Well let's
reinvent history, or at least the recent past, when things aren't going our way:
Republicans have returned from a weeklong recess telling stories of meetings on the issue with voters who ranged from suspicious to downright hostile. At a town-hall gathering at the Madison #1 Middle School in Phoenix, Ariz., G.O.P. lawmaker John Shadegg faced a crowd of 280 people, 30% of whom by his estimate were there to voice angry opposition to tinkering with Social Security.
[Emphasis added.]
Funny -- It sounded like a 100 % opposition to me. But what do I know, having merely attended in person, up close and personal. A shameless lie.
More below the fold:
Having previously
related Congressman Shadegg's use of FDR's, Clinton's and Daniel Patrick Moynihan's out-of-context quotes to support privatization, should I be surprised? Let's just chalk it up to standing firm on the GOP talking points, for which reality has no bearing. Or, is this the brave "music" being played as the "SS (Social Security) Titanic Reform" slowly sinks into the icy brink?
Interestingly, Shadegg states that he believes that liberal groups are behind the "onslaught he faced in Phoenix" . . . Onslaught? Well, that does more truly reflect the tenor of the meeting I attended, so we have a kernel of truth here. Nobody was buying. More to the point, continued from above:
[. . .] A G.O.P. congressional aide estimated that in her office, "90% of our letters are against it."
Grassley gives Bush 90 days to generate support, and moderate G.O.P. Representative Chris Shays of Connecticut says, "I would be surprised to see a bill passed by the House, Senate, and signed by the President in the next two years." Still, the White House is far from conceding defeat on its top legislative priority. "This is the beginning of the process, not the end," says a senior White House official. Bush will continue to travel a couple of days each week to the districts of G.O.P. lawmakers and "persuadable" Democrats.
Sounds a lot closer to the reality I witnessed. However, I continue to worry. Even having witnessed the amazingly unified opposition to Social Security "reform" by each and every person questioning Rep. Shadegg, I remain skeptical that the fight is over.
When lies -- big fat lies -- are in play, the rules, as we thought we understood them, are thrown out the window.