McCain calls on seniors to 'cut up their AARP cards'

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday rebuked the AARP for opposing his amendment to rollback many of the Medicare changes Democrats included in their healthcare bill.

Tweeted McCain shortly after his proposal was defeated on a 58-42 vote:

"I call on seniors to cut up their AARP cards and send them back to them!"

In effect, McCain's measure, first proposed on Tuesday, would have killed the Senate's healthcare bill. The amendment would have sent the proposal back to the Senate Finance Committee with instructions that lawmakers remove its Medicare provisions.

That measure, however, quickly earned the AARP's scorn. Its CEO announced in a statement on Wednesday that the lobby opposed McCain's amendment out of fear it could derail healthcare reform writ large.

"The legislation before the Senate properly focuses on provider reimbursement reforms to achieve these important policy objectives," CEO A. Barry Rand said Wednesday. "Most importantly, the legislation does not reduce any guaranteed Medicare benefits."

The nonpartisan AARP's objections were later echoed by two other, more liberal-leaning Medicare groups, which also urged lawmakers to vote down the amendment.

Ultimately, the outcome of Thursday's vote was not terribly shocking, as Democrats previously assured they had the numbers to battle back McCain's proposal. But the episode nonetheless illustrates the growing tension between congressional Republicans and the AARP -- a rift that began after the seniors' lobby endorsed Democrats' healthcare bill despite GOP objections.

At one point during the healthcare debate on the House floor, the chamber's Republicans implored the AARP to rescind its endorsement in light of the bill's proposed changes to Medicare.

The AARP, however, dismissed that call, and has since maintained its support for Democrats' work.

(Cross-posted to the Twitter Room)

---