You can always count on a conservative to have political amnesia when it suits them. John McCain told Arizona to burn their AARP cards after they came out in support of the House health care bill.
Last week, the AARP, a nonpartisan organization that advocates on behalf of those aged 50 and over, endorsed the House health care bill. “We can say with confidence that it meets our priorities for protecting Medicare, providing more affordable health insurance for 50- to 64-year-olds and reforming our health care system,” AARP vice president Nancy Leamond said. At a town hall meeting in Arizona on Friday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) vowed to “fight with every fiber of my body” to oppose a similar health care reform bill in the Senate. He then claimed that Medicare will actually be “cut” and reportedly urged the town hall attendees to tear up their AARP membership cards:
The 2,000-page bill would mean more regulation and mandates, he said. People wouldn’t be able to keep the coverage they had. It would also increase taxes and the cost of Medicare, he said.
The bill claims to save $500 billion in waste from Medicare, he said.
“I don’t think so,” McCain said. “I think it’s going to cut it.”
He encouraged audience members to cut up their AARP cards and send them back.
Wow, that's extreme, especially coming from a man who, when he ran for the presidency in 2008, heaped tins of praise on AARP for helping him reform campaign finance law:
MCCAIN: Could I also say a word about my relationship with AARP in general and Bill Novelli in particular? We have taken on the big fights, and I'm proud of the long relationship we've had. And we took on the tobacco companies, and we took 'em on, to save the lives, not only of present generation (sic) but of future generations. And my friends, we took 'em on, and the special interests, and their lawyers, and their lobbyists, and I'm proud of the work that AARP did. I wanna tell you we took on the special interests and the big money people and the checks that were passing from one place to another. We would have never passed campaign finance reform if it hadn't have been for AARP and the support of the millions of members and I'm grateful for that. (cheers)
It's so typical of conservative politicians. Why does the media trust anything he says at all?
