To date, Democrats have done remarkably well in beating back GWB's assaults on Social Security. Our Senators and Reps have stuck together; they haven't given ground. It looks like we're winning.
But before we get too smug, consider how inept Bush and the Republican party have been. They have a plan that isn't a plan; they've admitted it doesn't actually address the long-term financing problem; oh, and by the way, it will add several trillion dollars to our already ballooning national debt over the next couple of decades. In the realm of softballs, they've tossed us a marshmallow. It's great that we've managed to hit it. But we shouldn't overestimate our accomplishment. It looks good mostly in contrast to our utter ineptitude during Bush's first four years, when we didn't stick together and we let him get through his tax cuts, his war, and so much of the rest of his agenda.
He's not going to keep throwing softballs. They'll figure out a wedge. They'll figure out a way to frame their proposal so it doesn't look so stupid. They'll let the dollar collapse and use that as their excuse. They'll do something beyond what we expect. And unless Democrats have something positive to say about Social Security, we won't stand a fighting chance.
All we've said so far is, "it's not a crisis" and "let's not do anything that will increase our debt." As Democrats, we haven't talked about the values of social security. And as a result, the victory we've won is only tactical. Their tactics -- lame plan, doesn't fix the problem, adds massive debt -- have failed. But we haven't confronted them publicly on their overarching goal. We haven't won the public debate about the nature and value of social security, because as Democrats we are still too timid to talk about our values.
What are those values, the values that underlie Social Security and formed the basis of the New Deal?
First and foremost, that as Citizens of this Country, we are in this together and that we are stronger together than we are individually. And more specifically for Social Security, that as a country and as a community, we honor our elderly. Those who came before us built the country that we live in now. We will honor that and support them in dignity, because that is the right thing to do.
Republicans see it quite differently. For them, it's every man to himself. Sink or swim, it's no one else's business. The elderly should have planned better. We are not a community, and so no one in this country owes anyone else anything. Saying that we do owe something to our fellow man (and woman) is tantamount to theft.
That's a pretty dismal view of the world, a dog-eat-dog world. But that's the world the Republican party has sold to America, and Democrats haven't challenged them on it. That's a shame, because I don't think Americans want to live in that dismal world. They want to live somewhere better.
To challenge that world view, Democrats will have to do something we have not done in a long time. We will have to defend and promote the role of the U.S. Government in our lives. We will have to explain to Americans that Government is a good thing, not a bad thing, that Government is the will of the people, and that it is through our Government that we express our community values and build a society.
If Democrats want to save Social Security as a Government program, we need to be willing to talk about why it is important that we have government programs, and we will need to talk about the fact that Social Security will only work to the extent that it is social, and to the extent that we are all committed to being in this country together. If we don't do that, our victories in the recent battles will pass, and we will lose the war.