WHY WOULD THE AARP SUPPORT STATE-SPONSORED EUTHANASIA?…. Actually, it wouldn’t, and it doesn’t. But RedState’s Erick Erickson is going after the AARP for its tacit support of Democratic health care reform proposals.
The corresponding [AARP] email campaign says one of the myths is that the healthcare plan promotes “euthanasia”, which it objectively does — as even members of Congress say in unguarded moments. […]
Does the AARP’s members know about the endorsement of a healthcare plan that requires seniors to get instruction every five years on assisted suicide — a fact the AARP calls a “myth”?
Ever wonder why far-right opponents of health care reform seem so confused? Erickson’s post is a helpful example. Notice that he insists that it’s “objectively” true that reform promotes euthanasia and mandates suicide instructions — a claim he calls a “fact.”
Melinda Warner explained, “Multiple sources have debunked this ridiculous, desperate rumor that has been spread with the intent to frighten the American public. It is vile that Erickson and his ultra-right cronies are propagating this lie. No Democrat — or any other politician/policy wonk/federal employee — wants to encourage euthanasia. The only people you hear talking about it are the Republicans.”
Right, and the only reason they’re saying it is because they’re so desperate to defeat reform, they’re not above lying.
But I’m curious about something. The AARP has an extensive D.C. presence and knows full well how to read legislation. The group exists to represent the interests of seniors. If health care reform really did promote euthanasia and “require seniors to get instruction every five years on assisted suicide” — in our reality it doesn’t, but if it did — the AARP’s staff would know about it. And they’d raise holy hell.
What I can’t quite figure out is, from Erickson’s odd perspective, why the AARP go along with such a proposal. Obviously, the conservative attack is insane. But reality aside, from the far-right worldview, what would the AARP have to gain from promoting an idea that would kill off its membership? Maybe someone can translate crazy-right-wing-blog-post content to English for me.
