Sure, as a member of AARP you receive some great benefits: discounts at hotels, motels, movie theaters; automobile service, reduced insurance etc.

     As one conservative Republican boasted:

"I joined for the discounts. The first time I stayed in a motel, the membership paid for itself."

     But, you also get something else in the bargain - an army of lobbyists whose agenda is almost identical to that of the AFL-CIO, Ralph Nader and the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

     Barry Rand, AARP’s left-wing CEO, contributed $8,900 to Obama in 2008; the very man pushing the most radical agenda ever proposed by an American president.

     Essentially, Rand is also thumbing his nose at folks like you.

     Did you know that AARP also supports ObamaCare which calls for drastic cuts in Medicare benefits?

     Did you know that AARP supports the death tax? Did you know that AARP supports a variety of other left-wing causes?

     But most importantly, did you know you don't have to give your hard-earned money to AARP... did you know your hard-earned money doesn't have to go to an organization that supports the radical left-wing agenda?

     Now you have a choice. You can rip up your AARP card today and join Conservative50Plus, an organization that can offer you many of the same benefits as AARP and you can know that your hard-earned money will go to an organization that supports your agenda.

     First, let’s look at what Barry Rand and AARP are telling America about seniors.

     Rand – on your behalf and on behalf of 40,000,000 other seniors – actually endorsed ObamaCare... legislation which could bankrupt America and destroy the world’s most effective and humane health-care system.

     Rand said: “AARP is proud to endorse the Affordable Healthcare for America Act. We urge members of the House to pass this critical bill this year...”

     You can't help but wonder if Rand had even read the bill.

     And Obama, with his tongue firmly in his cheek, and his fingers crossed behind his back said of AARP:

“They’re endorsing this bill because they know it will strengthen Medicare, not jeopardize it. They know it will protect the benefits our seniors receive, not cut them. So I want everybody to remember that the next time you hear the same tired arguments to the contrary from the insurance companies and their lobbyists. And remember this endorsement the next time you see a bunch of misleading ads on television.”

     The Hill, a non-partisan Washington-based publication, tells a different story:

“The AARP is supporting a bill that would cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare, though Democrats insist those spending reductions will not negatively affect benefits. Big cuts to funding for private Medicare Advantage plans, however, could lead to the extra benefits being scaled back for some beneficiaries.”

     House Minority Leader John Boehner pointed out the obvious:

“AARP is one of the most liberal organizations in Washington, D.C. Obviously, most seniors aren’t aware of that.”

     Rep Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), a long-time critic of AARP’s conflicts of interest, put it even more bluntly:

“This endorsement is an insult to seniors who depend on this organization to look out for their best interests.... The bill AARP endorses today not only makes drastic cuts to Medicare, but it also could place burdensome taxes on wheelchairs, pacemakers and hearing aids. How, in good conscience, could this be something AARP supports?”

     You don't have to take this insult lying down.

     Why would AARP support the Affordable Healthcare for America Act... so-called health care legislation that promotes health care rationing pro-euthanasia policies?

     David O'Steen, the executive director of The National Right to Life Committee says "we are concerned ... it doesn't take a lot to push a vulnerable person — perhaps unwittingly — to give up their right to life-sustaining treatment."

     Jennifer Popik, an attorney with National Right to Life says "the pro-life fear is that efforts to push patients and prospective patients to prepare advance directives may in practice become a means of persuading or pressuring them to agree to less treatment as a means of saving money."

     Referencing an independent study, Popik claims, "patients who reported having end-of-life discussions received less aggressive medical care."

     According to some media reports, AARP has lost 60,000 members recently over its support of government-run healthcare.

     Drew Nannis with AARP doesn't seem that concerned over the exodus.

"We take stands on issues that are contentious, it's part of what we do... we'll always have a small percentage that disagree with us so strongly they feel they need to cancel membership."

     But that's not all that's wrong with the so-called Affordable Healthcare for America Act. The legislation also included measures that would have used your hard-earned tax dollars to promote abortion.

     Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Penn) introduced an amendment to the Affordable Healthcare for America Act to put a stop to abortion promoting provisions in the legislation but it is not known if that amendment will survive the legislative process.

     Rest assured, Conservative50Plus is pro-life.

     Shouldn't you be a part of an organization that shares your values?

     AARP also favors the death tax... a tax on assets you were planning to leave to your children and grandchildren.

     Upon your death – the federal government shows up and tells your children they owe money despite the fact that you paid taxes on these assets already while you were still alive.

     It's a ghoulish practice, but AARP thinks it’s just great.

     And the death tax is not the only tax AARP supports. AARP also favors increasing gasoline taxes.

     Do you love the IRS? AARP does. A few years ago, AARP called for an increase in IRS audits and said the agency's examination and enforcement staffs should be increased.

     After studying AARP’s agenda, The National Taxpayers Union Foundation concluded that if AARP got all the tax increases it has advocated, the average household's taxes would go up over $13,000 over a ten year period.

     And... oh, yes, AARP favors amnesty for illegal aliens too. Again, an overwhelming number of the American people – in some polls more than two-thirds - oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.

     According to William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration:

"The Obama administration and the US Congress need to cease and desist advocacy for any form of Amnesty legislation, since any path to citizenship for illegals is opposed by over 78% of Americans."

     In 2004, the Arizona arm of AARP announced its opposition to Proposition 200, a measure to deny state welfare benefits to illegal aliens. The measure also required state agencies to report illegal aliens to the federal government.

By the way, in an earlier time, AARP fought the Reagan tax cuts and Clarence Thomas’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court and it honored George Soros as one of its top 50 innovators.

     Is there any conservative position AARP holds? I can’t find one.

John Killin

Executive Director

Conservative50Plus

Conservative50Plus

5 Centerpointe Drive, Suite 400

Lake Oswego, OR 97035

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