I believe it was 1980, when Ronald Reagan challenged Jimmy Carter, when the Democrats first began regularly using the Social Security scare tactic to frighten senior citizens into voting for them (it was used against Goldwater in 1964, too, but he had spoken against the SS system). It's been a reliable staple for them ever since, especially given the utter lack of any ideas upon which to run. Ed Perlmutter, Democratic candidate for Colorado's open 7th District seat (vacated by Republican Bob Beauprez, who is running for governor), delivered the Democratic weekly radio address today, as reported by Jennifer Talhelm of the Associated Press :
Republicans will revive their effort to overhaul Social Security after the November elections, a "dangerous" plan that would cut benefits to senior citizens, the Democratic candidate for a Denver-area House seat said Saturday.
"We can and must stop them -- right now, before it's too late," Ed Perlmutter said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. "Just last year, Democrats stood up to President Bush and the Republicans in Congress, and fought back against this dangerous proposal and defeated it."Perlmutter, a former Colorado state senator, faces Republican Rick O'Donnell in a fierce contest for a House seat being vacated by Rep. Bob Beauprez, a Republican running for governor.
Read it all at the link above. It is difficult to address the coming fiscal crisis in entitlements when Democrats demagogue every attempt at rational discussion of the issue.
The Perlmutter-O'Donnel contest is one of the most closely watched House races in the nation, one of the key seats Democrats need to have any real chance at winning a majority in that body. CQ Politics and the Cook Political Report call it a toss-up at this point, while Election Projection considers it a "Weak Democratic Gain."
UPDATED 2:42 p.m. to add: I neglected to mention that Republican nominee O'Donnell is under fire for an academic paper he authored some years ago calling for the dismantling of the Social Security system as we know it, so this national address dovetails nicely with Perlmutter's own campaign.
Permalink | Send To A Friend | Linking Blogs | Digg this!
Filed under:
Colorado, Congressional Races, Democrats, Special Interest Groups
Comments (3)
If one reads the transcript... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Steve Baba, Ph.D. | September 23, 2006 5:46 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
If one reads the transcript to the Democratic speech (which may not have been available at the time the author wrote his post), instead of the press summary, one can see that speech is fairly objective.
The transcript of the speech, courtesy of Fox News is at:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,215361,00.html
"Seniors all over America rely on Social Security every month and if the GOP plan passes, future generations could see their benefits slashed."
If you believe George Bush is an economics genius or listening to economics geniuses, you may disagree - and by using "could," the possibility is even admitted, and one could have a rational discussion as opposed to accusing others of scare tactics.
"It was defeated because the overwhelming majority of Americans know how risky it is to privatize Social Security. "
The speaker said it was "risky," not certain to fail.
If you want to understand the economics behind social security privatization, see my website
http://www.socialsecuritybullshit.com/
1. Posted by Steve Baba, Ph.D. | September 23, 2006 5:46 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 23, 2006 17:46
2. Posted by Jim Addison | September 24, 2006 1:32 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"Objective?"
A POLITICAL speech, objective?
I suppose we can guess where you are coming from, at least, from that.
Democrats won't even admit there is a serious problem, and insist no benefit reductions for any future recipient can be considered, nor any private option. How can you have a rational discussion of a problem with those who a) refuse to admit it even exists, and b) will consider only tax increases to address it?
2. Posted by Jim Addison | September 24, 2006 1:32 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 24, 2006 01:32
3. Posted by Steve Baba | September 24, 2006 7:44 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
" Republican nominee O'Donnell is under fire for an academic paper he authored some years ago calling for the dismantling of the Social Security system as we know it, so this national address dovetails nicely with Perlmutter's own campaign."
actually Rick O'Donnell has changed his views on social security to the point of being almost, god forbid Democratic. From his own website:
"I was wrong when I was 24 years old, but Ed is wrong today,"
"O'Donnell's Position:
Social Security Must be Fixed; Not Abolished, Not Privatized
Perlmutter's Position:
Raise Social Security Taxes and Cut Social Security Benefits"
http://www.rickodonnell.com/camprel092106socsec.html
"The problems facing Social Security are too large, and the consequences of not fixing Social Security are too devastating for hundreds of millions of future workers and retirees, for Congress not to work in a bi-partisan way on a solution."
3. Posted by Steve Baba | September 24, 2006 7:44 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on September 24, 2006 19:44