Boy, is there anyone left Republicans aren’t declaring war on?
Pence and Reichert suggested that support was the result of corruption inside the AARP and not based on the interests of its membership.
“What you’ve got here is a backroom deal,” Pence said of reform measures expected to be introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this afternoon. “Democrats are protecting the salaries of the heads of groups like AARP while cutting Medicare”…
The GOP is using more than just rhetoric to go after the group. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) claims to have launched an investigation into AARP in his home state. Reichert says his “ongoing” investigation focuses on whether AARP should be classified as an insurance company because of its revenue from royalties the group gets from licensing its brand for insurance products.
Now, call me crazy, but this doesn’t seem like a winning strategy for the GOP. After all, the over 65 group is one of the few voting blocs they have left. And, from my experience, this group is pretty damn loyal to AARP – They trust this organization. Given that, I completely understand why the Republican Party is in a tizzy over AARP’s health care endorsement. What I don’t understand is why they’d launch an attack on a group of people they desperately need? It’s not as if they have many other voting blocs to pull from. The GOP must keep the senior vote if they want to win elections.
And, make no mistake, declaring war on AARP is no different than declaring war on seniors. Even Republican seniors. Don’t believe me? Then explain all those anti-socialist senior protesters carrying “Don’t touch my medicare” signs. They may be Republicans, but they’re seniors first.
I’ll admit that several times over the years AARP has annoyed me. Their single focus on senior issues, at times at the expense of other groups, struck me as selfish. But it’s this focus that has created member loyalty. There is little doubt that AARP exists to serve seniors, and that seniors count on them to do just that.
So why would Republicans even entertain such a fight? My guess… it’s all they got. They can’t counter Health Care Reform with facts, so they go nuclear. BTW, they go nuclear a lot. I’m beginning to see the results of their “you’re either with us, or against us” model.
In the big picture AARP is just another target to be purged, like Crist or Graham, only this time they’ve probably bitten off more than they can chew, because the smart money is on AARP.