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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA shamed AARP withdraws from right-wing lobbying organization ALEC
A shamed AARP withdraws from right-wing lobbying organization ALEC
Michael Hiltzik
AARP, the retirees organization, responded Thursday to a torrent of protests from members and advocacy groups by announcing that it would drop its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, the right-wing organization known as ALEC.
In a notice posted on AARPs Facebook page, AARP told members, After hearing from many of you, weve decided not to renew our membership to ALEC. We would never work against the interests of older Americans and our engagement with ALEC was NOT an endorsement of the organizations policies, but an opportunity to engage with state legislators and advance our members priorities.
We reported the AARP/ALEC connection here, following its disclosure by the Center for Media and Democracy, which has been birddogging ALEC for years. Initially, the relationship seemed to amount to a contribution from AARP to help sponsor ALECs annual meeting, held in Indianapolis at the end of July. The new statement, however, indicates that AARP had gone further by actually becoming a member.
more...
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-aarp-alec-20160805-snap-story.html
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)I saw some of the comments posted on their FB page and folks were not at all pleased.
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)I just may join AARP now.
We would like to hear more on their support of other agendas, though.
The Tikkis
PatSeg
(47,590 posts)about AARP. They are not great advocates for seniors, they are insurance brokers and have not been very trustworthy for a long time. Their membership in ALEC is just an example of who they are.
The Ugly Truth about the AARP
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/21/325915/-
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)tonyt53
(5,737 posts)brush
(53,868 posts)about retired people.
All they care about is people buying their insurance policies.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)You will get tons of junk mail in your mailbox
and same with spam at your e-mail address.
For years.
I mean that...for years.
I joined when I was 55, found few benefits, but god almighty, the mailman would deliver armfulls of junk mail from them.
I could tell it was from them because I had put a 2 letter code as a middle name, and the address name on all the junk mail was the same.
Then I moved.
Across the country.
They found me and continued with the junk mail.
for 6 years.
Then I moved back across the country.
They found me.
Now I only get mail from them, not their affiliates.
Gotta admire their tenacity.
15 years of non-stop jumk mail.
Must cost a pretty penny.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)was incredible. The rest of their stuff gets delete/delete/delete. Sometimes what they offer is sometimes cheaper/better by going directly to the provider. I guess I'm lucky, I don't seem to get too much junk mail, but what is annoying, it seems they start mailing bills to you to pay for your next membership even when there are about 6 months to go on the current plan. I just trash them all and pay online when it's due. I can't totally knock them.
brush
(53,868 posts)PatSeg
(47,590 posts)to have your name on mailing lists and to receive all that junk mail. Such a racket.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)In my Weber chimney to start the grill. It saves having to buy a newspaper
PatSeg
(47,590 posts)You are very resourceful.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)I do love to grill.
trixie
(867 posts)I never felt like they were legit as a "helpful" organization. Thank goodness for that.
Thanks for the great tip!
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)most large online stores have small print about your privacy which essentially says they can share your info. with 3rd parties.
So my mailing address name will contain "Mary amz Doe" for Amazon, etc.
The online puters will accept anything you give as a mailing address name.
Bob Buttons
(51 posts)I actually picked up a domain name (some less-than-popular TLDs are super cheap) and set up free google mail handling, so I can use an address like, say, democraticunderground@thisisntreallymydomain.name and watch to see who sells my email address to spammers. A bit more useful than a general-purpose throwaway email, since I can see where the address came from originally, and avoid doing business with that website in the future.
drm604
(16,230 posts)but I get junk mail from them anyway, including their magazine, which always goes in the recycle bin unopened. Somehow they know when you turn 55, at which point they begin harassing you with mailings whether you want them or not. Fortunately they haven't figured out my email, or maybe they actually respect the CAN-SPAM law.
All I can figure is that they find out your age from either the DMV or Social Security, which I find disturbing.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Had to be DMV, cause they got my new address in another state a couple of months after I moved there and got my new license.
BEFORE I turned even 60.
I find it very disturbing that all the various forms of data about us are sold to ventures which make a profit from it, but is not easily accessible to us.
You want to trace ancestors, you have to join a group like Ancestory dot com and pay them to search public records.
Same with dozens of other money seeking companies. They will sell you information about you.
Lottie5
(12 posts)a kennedy
(29,707 posts)Will never forget their participation in the drug vote I stayed up until 6:00AM to see it fail. Ugh.....will NEVER join that organization.
................Last month, the House passed the measure after Bush made late-night, last-minute phone calls asking members to support it. An unusually long three-hour vote was ended by GOP leaders at 6 a.m., after a 218 to 216 deficit flipped to a 220 to 215 victory.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/08/elec04.medicare/
scscholar
(2,902 posts)I wouldn't call them crap.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)I told them that this was why I wasn't. I guess enough people opened their mouths.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)My company backed out a couple of years ago and I know of a few others in the same industry that have done the same.
niyad
(113,556 posts)of codswallop. I do not belong to organizations of whose mission and policies I disapprove.
aarp, which sold out seniors years ago, is only upset because their hypocrisy is out in the open.
frogmarch
(12,158 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)and will let my membership go. To much RW collusion, and not a lot of activism; they regularly want me to send notices to my Texas delegation (phew!) to continue support for SS. Ha! And they want donations (to AARP) to go with my mailings to these jackals who would just as soon smash SS. To paraphrase a t.v. insurance ad "why should pay for insurance when I have to pay again to use it."
niyad
(113,556 posts)Hekate
(90,793 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,459 posts)the legislation language templates that the group created. It's not like it wasn't neatly categorized alphabetically and by subject, and posted on the ALEC website for all to see. I actually spent some time a few years ago going through a lot of it and it was pretty obvious how RW it was.
MattP
(3,304 posts)With no check on drug prices
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)stage left
(2,966 posts)as did my sister. She had a check ready to send in her dues, but tore it up when I told her about the Alec ties. Then she told AARP that she had torn up the check she was going to send them and why.
CurtEastPoint
(18,663 posts)lillypaddle
(9,581 posts)And now, if they would only quit sending me renewal notices one after another, when my membership doesn't expire for 6 months.
Dark n Stormy Knight
(9,771 posts)They won't bother to spend a few bucks to differentiate between members and non-members or paying customers and potentials. You're on the line with some businesses and the lengthy hold time is filled with loud, obnoxious advertisements trying to get you to buy the service you're already paying for.
Maybe I'm seeing the past through nostalgia, but I swear companies used to have far better customer service in so many ways.
Augiedog
(2,548 posts)Johnyawl
(3,205 posts)But now their executive council been infiltrated by republicans and they've tried (with some success) to maneuver the organization toward republican positions. They still advocate strongly for seniors, but now they have to be monitored constantly and jumped on hard when they start supporting republican positions.
niyad
(113,556 posts)That was what I was trying to remember when I said I don't trust them! They are basically more insurance brokers, than advocates for senior citizens.
niyad
(113,556 posts)PatSeg
(47,590 posts)about Social Security that caused an uproar too. Brain is a bit fuzzy today.
niyad
(113,556 posts)PatSeg
(47,590 posts)That was it. I wasn't sure if I was remembering it correctly, but I do know I was livid at the time!
Thank you yet again,
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)PatSeg
(47,590 posts)rather than advocate for them. They make an awful lot of money marketing crap to seniors, while often backing legislation that does not benefit them. Then they have the nerve to charge people for the privilege of being the recipient of their marketing. AARP invests those premium dollars and earns tens of millions of dollars off the investments, on top of insurance royalties and fees made selling their lists. Nice racket they have going there!
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)PatSeg
(47,590 posts)But I am really surprised to hear that they had a membership in ALEC.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)catbyte
(34,451 posts)I got a really good deal on bundled auto/renters insurance through AARP and I wasn't looking forward to shopping around, but I was willing to do it. Anything to stop ALEC. What a vile organization.
Scalded Nun
(1,239 posts)Sorry they got caught is more like it. ALEC does work against the interest of seniors (and others, especially the vulnerable). To align yourself with them is to sanction their actions, no 2 ways about it.
They have been caught with their pants down on more than 1 occasion, usually followed by a meek 'whoops'.
Warpy
(111,339 posts)I've been binning their come-ons for years because of their knee jerk conservatism.
If they want Boomers to make them richer, they're going to have to shape up a hell of a lot more.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)TygrBright
(20,763 posts)When they teabagged Big Pharma while Dim Son occupied the Oval Office.
Between that and the number of forests they kill sending unwanted shills for insurance and other gravy-train 'services' to suck Social Security out of our bank accounts, I got no time for them now or ever.
Their only justification for existence, as far as I'm concerned (and it's a slender one) is that given the percentage of crap from them that makes up the average mail carrier's load, they're doing good work keeping the Postal Service going.
dismissively,
Bright
downeastdaniel
(497 posts)FairWinds
(1,717 posts)the evil ALEC is a project of the Koch brothers.
And the Koch brothers were also founders and funders of the
Democratic Leadership Council, which was close to the Clinton's.
Inquiring minds want to know - Are the Koch's or other
Reich wing money still going to the DLC's successor organization,
the Progressive Policy Institute?
lpbk2713
(42,766 posts)They are becoming more irrelevant with each passing day.
I love it.
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)It's amazing that it took this long to attack our real enemies, ALEC for the Kock funded cluster f..k.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)Indeed, at times it is the ONLY thing that works. The next time someone calls you an (expletive), remember, the only reason the powerful stop doing what they do is often because one person pointed at them and screamed SHAME!
stuffmatters
(2,574 posts)BlueMTexpat
(15,373 posts)marble falls
(57,208 posts)heaven05
(18,124 posts)AARP has backed every conservative since reagan. I'm waiting for them to endose the nazi