LETTERS: LETTER TO AARP EXPLAINS WHY MEMBERS ARE UNHAPPY

To the editor:

Attached is a copy of a letter sent to John Rother of the AARP. Perhaps I have an erroneous concept of the status of the presidents, officers and the boards of corporations and organizations. But I believe that the general view is that they represent and are responsible to all of their constituents.

The article you published a few days ago by Dr. Harry Schwartz, formerly with the New York Times, hit the nail squarely on the head. Mr. Lehrmann and the board of AARP made a monumental goof and are now too arrogant and proud to come to terms with it.

"Dear Mr. Rother:

"Thank you for your letter of Sept. 15. I appreciate that you have taken the time to try to explain the recent action of the AARP board concerning the endorsement of the Gephart/Mitchell health bills.

"However, the explanation is still unsatisfactory for the reason that it does not explain why specific bills were endorsed. I would not argue that the board should not endorse the concept of health care reform but I feel strongly that the bounds of propriety, if not the authority of the membership, were overstepped in coming out for Gephardt/Mitchell (possibly the worst of the several bills).

"It does no good to maintain that you were not speaking for the AARP membership. The board might well have believed that they were speaking only for themselves, but it is only how that action was perceived that counts.

"And anyone who believes that President Clinton, the Congress and the public did not perceive it as a blanket endorsement of Gephart/Mitchell by the AARP membership has to be considered credulous at the least.

"I think there are a lot of AARP members out here that are still waiting for a public retraction and apology from (AARP president) Eugene Lehrmann and the board.

C.H. BOLLINGER

Marble Hill