The never-ending saga of the Alabama Public Service Commission, which regulates the state’s utilities, has revolved heavily around two sets of groups.
On one side, conservative groups like the Alabama Policy Institute, Eagle Forum and Tea Party leaders have consistently advocated for an open utility review process that would protect Alabama’s ability to utilize a healthy mix of energy sources — including coal and other fossil fuels.
On the other side, AARP, the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Sierra Club, the Alabama Environmental Council, GASP, and other left-leaning groups have called for closed-door legal proceedings that could potentially help them achieve their ultimate goal: shutting down coal-fired plants, just like they did in our neighboring state of Georgia.
When Yellowhammer first started covering the PSC hearings, AARP seemed out of place to me. Why would a seniors advocacy group be pushing for policies that would result in their members, many of whom are on a fixed income, experiencing a significant increase in their power bill?
But after taking a quick look at AARP’s larger agenda, I quickly realized that any partnership with leftwing groups is really just another day at the office.
Here are a few things to remember:
1. AARP supported ObamaCare.
Less than one-third of U.S. seniors have a favorable view of ObamaCare. So why would the AARP be one of its biggest advocates?
Forbes explains:
So why is it that the group that purports to speak for seniors, the American Association of Retired Persons, so strongly supports a law that most seniors oppose? According to an explosive new report from Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), it’s because those very same Medicare cuts will give the AARP a windfall of $1 billion in insurance profits, and preserve another $1.8 billion that AARP already generates from its business interests.
Multiple media outlets reported in 2009 that 60,000 AARP members abandoned the group in a single month due to their support of the President’s healthcare law.
2. AARP’s values are not conservative values
Buddy Smith, executive vice president of the American Family Association, had this to say about AARP in May of this year:
This group is a very, very powerful Washington lobby, and you just may be very surprised and disappointed to see those things that they are promoting and those things they are opposing. Be very careful that you know what your fees are going for because the AARP is not on your side. If you are a Christian and believe in biblical values, you can pretty much count on the fact that everything that you are in favor of, the AARP is opposing.
3. The group gets its marching order directly from the Obama White House.
Emails released by a congressional committee show that AARP has been working behind-the-scenes in concert with top Obama officials, going back even before passage of the president’s healthcare law.
The Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel reports:
The emails overall show an AARP leadership… that was in constant contact with Mr. Obama’s top aides, in particular Nancy-Ann DeParle and Jim Messina.
So with all of that in mind, it’s been quite surprising to watch Dunn express his affinity for AARP through numerous tweets and statements over the last several months, including his most recent tweet below.
Dunn has consistently sided with the environmental groups throughout the utility review process. It’s resulted in him drawing multiple opponents running against him in next year’s PSC Republican primary.
But cozying up to AARP is a political miscalculation that I can’t image his political career surviving.
The Alabama Coal Association yesterday released a 17-minute mini-documentary in which the AARP plays a key role. The video can be seen below.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
