Today we got not one, but
TWO prominent people come out in favor of yet again attempt to privatize Social Security, Boehner and Paulson
House Majority Leader John Boehner had this to say in an interview with the Moonie Times:
Q: Where does Social Security reform stand?
A: I just met with Congressman [Frank R. Wolf, Virginia Republican], a few minutes ago with his SAFE Commission [formed to fix the entitlement programs]. In 1990 when I first ran for Congress, I talked about the need to reform these big entitlement programs because the sooner we began the process, the easier it would be to make the necessary changes so that these programs were sustainable for the long term. ... If I'm around in a leadership role come January, we're going to get serious about this.
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Here's what Paulson had to say only hours later:
"I have always tried to live by the philosophy that when there is a big problem that needs fixing, you should run towards it, rather than away from it," Paulson told the Columbia University business school, his first speech since taking office on July 10.Paulson said he has already been warned by "many in Washington" that entitlement reform will be difficult to achieve because it is easy to demagogue the issue and turn it into a political weapon. Nevertheless, he said, he's under orders from President Bush to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to find workable solutions.
Paulson and Boehner are just two new additions to the growing list of Republicans who want to privatize in 2007.
Do they think that we are stupid? Seems that way, since Social Security has not effectively been made an issue in 2006. We NEED to make Social Security into OUR wedge issue, in the same way the Republicans plan to use gays/flag-burning/abortion/guns/terra'ists. Unfortunately, I feel that our party leadership is either alseep at the wheel, or they're only half-awake. What Reid and Pelosi are doing right now in ignoring privatization warnings, isn't markedly different from what Bush did in August of 2001 in ignoring the threat from Al Qaida. SO what will our excuse be next year when we have LOST four Senate seats (it could happen, especially with MD, MN, NJ, and WA) and Rove is getting ready for a sequal? "Nobody could have anticipated that Bush would go to Social Security phaseout again?" THe Center for American Progress document that I'm linking on this diary is our PDB. READ IT!!!!
Call Reid's office and tell him that he needs to be more aggressive on this issue:
Here's the link for his office addresses (for both Nevada and D.C.)
Call Pelosi's office and tell her that she also needs to be more aggressive on this issue (especially since BOEHNER is pushing for it to come through in the House, where unlike the Senate, there is no filibuster, which could allow for it to sail through quite quickly.)
District Office - 450 Golden Gate Ave. - 14th Floor - San Francisco, CA 94102 - (415) 556-4862
Washington, D.C. Office - 2371 Rayburn HOB - Washington, DC 20515 - (202) 225-4965
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http://www.house.gov/...