Pulling the wool sweater over grandma's eyes

Earlier this week Rep. Mark Green was touting an award he won from what he called a leading senior advocacy group. The group is called the "60 Plus Association". It sounded a little fishy since I had never heard of this group so I thought I'd see what this group is about.

Turns out, Green's award is the equivalent of Kentucky Fried Chicken giving an award to the person that kills the chickens and expecting the chickens to cheer about it.

The group is funded by big pharmaceutical companies so Rep. Green is getting an award for protecting the bottom line of the pharmaceutical companies, not Wisconsin seniors. 60 Plus probably really stands for the number of corporate big wigs that will get fat bonus checks for their efforts to convince members of Congress like Green to vote against the interests of the seniors in their state time and time again.

Green and the 60 Plus Association likes to pretend that they have actual seniors as members of their group, like the well-known AARP. In fact, Green even says that in his press release patting himself on the back for an award from the big pharmaceutical companies.

Green was named a Guardian of Seniors' Rights by the 60 Plus Association, a non-partisan, membership-based seniors advocacy organization.

But according to SourceWatch.org, a website run by the Center for Media and Democracy, there are really are no members other than the pharmaceutical companies.

The AARP Bulletin of February, 2003, has an excellent, well-researched article explaining this subversion of the democratic process by 60 Plus and two other astroturf organizations (United Seniors Association and the Senior Coalition). It notes that none of these groups have significant membership roles or community bases. "All three organizations claim to speak for millions of older Americans, although as recently as 2001 none of the three listed any revenue from membership dues on their tax returns," it states. "Moreover, an investigation by the AARP Bulletin shows that virtually all of their largest contributions in recent years have come from the same source - the nation's pharmaceutical industry."

StealthPacs.org, a group run by Public Citizen also found that big drugs companies are funding this supposed grassroots coalition.

The Washington Post reported that 60 Plus was the beneficiary of an unrestricted educational grant in 2002 from PhRMA, the trade association of the brand name prescription drug industry; AARP Bulletin reported that 60 Plus received contributions in 2001 from PhRMA and from drug giants Pfizer, Merck and Wyeth-Ayerst.

And that's not all. The group actually sends out mailings that praise the big drug companies.

The 60 Plus Association has championed the pharmaceutical industry in mass mailings, press releases, lobbying and law suits since its inception. It was one of three associations that backed the "astroturf" issue ads of Citizens for Better Medicare (a drug industry front group) during the 2000 elections. It is currently supporting a lawsuit by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America against the state of Maine (in a "friend of the court" brief) for daring to try to pass a law that will authentically reduce prices for Medicare drugs by allowing the state to buy in bulk directly from manufacturers. It has also joined a lawsuit against the FCC regarding campaign reform (specifically -surprise!- they support soft money for issue ads).

Is it any wonder no seniors want to join this group?