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AARP asks a Good Question
August 29th 10:51:50 AM
From a story about the RTV Awards
Tom Nelson, chief operating officer of AARP, summed up the night for everyone from Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama to "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson and R&B singer Mya gathered in the National Building Museum's Great Hall:
"You were probably wondering, as you sat down at your table, 'What the heck is the AARP doing in a Rock the Vote event?' "
The awards, though, took a back seat to the message Rock the Vote was sending: We want to be the AARP for the iPod-obsessed, ring-tone-changing, PSP and Nintendo DS-carrying generation.
The Bush-Kerry matchup was a landmark election for young voters, drawing nearly 21 million people under the age of 30 to the polls, Rock the Vote President Jehmu Greene said before the dinner. Citing a recent report -- by the Center for Information and Research on Civil Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland -- that the increase in voter turnout among 18-to-24 voters was the highest of any age group, Greene went on, "This is the perfect time to ask for a seat among power brokers here in Washington."
There's the NAACP for black people, the Chamber of Commerce for business people, the National Rifle Association for gun-keeping people.
"Young people don't always pay attention to inside-the-Beltway politics," Greene said, "but with the ongoing war on terror, the threat on Social Security, the state of the economy on their minds, the times sure have changed."
Changing times make for changing partners: Last winter, AARP and Rock the Vote, both against the privatization of Social Security, locked hands in a campaign to defeat President Bush's plan.
Taped to the rails of the steps leading up to the red carpet last night were posters proclaiming "I {heart} Social Security." A cheering squad of Rock the Vote volunteers -- many of them political science and prelaw students at Fort Hays State University in Kansas, here for a school trip -- carried the posters, too, as they greeted McAuliffe, Kemp, McCain and Obama.
Posted by Chris Schrimpf
Comments
Do these people think we're stupid??? If RTV wants to represent our generation, the first step would be to endorse policies that serve our interests!!!
To begin, that means Modernizing Social Security to include productive assets!!! Also, it would require them to state upfront weather or not they support raising taxes and if so (since their vague scraps of policy information all suggest this) explain why Rock the Vote favors raising taxes.
Also, since this post mentions the Global War on Terror, let me also state that they should stop parroting the canard that there will be a draft some time soon.
Posted by Adam Cahn on August 29th 05:49:49 PM
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