sotto voce USA

Social Security Propaganda

President Bush's pleas to privatize Social Security are falling on deaf ears. According to a recent CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll, 55% of Americans think it is a bad idea, and very few are willing to even call the Social Security situation a "crisis."
So now, the Orcs at USA Next, the people who brought you the Swift Boat Vets, are back. This time their target is the AARP, one of the most vocal critics of privatization. A USA Next ad on The American Spectator's website showed "The REAL AARP Agenda": a picture of an x-ed out American soldier and a checked gay couple. Clicking on the link takes you to the USA Next website, which has links, articles, and even a poll attacking the "liberal games" of the AARP. The poll asks, "Did you know that the AARP has received over $1 BILLION in taxpayer dollars over the past 20 years?" "Yes" or "No" are the only acceptable answers. This is a very crude attempt at a "push poll" - a poll that is not designed to determine the views of the respondents, but to push you toward the opinions they want you to have.
Since Daily KOS broke the story of the anti-military, pro-gay ad on the blogosphere, the ad has been changed. It's now a simple text ad that reads, "Free SPECIAL REPORT - 14 Facts the AARP Don't Want You to Know."
This is just the opening salvo in a propaganda battle to discredit privitization opponents and ram it down our throats. USA Next is planning to spend $10 million on their AARP campaign, and this is just a portion of the $200 million disinformation campaign that's on the way.

posted by fdtate @ 4:25 PM