Senior slimefest: "[W]elcome, seniors, to the world of Republican slime throwing," says an editorial in today's Star Tribune, introducing the already much-blogged story of the Swift Boat-style smear campaign orchestrated against the AARP. But the piece adds new facts:

Get this: When Jarvis was asked to explain the ad, he said that AARP hasn't taken a position supporting benefits for the military while USA Next has. So AARP hates the military? As for gay marriage, an AARP affiliate in Ohio did oppose a ballot measure banning gay marriage, but only because it also prohibited any recognition of any relationship that in some way mimics marriage, including those of unmarried heterosexuals who live together.

The military/gay marriage ad generated a considerable amount of attention, which was its purpose. In one interview, Jarvis said the ad was a "test" to see if liberals (in this context anyone who opposes President Bush's plan to dissolve Social Security) would go ballistic over it. When they did, he said, it just showed that they wouldn't focus on the real issue: Social Security.

Full story here.