes crystal clear, as it most certainly will.
|
|
Urgent Petition
|
Sign the petition to stop Social Security Cuts and send a fax to every Member of Congress demanding they cut other spending, NOT SOCIAL SECURITY.
Share This Petition
|
Recent News
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Source: ABC News
The Food and Drug Administration has warned doctors to watch for fractures of the upper thigh bone in patients taking several popular drugs designed to prevent hip fractures and fight osteoprothesis. The FDA warns that Fosamax and Boniva in particular, if taken unnecessarily or for too long, may actually be causing the bone fractures they are prescribed to prevent. Watch ABC News video.
Read Full Story
Thursday, May 17, 2012
 Exit Not An Option In Chuck Schumer's America. New York Senator Chuck Schumer has introduced the Fugitive Taxpayer Act of 2012 to re-impose taxes on expatriates after they flee the United States and take up residence in a foreign country. Proposal also would impose a mandatory 30 percent tax on the capital gains of anybody who renounces their U.S. citizenship and would bar such individuals from ever reentering the United States again.
Read Full Story
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Whether President Obama gets his second term or Romney enters the Oval Office, there’s a third candidate no one’s paying much attention to, and that candidate is guaranteed to be the one clear winner of election 2012: the U.S. military and our ever-surging national security state.
Read Full Story
Friday, May 11, 2012
According to the New York Federal Reserve, two million US seniors age 60 and over have student loan debt, on which they owe a collective $36.5 billion; and 11.2 percent of this debt is in default. 4.2 percent of all student loan debt is held by people over the age of 60, and that share grows with each passing year.
Read Full Story
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Across the U.S. economy, anxiety is rising about the potential for widespread disruptions after the November election, when a lame-duck Congress will have barely two months to resolve a grinding standoff over taxes and spending.
Read Full Story
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Two-thirds of Republicans and nine in 10 Democrats polled support making immediate cuts to the military across the board -- a position at odds with the leaderships of both political parties.
Read Full Story
Monday, May 7, 2012
Video revealing the circumstances of how a mentally ill homeless man in Fullerton, Calif. died last July was finally published Monday, revealing a stunningly brutal police assault that left Kelly Thomas bleeding, broken and near death.
Read Full Story
Monday, May 7, 2012
The number of people with jobs declined for the second month in a row, falling by 169,000 in April after easing by 31,000 in March. This means that there were 200,000 fewer Americans with jobs in April than there were in February. Additionally, the percentage of working-age adults who either have jobs or are looking for work, fell to 63.6%, which is the lowest level since December 1981.
Read Full Story
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
In November 2010, a police lieutenant from Parma, Ohio, asked Vanguard Defense Industries if the Texas-based drone manufacturer could mount a “grenade launcher and/or 12-gauge shotgun” on its ShadowHawk drone for U.S. law enforcement agencies. The answer was yes.
Read Full Story
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A gang attack on two people stopped at a red light in Norfolk, VA has not, until today, appeared in the local newspaper. Local police refuse to follow up on the attack. The responding officer coded the incident as a "simple assault," despite the victims' and witness's assertions that at least 30 people had participated in the attack. A reporter making routine checks of police reports would see "simple assault" and, if the names were unfamiliar, would be unlikely to write about it. In this case, editors hesitated to assign a story about their own employees. Would it seem like the paper treated its employees differently from other crime victims? Something is rotten in Mr. Jefferson's State.
Read Full Story
Read All Recent News
Get in the Know Now
Get SSI Email Alerts
Social Networks
Action Center
|
