More propaganda from Fox Pravda
Chapter 2,395 in “If you have to lie to make your point, you don’t have a point to make”:
Fox-backed seniors group exposed as conservative front
WASHINGTON – The seniors group American Seniors Association (ASA) describes itself as a conservative alternative to the AARP and has attracted notable press coverage this year for its opposition to health care reform. A Raw Story investigation, however, reveals that the group has a massive web of affiliations to right-wing activists, think tanks, politicians, media and executives – signaling ideological motivations than extend well beyond serving the interests of seniors.
ASA was originally founded in 2005 under the name National Association for Seniors Concerns (NASCON) by former NAPA Auto Parts executive Jerry Barton, who made an initial investment of $500,000. The group is listed as a coalition member of the Internet Freedom Coalition, a group that opposes “net neutrality” and has received at least tens of thousands in funding from the conservative think tank Institute for Liberty.
The group’s ties to the right-wing Tea Party movement are evident as the Institute for Liberty has officially co-sponsored some of its activities, as well as those of Glenn Beck’s so-called 9/12 Project, both of which have organized anti-health-reform rallies comprising deeply offensive Holocaust imagery. Members of the Institute for Liberty have also hosted Tea Party events.
The ASA, which was described by its founder as having 40,000 members nationwide this August – but which was also described on its website until recently as “representing hundreds of thousands of members” – remains dwarfed by the AARP’s mammoth roster of 40 million members.
But Fox News has touted ASA’s opposition to health reform legislation, repeatedly billing ASA as a burgeoning political force and serious threat to the AARP and offering the group considerable attention and air-time.</em>
