Washington State Kossacks who are pissed off at Cantwell should take a breather and realize who will replace her if they decide to sit on their hands this November (or vote for Aaron Dixon, the Green Party candidate.)
The fact is that the former SafeCo CEO isn't just a run of the mill corporatist. No, he
SUPPORTS PHASING OUT SOCIAL SECURITY!
Right now in the Senate, we have the 41 Senators needed to initiate a filibuster against any privatization plan that the Republicans throw our way. We could have killed it in 2005, and we can kill it now. But the question is: will we be able to kill it in 2007? Not if our own side of the spectrum fails to turn out an vote. We could potentially lose as many as FOUR seats this election, no matter how low Bush job approval is. As I have said before people
vote for the man, not the party.
Right now, McGavick is trying to position himself as a moderate "outsider" type, with rhetoric similar to our own Dems. Here is a piece of what he said
in an ad he ran in May:
"Taking responsibility and solving problems," says McGavick. "That's exactly what we need as a nation again." McGavick adds that America faces "terrible challenges" including the "war, to the deficit to the health care system" but "by coming together we will solve them.""
But here is a sampling of McGavick's
support for Social Security phaseout:
According to the Seattle Times, McGavick conceded in an interview today that he supports a "phased-in system of individually controlled, privately managed retirement accounts" that "would come with a lower guaranteed payment" as well as "means testing, voluntarily at first but if people don't turn back enough money he'd support making it mandatory." McGavick's statements while frightening should come as no surprise to those following his Senate campaign.
McGavick even had a fundraising held for him by a major privatization supporter:
Last week the Financial Services Roundtable hosted a fundraiser for McGavick in Washington, DC. In addition to supporting George Bush's attempts to strip overtime protections from millions of workers, the Roundtable was one of the "chief fundraisers" that backed Bush's plan to privatize Social Security.
WHile he was at SafeCo, he supported this plan by Jeb Bush:
In 2001, Gov. Jeb Bush was pushing to privatize the pension plans of Florida's state employees. The plan was being closely watched by the White House and others as a possible model for Social Security privatization. Safeco, under Mike McGavick, was one of the leading companies lobbying for the privatization plan and looking to get a cut of the business.
He has even gone on record as saying "personal accounts are one solution that should be evaluated."
Most recently, he has come out and opposed privatization while supporting it.
McGavick says benefits must be guaranteed for current beneficiaries and those nearing retirement. He does not support privatization or a phasing-out of Social Security. But confidence in the system is broken. He would give younger workers the option of placing their benefits in voluntary personal accounts controlled by the federal government. This would help restore confidence in the system and ensure its solvency.
....For Cantwell detractors out there, I note that she opposes privatization and means-testing, and opposes raising the retirement age. While she is not the most progressive Senator we have in the caucus, SHE IS A VOTE AGAINST PRIVATIZATION. If you sit on your hands this fall and allow for McGavick to win, then you might as well turn in your Social Security benefits if you ever receive them.