From an e-mail to AARP members:

Two things happened yesterday you ought to know.

1) The House of Representatives failed to pass an economic plan that would have helped to stabilize Wall Street.

2) Directly after the House vote the stock market lost over $1.1 TRILLION DOLLARS in value.

Is failure to take action on the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression really an option?

We shouldn't pretend that there isn't a justified and real anger in the country today. From the emails and letters we've received we know you feel it. Many of us here at AARP feel it too.

But as real as it is, now is not the time to stoke that anger. AARP believes we must have the courage and honesty to deal with the problem at hand. Now is not the time to finger-point or for politicians to put election-year considerations ahead of the health and well-being of our nation.

What's up with AARP being in the pocket of Big Bipartisanship?

It would be foily and retrograde to think that pushing bipartisanship/post-partisanship made you a Republican tool, right?

Of course, it would. Because in a year when the Republicans' brand is as toxic as their policies, blurring the difference between the parties is smart business for the Democrats!

Update:

Since the CNN link from November 20, 2003 appears to be dead now, here's an excerpt via Google's cache of an article titled "Democrats hit AARP's ties to insurers, Republicans":

...Democrats stung by AARP's endorsement of a GOP-backed Medicare prescription drug bill are lashing out at their longtime ally, claiming the seniors' group is too closely tied to the insurance industry, and more to the point, Republicans.

AARP said this week it would throw the support of its 35 million members behind what it called "not a perfect bill, but a good first step" in giving seniors insurance for their prescription drugs. It is running a massive television ad campaign to that effect in dozens of cities.

Familiar with AARP's clout, Democrats had been trying to forestall an endorsement, which would give a boost to President Bush and Republican lawmakers. When they failed Monday, they reacted with anger that showed no signs of abating two days later.

At a rally Wednesday with seniors to oppose the legislation, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi noted that AARP chief executive William Novelli wrote the preface to a recent book on health care by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia.

"AARP's leadership has been in the pocket not only of the Republican leadership in the House, but they helped write Newt Gingrich's book on how to destroy Medicare," Pelosi said.