Kerry: AARP wrong on Prescription Drug Bill

[flpoljunkie]

http://blog.johnkerry.com/blog/archives/000737.html

Kerry: AARP Wrong on Prescription Drug Bill

John Kerry told an AARP forum in New Hampshire that their organization had made a mistake by agreeing to support the Republicans' Medicare bill.

The Republicans have been pursuing a strategy of getting domestic issues off the table before the 2004 elections. The Washington Post today quoted a senior GOP leadership aide saying that Republican party leaders had "basically threaded a needle to get a bill AAPR can endorse and Ted Kennedy can't." The AAPR's endorsement will provide the GOP with ammunition for attack ads against Democrats who opposed the bill.

At the AARP forum, John Kerry said:

“I wish AARP would oppose this bill. I wish they would spend their $7 million on spending on telling seniors what is wrong with this bill.”

“I respect AARP but I very strongly disagree. This is a bad deal for seniors.”

“Republicans are holding a prescription drug benefit hostage to a scheme to privatize Medicare. That may help pharmaceutical companies and their special interest friends but will do more harm than good for America’s seniors and that’s wrong.”

“This plan that will cause more than two million seniors to lose retiree drug coverage and force seniors into HMOs is not a good deal.”

“It will put pharmaceutical profits over helping seniors by blocking access to more affordable drugs from Canada – that’s not a good deal.

“I believe we can and we should get a strong affordable prescription drug benefit this year. But we have to stand up and speak out against a plan that does more harm than good for America’s seniors. I hope you will join me in sending a message to the Congress and George W Bush that we can do better for America’s seniors and we can do it NOW.”

[Brucey]

1. Good for Kerry, but the poopy AARP, like everyone else it seems,

wants to get in good with the repugs; they're afraid of them and want to get what they can. Sell-outs.

[gulliver]

2. The AARP can have their cake and eat it too.

Pass the Medicare-based plan, then dump Bush so that it gets funded and gets the priority it deserves after the election. On all of these domestic issues, that can be the promise of the Democrats. You can't trust Bush to walk the walk, even when he puts something into law.

[cindyw]

7. If the AARP wants to settle for this they will insure that it is all they

ever get. This victory for Bush will swing a huge portion of seniors into voting for Bush. 4 more years of Bush means no more benefits. His victory, this time with the most votes, will give him the clout to fully privatize medicare. If the AARP would do better for their people to go against this and wait for a Dems to give them a better bill.

[MaineDem]

3. I'm a member of the AARP and...

I'm pissed that they endorsed this bill.

I'm glad Kerry has stated this. Even my Repug Senators aren't thrilled with the way the bill is written.

[shirlden]

4. Have you called your senators??

They can help stop the passage of this bill. I am stuck with two twiddle -dee and twiddle-dum repug senators who would bite off their own tongue before they would speak out against the "parteeee". I called them any way, just to make myself feel good.

:argh:

[flpoljunkie]

5. Good for you!

I am hoping that my Senators, Bob Graham and Bill Nelson. will vote against this egregious giveaway to the pharmaceutical and managed care companies.

No bill is better than this bill. We Dems are willing to wait until we have a Democrat in the White House in November, 2004!

Hell, this piece of crap doesn't go into effect until 2006! Do you think most Seniors realize this? Until then, all Seniors will have is a pathetic 15% discount card!

[frank frankly]

6. very nicely done, JK!

and well written.

keep it up!

[JI7]

8. wow

that's one of the biggest organizations with large voting group. i wonder if this would hurt him. but he is right about it.

[sangh0]

9. I think it will help him

Seniors are one the most politically aware groups in the US. They vote, and they know where their interests lie

[JI7]

12. probably right

seniors are more likely to actually research and look into the issues , especially ones affecting them than to fall for sound bytes and tv ads. at first i thought the members of the aarp actually voted whether to endorse the plan, but found out it didn't work that way. that the head of the organization who i hear has connections to gingrich made the deal.

[sangh0]

14. Gingrich? Really?

Thanks for that bit of info

[JI7]

15. i think so

i heard from someone else so i need to get it confirmed. but the deal did make more sense when i heard the person had connections to gingrich.

[oasis]

17. AARP head Novelli praises Gingrich who said "Let Medicare die on the vine"

Novelli writes the preface for newt's new book. How's that for connections?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. Heard him on NPR this morning

I love hearing his very reassuring voice of reason. Wish more would "hear" it too.

[GinaMaria]

11. saw the AARP ads this morning

sickening. Anyone have an action plan? Have you written congress? Any benefit to writing the AARP?

[blm]

13. There are threads started on just that course of action.

Emails and phone calls, faxes and snail mail.

[jpgray]

16. I sent his campaign among others a letter prior to this forum

It's good to see the letter may have had their intended effect. Good on Kerry and those other candidates who denounced this graft-filled bill.

[JohnKleeb]

18. Good for Kerry