WASHINGTON - AARP, the gargantuan public interest group that has defended and expanded seniors' benefits for 50 years, suddenly finds itself under attack by the vociferous voices of the far right.

The critics imply that AARP is somehow cheating its 40 million members because it annually collects $650 million from insurance, prescription drug providers and others whose products and services receive its special endorsement.

The Washington Post gave renewed life to those charges in a front-page story in October that reported the group heavily markets its products "on its Web site, in mailings to members and through ubiquitous advertising targeted at seniors."

Ultra-conservatives particularly are up in arms over their contention that AARP backs omnibus reform legislation that would slash Medicare spending by $400 billion and gut Medicare Advantage, the public-private partnership that provides seniors with medical and pharmaceutical discounts.

Those charges seem somewhat spurious since reductions in spending for Medicare and Medicare Advantage are more than offset by increasing spending for seniors in other medical areas.

Indeed, the bills now making their way through the House and Senate are overly senior friendly when viewed from the perspective of almost anyone under 50.

For instance, when fully implemented they'll reduce the overall costs of purchasing prescription drugs, ban insurers from denying coverage to anyone with pre-existing conditions and prevent insurers from jacking up prices after patients file large claims.

Most of the cost for a newly reformed health system, in fact, will be borne by Americans between the ages of 20 to 40 years - people, on average, in far better health and much less likely to require medical services than the plus-50 group that AARP serves.

Moreover, AARP's vociferous right-wing foes fail to note that royalties provide more than half of its current $1.14 billion in revenues. Those revenues, in turn, provide an amazing array of services and discounts for its legions of members - a potential return many, many times higher than its annual membership of $16.

In addition to lobbying for legislation that helps seniors in Washington and all 50 state capitals, AARP provides them with highly discounted restaurant, lodging and travel discounts, financial guidance, grief counseling and even advice to the lovelorn.

Ironically, hard-core conservatives are taking issue with AARP because its brandishes the same capitalistic marketing and promotional tools used to good effect by U.S corporations and small businesses for the past 200 years.

While nearly 40,000 AARP members dropped out of the group this year in response to urgings from the right-wing polemicists, they represent less than 1 percent of total membership. And no wonder! Independent surveys of AARP members consistently give it high-approval ratings.

The overwhelming majority of its members see it as pretty much apolitical - neither tilting much toward the left nor the right.

Its real sin: Backing the Obama administration's efforts to persuade Congress to reform America's rickety-health-care system in a way that provides near-universal coverage, lowers overall costs and improves the quality of treatment for everyone.

Wayne Madsen is a contributing writer to the progressive Online Journal www.onlinejournal.com.