I have written numerous times about AARP’s love affair with Obamacare, including recently disclosed documents showing coordination of strategy. Proponents of Obamacare often cited AARP’s support as the equivalent of the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
Few AARP members probably realize how big a role AARP played in Obamacare.
AARP, however, is not happy that Obama brought up AARP at the debate last night, as reported at The Washington Examiner (via Drudge)
President Obama invoked AARP to defend his health care law last night, prompting the influential group to release a statement telling him not to do that again.
“While we respect the rights of each campaign to make its case to voters, AARP has never consented to the use of its name by any candidate or political campaign,” the group posted in a statement. “AARP is a nonpartisan organization and we do not endorse political candidates nor coordinate with any candidate or political party.”
Obama can perhaps be forgiven for thinking he could mention AARP given how they coordinated with him to pass Obamacare, which is a golden goose for the organization.
“Thanks to its cuts to Medicare Advantage, Obamacare is expected to expand the number of seniors buying “medigap” supplemental insurance plans,” The Washington Examiner explained in an editorial. “AARP controls 34 percent of the market for such plans. According to a 2011 House Ways and Means Committee report, AARP stands to make between $55 million and $166 million from Obamacare in 2014 alone.”
Now you don’t want credit for Obamacare?
Too late. You broke the health care system, now you own Obamacare.
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Just the first rat to look for the way off of the SS Obama.
It’ll be poetic justice to watch Immelt and GE bail off the sinking scow.
You should also make the point that AARP is NOT,/b> a not-for-profit or tax exempt organization. It is a closely privately held FOR PROFIT corporation that makes most of its money through selling (rather expensive) insurance products and its marketing tie-ins.
Technically, they only license their name to the different products. All marketing costs, advertising, etc., is paid by the underlying insurance company. AARP may pay some mailing costs when they peddle this through the mail. Anything you see on TV is paid by the insurance company. On that note, I sent my latest mailing back to them in their prepaid envelope with Romney and NRA materials enclosed.
The sleazy little bastards tout Obamacare knowing full well that they will benefit by the provisions in it.
Something they neglected to tell their members.
Now that they’ve been spotlighted, suddenly, they’re all butthurt and offended that their shenanigans has been inadvertently broadcast to the American People for all to see and hear. Showing them to not be looking out for seniors but looking out only for themselves.
Chickens. Roost. Here they come AARP.
Jakee, we should have a clip of that part of the speech to send and share with all seniors age 50 years and over!
Can we get a clip of that put in this posting of yours Professor Jacobson?
Except that, the for at least a couple weeks now, the Obama campaign has been running a Romney attack in VA that specifically cites the “respected AARP” and they aren’t fussing about that one at all
http://rightwingliberal.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/what-obama-left-out-of-his-aarp-reliant-ad-aarp-made-billions-off-obamacare/
I think this latest statement is evidence that AARP is growing concerned that their supposed lack of ‘coordination’ is starting to show.
Loss of tax exempt status being their true nemesis.
AARP doesn’t have tax exempt status to lose.
The biggest, hot steamy pile of the day: “AARP is a nonpartisan organization and we do not endorse political candidates nor coordinate with any candidate or political party.”
FYI: The black CEO of AARP, Barry (aka “barack”) Rand has been a frequent guest in the OBOZO White House. He has donated thousands to the OBOZO campaign. He ignored the best interests of seniors to back OBOZOCARE / OBOZOTAX for AARP’s (and his own) PROFIT.
AARP = an organization to be shunned and ignored by all responsible Americans until it – like America – gets responsible leadership.
Wall Street Journal, 21SEP12, Kimberley A. Strassel:
“Thanks to just-released emails from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, we now know that AARP worked through 2009-2010 as an extension of a Democratic White House, toiling daily to pass a health bill that slashes $716 Billion from Medicare, strips seniors of choice, and sets the stage for rationing…the ‘nonpartisan membership organization’ chose to serve the president’s agenda.”
Ironic. An organization that routinely takes positions that are also championed by Dems now wants no association.
If you’re over 50, consider joining AMAC (Association of Mature American Citizens), “the Conservative alternative to AARP.” As the percentage of retired people in AMAC grows vis a vis AARP, it will be better able, as it says, “to neutralize the effects of liberal power brokers – like the AARP.” Recently joined myself.
I don’t know why Mitt, RNC, et al. keep saying “Obamacare” …. they should start calling it “ObamaTax”.
AARP needs to do some serious PR to save their reputation if even possible at this point. AARP has betrayed their membership, all for profit by their inexcusable actions on promoting obamacare in order to increase the profits of their Health Insurance company. These Rats better hope they are close enough to shore because they have some swimming to do….
Nothing, no not a single thing, can save their soiled and dishonored reputation now!
“Overheard”:
AARP: Hey, Barack, don’t you call us out for helping you get Obamacare. We want no part of what we did.
Obama: I’ll shout out to whoever I want. Who do you think you are? Me?!?
AARP: “We don’t really like sh*t sandwiches. That was all a misunderstanding.”
Obamacare with the Death Panels………….. Just like in Cananda and Great Britian……..
AARP seems actually to be taking a legalistic view of the use of their brand. The name “AARP” is trademarked (I believe. Please correct if I’m wrong) and therefore lawyers (and their pet execudroids) will object to it being used without permission regardless of the policies under discussion.
Also, they are zealous in maintaining the fiction of being non-partisan. It’s one of their selling points. Again, this is not contingent on the policy being discussed or who is doing the discussing.
None of this saves them from the charge that they are crapweasels, who have earned the scorn heaped on them in this thread.
Lie down with dogs and you get fleas.
AARP likes to pretend that it’s this gentle nonpartisan pro-senior organization that just offers information and sends out this nice magazine. In fact it’s the most powerful lobby in America. I’d like to know how the it somehow knows when people turn 49 — and their addresses — to start sending out its solicitations. That’s quite a while ago for me, and so I’ve been fending off their junk mail and spam for years.
I send all their junk mail back to them in their postage-paid envelopes (after removing my name, etc.) Let them pay for it.
AARP mailings help me stay warm in the winter. I have a fireplace and I appreciate the bulk rates they spend on me.
Heck, they’ve been sending me stuff for YEARS, starting long before I turned 40.
Makes you wonder…
Blame your local DMV and any other place you ever shared your birthday info with.
Yes that’s right your DMV (or actually the State) in many States sells your name and information to those who will pay for it.
Also the phone company and other utilities.
They also glean that data from other publicly available lists and pay other places for any info on you.
Just like any other high pressure sales organization.
Remember; when you get that envelope with your AARP Card, stuff everything back in the prepaid envelope and send it back to them.
It cost’s them money and you’ll get a good feeling out of it knowing you’ve screwed THEM for bothering you.
They “respect rights”? Oh, I guess this doesn’t pertain to having one’s info removed from their mailing lists.
Evidently, environmental problems don’t concern them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t continue to send their trash, even after having been contacted about it numerous times.
It’s not politically correct to make the comparison these days, but I’ll do it anyway. It looks like the AARP has become ol’ Brer Rabbit. Of course, in this case, ol’ Brer Fox sure ain’t gonna toss ’em in the briar patch. No, he has a bus for that… a big ol’ eat-’em-up bus!
Those dumbbells at AARP supported Obamacare and then he threw ’em under the bus when he raided Medicare.
I wonder if their insurance company has figured out some way to profit from Obamacare. It’s doing a land-office business with Medicare.
CatoRenasci | October 4, 2012 at 5:30 pm
“AARP doesn’t have tax exempt status to lose.”
Is there some basis for that statement?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/house-gop-members-calls-on-irs-to-investigate-aarp-tax-exempt-status/
Non-partison? Tell that to anyone who suggests the need for any kind of entitlement reform. They were scaring my grandmother about Reagan and Social Security reform back in the 80’s!
I am 5 years away from AARP eligibility… (and really? 50? senior? don’t they know 50 is the new 35?) and there is NO WAY i will join AARP. They in no way represent me or my interests. Plus, they’ve been sending me stuff since I was 28 years old… which I have always found offensive.
My list of nevers (or never agains).
1. AARP
2. GM
3. Chrysler
4. Public schools
Any more suggestions?
5. Democratic Party
6. Hollywood (Downloading movies is now patriotic.)
7. MTV
8. HBO
List of Nevers / Never Agains?
Just warming up here, but, how about the following:
Anyone named Fonda
Farrakhan
Progressive Auto Insurance (“kiss my grits, Flo”)
Dixie Chicks
Billy Chrystal
Bobcat Goldthwait
Barbara Streisand
Madonna
Jason Biggs
Elaine Barkin
Whoopi Goldberg
Ted Danson
MSNBC
Michael Moore
Anyone who has ever been friends with Michael Moore
Jimmah Carter
Rep. Jim McDermott
Chuck Schumer
Nancy Pelosi
Harry Reid
John Edwards
Comcast
NBC
CBS
Dan Rather
Katie Couric
Rep. Jim Moran
GM
Chrysler
Solyndra
Tesla
The Ford Foundation
Anyone named Redgrave
Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Citgo
Nissan
Ward Churchill
NAMBLA
Bill Burton
Priorities USA
Walter Mondale
Burt Bacharat
ASO Conductor Runickles
Cynthia Tucker
Cynthia McKinney
The African Studies Department at Cornell, which hired McKinney
Rose Kennedy’s womb
Ross Perot
Bill Clinton
Lanny Davis
Gene Sperling
Hillary Clinton
Huma Abedin
Anthony “Weiner”
Barney Frank
Steven Gobie
Chris Dodd
Gloria Alred
Gloria Alred
Gloria Alred and her daughter
Sandra FlUCK
Jenine Garafaolo
Jane Lynch
Perez Hilton
Cher
ACORN
Tides Foundation
George Soros
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Nancy Pelosi’s Husband
John Kerry
John Kerry’s husband, Teresa Heinz Kerry
The Heinz Foundation
Mayor Bloomberg
John Kenneth Galbraith
Aaron Spelling
Betty Friedan
Timothy Leary
Noam Chomsky
Laurence Tribe
The late Johnny Cochran
Al Sharpton
Jessie Jackson, Jr.
Barbara Mikulsky
David Geffen
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Robert Deniro
Sally Struthers
John Reid
Professor Robert Jensen, Journalism, University of Texas
Bill Maher
Ed Schultz
Rachel Maddow
Al Franken, Al Franken, Al Franken
Rosie O’Donnell (nothing funny about her)
Robert Redford
Carroll O’Connor
Sinead O’Connor
Al Gore
Jim DeMint
Andrea Mitchell
Katie Couric
Anderson Cooper
Derrick Jacoby
Charles Kuralt
Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers
Bill Campbell
Bernadine Dorn
Bill Ayers
Jeremiah Wright
Muslim Fundamentalist
George Clooney
Tina Fey, Tina Fey, Tina Fey
Lorne Green
Anyone on Saturday Night Live after 1987
Michael Stipe
Julia Roberts
Tom Cruise
Jerry Sandusky
AARP
Danny Glover
Alec Baldwin
Martin Sheen
Susan Sarandon and that guy she used to hang out with
Ted Turner
Jon Corzine
Trumka
Andy Stern
Pattie Murray
Norman Mailor
Eric Holder
Rosalyn Carter
Anita Beaty
Anita Hill
And, lets not forget: Elizabeth Warren
You forgot Sean Penn, Gloria Alred and Tina Fey.
“I can SEE Tina Fey’s Hoover-Round from my House!!!!!”
Though I’m well above retirement age, I am NOT a member of AARP as they are nothing more than a shill for insurance companies and liberal democrats all of which I consider most unsavory.
I don’t need their stinkin’ discounts… I’ll just pay my own way!
[…] From HERE. […]
I’m over 50, but I refuse to become a member of AARP. No way will my money be used for their agenda. This really irks my 89yo mother, who brought me my AARP membership app with a big smile and was completely confused when I tore it up and threw it in the trash.
AARP lobbied for this POS legislation, it ran commercials touting it’s benefits, it donated monies to politicians who were influential in the debate for ObamaCare. Like the Professor says – they bought it, they own it. They can’t throw their involvement with passing ObamaCare down the memory hole.
But – it _is_ nice to see all of the ‘rats’ (AARP, liberals) deserting a ‘sinking ship’ (Obama). Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.
[…] PROF. JACOBSON: Sorry, AARP: You Own ObamaCare. […]
FYI, the AARP Medicare Advantage zero-premium plan appears to be about the same as their 2012 edition. Their Medicare Advantage insurance is actually administered by United Healthcare here in Indiana which makes me feel better about adopting their plan for 2013. I had an Anthem Blue Cross MA plan this year but Anthem eliminated their zero premium option.
The amazing thing about the Medicare Advantage offerings is that they are have no more upside cost risk than the Medigap offerings, but if you stay healthy, you can save a bunch of premium money. That said, MA is only chosen by about one in every four of the Medicare insured. The problem, of course, is the complexity of the insurance program befuddles those with impaired mental faculties – a subject that no one ever seems to want to discuss.
There are three people in our household who utilize Medicare Advantage plans. I want to make it clear if there are any Obama supporters reading this that Barack Obama is NOT “protecting” the seniors and their Medicare. Obamacare (with the help of AARP) will decrease MA plans which leaves seniors only singificantly (and I do mean significantly) more expensive plans to meet healthcare needs. Result? Loss of thousands of dollars — income which would be spent locally — from our household alone, and into the pockets of who? AARP? Obama funders? Pissing on seniors is more like it, Barack and AARP.
No thank you.
The day AARP includes people like Rush Limbaugh or Thomas Sowell in their list of people with impact, or on the cover of their magazine,I might think they could become “non-partisan.”
I’ve been returning mail from the Anti-American Rapacious Pigs for years now.
AARP = Anti-American Reprobrate Progressives.
Reprobate* (Hate typos :)_
While this comment thread is uniformly anti Obama – and I am too – I couldn’t help but notice that, dang it, I can’t believe the AARP or any trademark owner should try to prevent the POTUS or any one else engaging in political speech from mentioning them. I’m not a lawyer, but I even think Governor Romney is allowed to mention the AARP while campaigning for president as are you and me and everyone else who so desires. I live overseas and let my membership lapse sometime in the 90s, but I noticed even then their non-partisan claims were dubious. I did appreciate the discounts at Motel 6. I’ll give ’em that.
[…] Few AARP members probably realize how big a role AARP played in Obamacare. […]
AARP will forever be represented in my mind by the video of that fat broad who yanked her microphone away from people at a townhall meeting who were trying to tell her they didn’t want Obamacare to be passed. I never see AARP in writing that I don’t think of that.
Actually, as planned by the Democrats, Obamacare now owns the AARP.
Didn’t Fasebook get in trouble for just that?