Below The Beltway

Apparently, some AARP members aren’t pleased to see their money going to advocate a health care plan they disagree with:

(CBS) CBS News has learned that up to 60,000 people have cancelled their AARP memberships since July 1, angered over the group’s position on health care.

(…)

Many are switching to the American Seniors Association, a group that calls itself the conservative alternative as CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.

“I think that probably the seniors are most upset with cuts in Medicare,” said ASA President Stuart Barton. The American Seniors Association is flat-out against President Obama’s plan, which calls for $313 billion dollars in Medicare cuts over ten years. The AARP is widely viewed as supporting the President.

Last week, Obama told a town meeting in Portsmouth, NH, “We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors.” The AARP called the President’s statements “inaccurate,” saying it hasn’t endorsed any plan or bill. Some were left with the feeling that AARP was waffling. “I feel they’re supporting it through the backdoor, and telling members that they’re not through the front door,” said Guardiani.

[...]

AARP says for a group with 40 million members that adds hundreds of thousands each month, losing 60 thousand is just a drop in the bucket. But to the much smaller American Seniors Association it’s a flood.

We saw some evidence of that discontent earlier this month:

Of course, as James Joyner notes, a loss of 60,000 members is a drop in the bucket to the AARP, especially given that it continues to add thousands of new members a month, most of whom are joining more for the group’s generous benefits rather than it’s political stance.

And I agree with James that it’s more than a little ironic, some would say hypocritical, that the so-called conservative alternative to the AARP is making opposition to Medicare cuts the cornerstone of it’s platform.