Swift-Boating AARP

Much has been made of President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. The big financial institutions of Wall Steet have been looking to get thier hands on a chunk of the trust fund for a generation, and so far have been thwarted by the vast swath of America that understands that draining the system of funds is not going to fix any glitches.

But as even as George Bush travels the country attempting to sell his privatization scheme, right wing groups are waging an all out attack on the largest institutional opponent of privatization, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) .

Last year, as the right wing machinery looked ahead to the battle, the decison was made to try to "dynamite" AARP. To do this, they have hired some of the same consultants behind "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," who waged a smear campaign against the Vietnam war record of Sen. John Kerry during the presidential campaign. According to a front page story in The New York Times:

"Taking its cues from the success of last year's Swift boat veterans' campaign in the presidential race, a conservative lobbying organization has hired some of the same consultants to orchestrate attacks on one of President Bush's toughest opponents in the battle to overhaul Social Security."

"The lobbying group, USA Next, which has poured millions of dollars into Republican policy battles, now says it plans to spend as much as $10 million on commercials and other tactics assailing AARP, the powerhouse lobby opposing the private investment accounts at the center of Mr. Bush's plan."

"'They are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts,' said Charlie Jarvis, president of USA Next and former deputy under secretary of the interior in the Reagan and first Bush administrations. 'We will be the dynamite that removes them.'"


But defenders of Social Security are rallying around AARP. The folks at There Is No Crisis, which is a project of BlogPAC (a coalition of bloggers), have compiled an investigative report on the unsavory background of these amoral attack dogs of the far right. Other bloggers are also actively investigating and exposing the outrageous history of this outfit.

The soon to be released report details how USA NEXT is but the latest incarnation of the United Seniors Association, a fake senior citizen interest group, which has waged massive direct mail campaigns advocating the privatization of Social Security and Medicare. What's more, the group has fronted for the drug industry, taking tens of millions of dollars to lobby for Bush's prescritpion drug plan and to oppose the import of prescription drugs from Canada. Organizers have posted the 12-page draft report for feedback from the blogging community, and will issue the final report and a press release on Monday, February 28th.

The first stick of dynamite tossed at AARP was a recent online ad claiming the seniors' group is opposed to our troops in Iraq and in favor of gay marriage. The tactic generated outrage -- and airtime for the group to articulate its message. Of course, Fox News has repeatedly had USA Next officials on the air to hack away at AARP and lobby for privatization.

Bloggers nationwide will be helping to disseminate the report and its findings to citizens, public officials and the media.