Free Republic

For those of us who have been stuck out in the cold, at last it appears that we have an alternative to the extremist Left-wing organization AARP. For years now conservatives have known that the AARP which purported to represent all retired people and those of us over fifty was in actuality a Left-wing organization with an extremist socialist agenda. AARP has been busy acting in the interest of the Democrat Party rather than the interests of the elderly. In spite of the many discount programs offered for being a member a great many of us, myself included, refused to...

It may not be as provocative as comedian George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words," a free-speech case that went to the Supreme Court in the 1970s. But a Washington area nonprofit group wants to take the U.S. government to the high court for banning the use of "Social Security" on its mailing envelopes.

A coalition of House and Senate Republicans has transformed the Social Security debate with a new proposal that finally focuses reform on the personal accounts. Skeptics take note: This bill can really pass. Nothing else can.

Twelve members of the U.S. Senate are leading a "Coalition of Compromise" determined to forge a deal that allows the unconstitutional filibuster of President Bush's judicial nominees to continue. Lady Margaret Thatcher once said: “To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.” It’s about time twelve members of the United States Senate were reminded of that quote. The following twelve members of the United Senate are working behind the scenes to literally forge a compromise of the...

For decades, the federal government has raided the Social Security trust fund to finance other government spending. Social Security's surplus is taken each year to finance all the other federal programs, from foreign aid to welfare. It is time to stop this inexcusable raiding, and give the surplus instead to workers to start their own, individual, personal accounts. Indeed, the new bill introduced this year by Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, and Sen. John Sununu, New Hampshire Republican, phases in the accounts so over the first 10 years the account option is half its full size, allowing workers on average...

You probably know that Missourians already pay state and local sales tax on the purchase of wireless service. But did you know that some cities want to charge your wireless company with additional taxes on this same service? Because wireless customers would ultimately pay for the cost of these additional local taxes on wireless service providers, wireless service costs will go up dramatically if these cities succeed. Coming to your state next! Let's stop it now!

The debate over President Bush's proposed Social Security reform is spawning new pro- and anti-groups nearly every day. The latest is Conservative Republican Seniors Against Bush. Actually, that's not a new group. But the moniker describes many seniors who voted for Bush and are members of the AARP. The AARP has 35 million members, more than the population of Australia or Canada. One survey shows that nearly 40 percent of them are self-identified conservatives. This makes sense, since most people when they sign up for the AARP aren't thinking politics so much as "cheap stuff." The group offers discounts on...

The chairman of a conservative group supporting private retirement accounts within Social Security has challenged the AARP to a debate on the issue, but the Goliath AARP won't bite at the jabs put out by the political David of USA Next. Charlie Jarvis, chairman of USA Next -- which styles itself as a conservative alternative to the 35-million-member AARP -- has called out the powerful lobbying group to hold a public debate on Social Security, preferably on a college campus. "Our two organizations have been at the forefront of a number of key issues that are critical to our members,...

A battle of the Social Security polls has developed, with supporters of private accounts accusing the AARP of distorting the issue when polling its members and the AARP charging that supporters of the president's plan continually gloss over possible pitfalls in its surveys... Charlie Jarvis, chairman and chief executive of USA Next -- a conservative senior citizens group that sees itself as a foil to the AARP -- called the AARP poll "despicable," saying its "emotional language" was designed to "guide them to a preselected answer." "It's a classic push poll," Mr. Jarvis said. "Their polls are completely manipulated surveys...

They ate cake. They hugged for the last time. They made promises to get together again at Perkins. And then it was over. After 44 years, the oldest Florida chapter of AARP was no more on Tuesday. AARP's national membership has ballooned to 36 million, but its chapters are folding faster than card tables at a rummage sale. Once numbering close to 4,000 there are now 2,535 nationwide. The demise of the chapter in Orlando leaves Florida with 112 -- down from 250 two decades ago. "We were just all getting tired and couldn't get anybody to come in," said...

AARP, more than any other group in America, bears primary responsibility for the developing financial crisis of Social Security. That’s right. This fact surprises some people, but it’s true. For four decades AARP has claimed to represent seniors. In its leadership role, this political behemoth ($20 million spent annually on lobbyists) bears responsibility for every major policy action taken on Social Security since the early sixties. AARP should be excoriated for enabling and creating the financial problems in Social Security for which they now claim to have solutions. Unfortunately, AARP’s “solutions” are the very same bad policies that turned Social...

Charlie Jarvis calls himself the "dynamite" that will blow up one of the biggest obstacles to partly privatizing Social Security: AARP, the powerful seniors' lobby that leads the opposition to privatization. But Jarvis has another motive: He wants to take business away from AARP for his own much smaller group, the United Seniors Association, also known as USA Next. Thus one little-noted aspect of the furious politics attending Social Security's fate is simply a fight over money, members and influence in Washington. If Jarvis can discredit AARP, he thinks his group stands to gain. So he's attacking AARP relentlessly, accusing...

Dear AARP Members, Sometimes the things you DON’T do hurt people more than the things you do. The examples are endless. Turning a blind eye while someone is robbed when you have the ability to stop it – or at least call 911. Staying quiet when people verbally attack a friend with facts you know are not true. Or even simply sitting by and watching as a child follows the wrong crowd down a path you know will lead to trouble.

USA Next Chair Charlie Jarvis has sent an open letter to AARP members. It concerns the AARP’s failure to oppose taxes on Social Security benefits. The letter reads as follows: “Dear AARP Members, Sometimes the things you DON’T do hurt people more than the things you do. …

This is an open letter to AARP members from Charles Jarvis, Chairman and Chief Executive of USA Next. Dear AARP Members, April 15 – exactly one month from today – is the deadline for all hardworking Americans to file their tax returns. Whether or not you’ve already filed your tax return, this letter contains important facts you should know UNLESS: • You do not pay enough in taxes and believe the government should collect more from you. • You do not care that you’re paying taxes on your Social Security benefits.

NEW YORK, March 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, the nation's leading advocacy group for a crucial 9/11 Commission recommendation to keep licenses out of the hands of terrorists who could be in this country unlawfully, today announced that it has retained the media firm of Stevens Reed Curcio and Potholm, creators of the now-legendary Swift Boat Veterans for Truth advertising campaign during the 2004 Presidential contest. The firm's initial advertisement for the Coalition, a 60- second television spot, will begin airing in the Washington, D.C. media market on March 15. It will be available...

Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON USA Next engineered the recent controversial ad that branded AARP pro-gay marriage and included a photograph of two men kissing. What else are you planning? In a few weeks, there will be ads that very specifically and aggressively brand AARP for what they are, the planet's largest liberal lobbying organization. When they are honest about that, we will take a large number of their members away.

Mike Papantonio Issues Legal Fatwa against Privatizers (and Himself) Mike Papantonio, mass tort asbestos trial lawyer extraordinaire and part-owner-made-host of Air America Radio, made quite an argument against Social security privatization in his Thursday’s “Pap Attack” on “Unfiltered.” Well, actually he just encouraged lawsuits against groups that advocate for it. (You can hear the following exchanges at the Air America Place archives, about an hour and 25 minutes in). Rachel Maddow, host of “Unfiltered”, speaking on the controversial ad placed by USA Next: “You know, interesting side note here is that the guys who were portrayed in that ad, the...

A federal judge on Thursday prohibited the group USA Next, which supports President Bush's Social Security plan, from using in its online ads attacking the AARP a photo of a gay couple that it took without permission from the Portland (Ore.) Tribune. Meanwhile, in an interview with The New York Times that will appear this weekend in the Sunday magazine, Charlie Jarvis, director of USA Next, reveals that in a few weeks his group will begin running ads “that very specifically and aggressively brand AARP for what they are, the planet's largest liberal lobbying organization. When they are honest about...

WASHINGTON -- A gay couple featured without their permission in an Internet advertisement criticizing the AARP sued the ad's producer on Wednesday, alleging libel and invasion of privacy. The ad was produced by USA Next, a conservative group that supports creating personal accounts within Social Security and has aggressively criticized the AARP, which disagrees about the accounts. The ad showed a photo of a soldier with a red X over him and, next to it, a photo of two men in tuxedos kissing each other, with a green check mark over them. The text below read, "The REAL AARP Agenda."...

Charles Jarvis, CEO of USA Next, likes to compare the conservative seniors group that he leads to David and the 35-million-member AARP to Goliath. So it probably shouldn't be a surprise that late last month, USA Next flung a rock at the enormous seniors lobby, in the form of an incendiary internet ad. The rock missed its Goliath but infuriated the Philistine army standing behind him. The ad ran for one weekend, Feb. 19-20, on the website of the American Spectator, a conservative magazine. (WORLD's website, worldmag.com, turned down the ad.) It was one of eight USA Next ads on...

Exaggerations and sometimes outright lies historically have been part of every politically divisive issue. President Bush's plan for partial Social Security privatization is a dream for these two giant professional propagandists: •AARP, which takes a liberal approach to government handouts to older folks. It is financed mostly by its 35 million members ages 50 and older. •USA Next, a much smaller but well-heeled conservative group. It is funded mostly by younger business and industry leaders. This week, as Bush started a blitz to sell his plan, both groups geared up and faced off in print and on the air. USA...

The debate over President Bush's proposed Social Security reform is spawning new pro- and anti-groups nearly every day. The latest is Conservative Republican Seniors Against Bush... But the AARP is not going unchallenged. A new conservative seniors group called USA Next is ripping into the AARP, riding a wave of publicity from its (rather ham-fisted) attack on the AARP on the issue of gay marriage (an AARP affiliate in Ohio opposed an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment in the state). USA Next is making its case not just on political grounds, but with a dagger aimed at the heart of the...

It is high time someone told the truth about AARP: "The Emperor has no clothes." On Social Security they are completely wrong in their attacks against letting workers own their own accounts. AARP and other critics of President Bush’s Social Security plan for Personal Retirement Accounts argue that individually owned Social Security accounts cannot provide improved retirement benefits and will destroy what they claim is the "safety net." But a retirement program in Texas shows how to improve upon Social Security with Personal Retirement Accounts, and accomplish this while controlling financial risks. A bit of history: Until the 1983 Social...

USA Next is taking its anti-AARP campaign to the next level. Here are some of their points, from a memo released today: - AARP has never worked to eliminate the double tax on Social Security benefits - AARP has regularly opposed eliminating the death tax and cuts in the capital gains tax - AARP opposed the marriage amendment in Ohio last year - AARP has supported gun control measures such as the Brady Bill

USA Next's Chairman, Charlie Jarvis, will be on Power Lunch at 12:45 P.M. (Eastern Time) and on Your World with Neil Cavuto at 4:30 P.M. (Eastern Time) Today. He will continue to champion free market solutions to Social Security -- and expose the AARP's big liberal agenda. Check it out! Tell your family and friends to tune in!

Conservative organization USA Next is the latest group to turn its guns on AARP. It plans a $10 million campaign to counter what it calls AARP's liberal leanings on hot-button issues such as Social Security reform, death taxes, Medicare and Medicaid. "They're a mammoth liberal lobbying Goliath and we're a little determined David against them," said Charlie Jarvis, USA Next's CEO and lead attack dog. The organization has enlisted the team behind the John Kerry-bashing Swift Boat ads to launch a campaign against AARP dubbed "Stop Scaring Seniors Now."

Earnest and well-intentioned people across our earnest and well-intentioned country are all lathered because some of the folks who brought us the Swift Boat Veterans ads against John Kerry have now started a group called USA Next that is running ads against the AARP. They don't want the AARP to fight against President Bush's Social Security proposals. So the ads say that the AARP opposed our boys in uniform but supports boys who want to marry each other. The earnest and well-intentioned think it's scurrilous and degrading to bring campaign dirty tricks into the serious business of fundamental social policy....

Despite the Democrats' insistence that there is no present crisis with Social Security, Art Linkletter says that the time to fix it is now.

The right-wing fringe has declared war on Social Security -- and this week they launched their newest attack... You won't be surprised to hear who they hired to publicize their efforts: the same team of hatchet men that ran the swift boat smear campaign against John Kerry. Now they are targeting the AARP, a group that millions of seniors rely on to defend their interests. We must stop these people... now. Sign our petition to stop these dishonest, bigoted attacks from spreading any further: www.democracyforamerica.com/StopUSANext

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), an octogenarian, attacked AARP's rival, USA Next. He criticized USA Next's decision to hire consultants used in last year's campaign that attacked Sen. John Kerry's war service, contributing to his loss in the presidential race.

From Liberal Blogger Joshua Micah Marshall: "GOP front groups like USANext (the folks now working to uncover the AARP-homosexual world conspiracy) usually change their names every couple years or hive off other outfits just to keep everyone guessing..."

The group of advisers who helped Swift Boat Veterans for Truth craft an effective campaign against Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election is now on board with President Bush's plan to reform Social Security. The group, now called Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, is widely credited with helping swing the election to Bush, though he never coordinated with the group and in fact criticized it at one time. Now the New York Times reports that same winning team is back together, this time to help craft a strategy in support of Bush's Social Security initiative, which includes...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 - 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...

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...

WASHINGTON - 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, says it plans to spend as much as $10 million on commercials and other tactics assailing AARP, the lobby opposing the private investment accounts at the center of Bush's plan. "They are the boulder in the middle of...

Charges of "flip-flopping" are flying on both sides of the aisle in the Social Security debate, as each party tries to discredit the other in the eyes of the public as dishonest. Those who support President Bush's reform plans say some Democrats, who now question whether a Social Security crisis is imminent, sang a different tune in the late 1990s, when President Clinton wanted to reform the system. "It's a deep concern to see the level of hypocrisy within the Democratic Party on this," said Charlie Jarvis, executive director of USA Next, a lobbying group that supports Mr. Bush's idea...

The AARP recently announced that it is taking its campaign against President Bush's proposed Social Security reform to the nation's youth, hoping to broaden its target audience from the credulous elderly to the credulous young. Thus, the AARP further cements its status as the country's foremost lobby against reform. So inquiring minds should have a few questions for AARP CEO William D. Novelli, the architect of the group's crusade to keep young people from having personal retirement accounts as part of Social Security: Since Bush has said that any proposal won't affect anyone 55 years of age or older, what...

Bill O'Reilly takes on the AARP tonight (8 and 11 ET). USA Next Chairman and CEO, Charlie Jarvis, will help Bill smack the AARP around! Should be fun to watch! Tune in! Tell your family and friends.

The Battle has Begun! Art Linkletter, USA Next's National Chairman, recently appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto to discuss the liberal bias at AARP and the need for personal retirement accounts. They counter attacked "America's Grandfather" the next night. Click Here For The Original Interview

By Peter Ferrara AARP released a poll last month purportedly showing that the public agrees with it on a personal-account option for Social Security — opposing the idea by 48 percent to 43 percent. That poll seemed odd, since it was way out of line with polls going back over ten years now consistently showing large majorities supporting personal accounts. So USA Next, the rapidly growing organization for future-looking, 21st-century seniors, asked nationally renowned pollster John McLaughlin to look into the AARP poll. What he found might remind you a little of what bloggers found when they looked into the...

USA Next's Charlie Jarvis is on The O'Reilly Factor Thursday night (TONIGHT) at 8 and 11 P.M. (Eastern time). He will launch a new line of attack on the liberal AARP. Check it out! Tell your family and friends to tune in!

Linkletter Claims AARP is Country's Largest Liberal Lobby. Beloved former TV host and now senior citizens' spokesman Art Linkletter has decided to go toe-to-toe with the AARP on politics and policy.

USA Next's Charlie Jarvis is on The O'Reilly Factor Thursday night at 8 and 11 P.M. (Eastern time). He will launch a new line of attack on the liberal AARP. Check it out! Tell your family and friends to tune in!

Did you know that the AARP has received over $1 BILLION in taxpayer dollars over the past 20 years? AARP Caught Manipulating Poll Results Explosive revelation threatens AARP credibility & raises serious questions about a liberal bias inside the AARP. Who Really Works for America's Families? Art Linkletter discusses which organizations are really working for seniors and their families -- and which one is just claiming too. Bill O’Reilly Spanks AARP Fox News megastar takes AARP to task for hiding its liberal bias from members. Is AARP Lying to Seniors? AARP is spending millions of dollars to "educate" the public...

Art Linkletter discusses which organizations are really working for seniors and their families -- and which one is just claiming too.

Survey results show a majority of Americans support Personal Retirement Accounts and provides more evidence AARP manipulated their poll on Social Security.

AARP is spending millions of dollars to "educate" the public about President Bush's proposal to reform and strengthen Social Security. But is AARP telling seniors the truth about Social Security and the reform proposals?

Explosive revelation threatens AARP credibility & raises serious questions about a liberal bias inside the AARP.

THE AARP's new ad cam paign strips the debate over Social Security re form down to its core tension: One generation of future retirees vs. the next. The Social Security debate has always threatened to devolve into an intergenerational feud — for the problem is this: In two decades, if Social Security isn't overhauled, a shrinking class of young and middle-aged workers will have to pay higher taxes to support a growing class of retired baby boomers. But neither "side" ever dared to pit one age group against another — until now. This month, the AARP — the lobbying group...