Fred Thompson steps on the third rail

Apparently nobody noticed in the midst of Fred Thompson's scolding of Faux News that he may have humanely destroyed his own campaign.

Thompson made a proposal on Sunday to index Social Security benefits to inflation in order to pay for his tax cuts.

I put out a proposal to save Social Security and save money for the government at the same time and allow individuals to set forth 2 percent of their payroll into a private personal account, with the government matching that.

In the long run, the government would come out ahead. A person would have a nest egg at the end of his retirement time.

And if you do that in conjunction with indexing the initial Social Security benefit to inflation instead of wages, at the end of the day you're going to save Social Security. You're going to put it on a sustainable basis.

That sizzling sound you heard was Thompson getting elecrocuted on the third rail.

Thompson's tax cut plan is by itself irresponsible on its face--a flat tax (which Huckabee also backs, though Thompson's plan makes it optional), an extension of the Shrub tax cut, and an end to the estate tax (or "death penalty," as he calls it, rather than the current Repub buzzword of "death tax").

But now, the Repub candidate who wants to appeal to the blue-collar voter wants to balance the budget on their backs.  Lovely.

Thompson also wants to cut Medicare benefits as well to pay for his tax cuts.  Not a good way to appeal to seniors.

Wonder if Thompson knows deep down his campaign's going nowhere ... after all, it seems he's committing campaign suicide.

•  Tip jar

  Well, at least now we know Tennessee's still in play ...

  by Christian Dem in NC on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 01:55:36 PM PDT

  •  According to Matalin on MTP

    Grandpa Fred polling 4th in Iowa and 6th in NH isn't a big deal because SC is the "important" primary and it just so happens that ol' Fred is polling 1st there*.

    *1st according to 2 polls, 3rd and 4th in 2 others.

    by Daaaaave on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:22:22 PM PDT

    •  Here in SC

      I see lots of Ron Paul signs and Huckaberry just popped up - but Freddie is pretty much non-existent.  Hmmmm

      That being noted - the Democratic candidates don't seem to have signs anywhere.  Once I decide on a candidate - at least there'll be one sign in SC!!

      by klnb1019 on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 03:45:14 PM PDT

  •  I hope you won't mind, I linked your diary

    to mine.

    by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 03:23:55 PM PDT

•  I wish Thompson'd get more airplay.

  He's such a buffoon, it would give us all a much-needed chuckle in this grim season.

  by revbludge on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 01:59:47 PM PDT

  •  I feel the same way.

    Even Rudy should get more air time so that the things he's saying to his select groups can be heard by all of us.  I saw a clip from one of his talks where he said that the US looks bad to the rest of the world because the diplomats aren't doing their jobs.

    by nupstateny on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:41:15 PM PDT

    •  Rudy G is crazier than a shithouse rat.

      Yea, he definitely needs more exposure to daylight.

      by revbludge on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 05:53:10 PM PDT

•  My brother, a lawyer and political retard, thinks

  Fred Thompson is going to be the next president...then again, he was a 'bush Wrangler' (meaning he was stupid enough to send over $400 to bush's reelection campaign)...but you can't pick your family.

  by darthstar on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:02:28 PM PDT

  •  When you're a Republicans

    And Faux News is against you, you are totally "out of the game".  But I think Grandpa Fred should keep his campaign alive.  Every dollar donated to his campaign is lost money.

    by egarratt on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:06:06 PM PDT

    •  Fox News is against Ron Paul,

      and it's far from clear that Ron Paul is totally out of the game.

      by lysias on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:19:24 PM PDT

      •  They hate his guts at Fox news

        he scares them far more than any of us wow a Republican against the Iraq war and the drug war that frightens them I'm sure they would father lose the election than have him win I don't think he will win and I'm sure not for him but he has more support than anybody is willing to concede especially among the college students.

        by redstatehatemonitor on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:23:55 PM PDT

        •  Every dollar spent on Ron Paul

          Is again, wasted money.  Noway MSM lets that guy run Washington.

          by egarratt on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 03:15:27 PM PDT

    •  FT should wear a clown suit.

      His 'attack' on Fox made me laugh, hilarious. Really it would be great if a serious Rethug candidate, perhaps {gasp} Ron Paul attacked Fox. If a serious Rethug candidate with a big following attacked Fox, that could be the beginning of the end for them. But probably not. And yes, Paul is not really serious, but he rattles some of their myth making.

      It's kind of fun watching FT implode. But eventually it will look sad.

      by doinaheckuvanutjob on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 03:58:19 PM PDT

•  Fred steps no where - -

  he rides a golf cart so as not to scuff the Guccis.

  by Barry in MIA on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:03:27 PM PDT

•  Damn right

  he can kiss away Pennsylvania and Ohio.

  by andgarden on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:04:49 PM PDT

•  Wait, I'm confused

  Without reading up on the ins and outs of Social Security "reforms" ... on the face of it, indexing to inflation sounds like a GOOD thing!  I mean, if we had indexed the minimum wage to inflation back when it was created, it would be lot closer now to a living wage, IIRC.  So why is bad for SS?  

  by lgmcp on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:08:58 PM PDT

  •  what's good for social security is bad for

    republicans. At least that's how I read it.

    And it is indexed, but perhaps the suggestion is a more aggressive index?

    by decembersue on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:16:43 PM PDT

  •  This is a cut from the current situation

    Lazy Fred is proposing to cut the benefits over 37% in 40 years.

    You are right that indexing is good - Fred has proposed reducing the amount of indexing.

    See Dean Baker for some of the numbers.

    by RonRaunikar on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:21:45 PM PDT

  •  Here's the deal:

    Social Security benefits have always had annual COLAs.

    After you retire the COLAs are indexed to inflation.

    Until you retire, they are indexed to average wage increases. That is better for you, and isn't exorbitant. (Recently it may have even been lower. But over time workers fare better with a wage-based COLA.)

    Thompson proposes cutting the increases during your working career to price inflation rather than wage inflation.

    It means workers' benefits will be much lower after 30 years than they would be without the tinkering.

    by Elwood Dowd on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:24:36 PM PDT

    •  Well, good to know, thanks

      Obviously I've got to start paying attention.

      I'm still not sure I see, though, WHY it is that wage-based COLAs would end up paying more than price-based COLAs.  

      Wouldn't that imply that "real" wages or "purchasing power" keep getting better and better over time?  And if that's the case, how come nowadays we all have two-income families with no savings whereas our parents had one-income families with early retirement?

      by lgmcp on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:32:42 PM PDT

      •  That's a good question

        to which I cannot give a good answer without a week's worth of study.

        But the numbers are there...

        by Elwood Dowd on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:40:30 PM PDT

  •  Soc Sec is now indexed to wages

    which apparently rise a bit faster than the Consumer Price Index - not much, but enough to save a few dollars.

    by bluegrass50 on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 03:28:34 PM PDT

•  Poor Fred

  Wanted to be the second coming of Reagan but instead he got stuck with Mary Matalin as his only supporter.

  by Daaaaave on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:17:13 PM PDT

•  Ah, the smell...

  ...of burning manure! 600 volts at 240 amperes will
  do that to you, Fred!

  by JeffW on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:18:02 PM PDT

  •  Stinky!

    And he deserves it!

    by Calamity Jean on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 06:03:08 PM PDT

•  was in Nashville recently & saw no Thompson signs

  or even bumper stickers my sister teaches high shool there and I flew down there for the Thanksgiving holiday for 5 days i saw a few Giuliani stickers , some hillary , Obamas , and way too many Ron Pauls but nothing about Fred Thompson he's toast

  by redstatehatemonitor on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:20:16 PM PDT

  •  well, they're all over middle tennessee

    In the rural areas there are "Fred '08" stickers on a lot of vehicles. A few yard signs, but mostly bumper stickers. People here consider it "too early" for yard signs.  Fred is mysteriously popular among the hardcore 24 percenters that still like Bush for some reason and seem to congregate at all the local donut shops and breakfast places.

    I've seen a few Ron Paul signs/stickers as well. A handful of Edwards, and nada for anyone else.

    by Mad Kossack on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:45:36 PM PDT

    •  I love visiting the state of Tennessee; beautiful

      state with nice people.  I am at a loss as to why they sent up the village idiot for president.

      by Habanero on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 04:45:32 PM PDT

      •  Yes, it's beautiful and baffling

        as to why the folks here, who pride themselves on being sensible allowed themselves to be taken in by the Con Men.  

        by Mad Kossack on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 07:53:38 PM PDT

•  If messing with Social Security...

  ...is the political "third rail", how come Ronald Reagan wasn't tarred and feathered for raiding it in the 80's?

  Early IOKIYAR, I suppose.

  by dj angst on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:33:13 PM PDT

  •  Reagan saw that he had stepped in doo-doo

    over SS, and he backed way the hell off. He then allowed a Congressional committee to overhaul the system, even subventing some general funds into it, I believe.

    by revbludge on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:41:18 PM PDT

  •  The government

    has been raiding SS since the 60s. It's what helped LBJ pay for his Great Society programs.

    by jqmilktoast on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 11:01:19 AM PDT

•  Say what you like about Fred Thompson...

  ...say he's a senile old fart, a buffoon, a posturing nitwit in 'way over his head. Say what you will. He'd still be a better president than George W. Bush.

  by revbludge on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:39:12 PM PDT

  •  That's a fact rev but

    perhaps you're setting the bar a bit low.

    by ruleoflaw on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:42:58 PM PDT

    •  Perhaps?!?

      That bar is laying on the ground, ruleoflaw!  Buried, even.

      by Savage on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:44:26 PM PDT

    •  I meant it as a criticism of Bush,

      not as a justification of Fred's campaign. Although the humorous aspects of it are agreeable to me, since he's going nowhere fast.

      Y'know who laid the bar in the dust? The Supreme Court, that's who.

      by revbludge on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:50:07 PM PDT

  •  Shit, so would my dog.

    by perro amarillo on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 03:19:23 PM PDT

    •  So would mine,

      and Bear's been dead for 10 years.

      If dead dogs ran America we'd be so much better off it ain't funny.

      by revbludge on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 07:03:16 PM PDT

    •  Is that a yellow dog?

      heh?

      by nicejoest on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 11:50:42 PM PDT

      •  The Bear was a brindle Bullmastiff.

        I think he was an Independent; at least, he never did what he was told.

        by revbludge on Wed Nov 28, 2007 at 09:07:53 AM PDT

•  Fred stepped on

  his third rail...somehow perhaps appropriate.

  by mojavefog on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:57:12 PM PDT

•  did you see Fred on C-Span last weekend?

  He was in Iowa at a town hall meeting.  The crowd was very small and very apathetic.  Fred was boring and rambling.  The most pathetic part were the totally befuddled and bored looks on the faces of the young people holding Fred signs behind him.  The faces they made as they winced in pain were priceless.  

  And then I remembered - back in early Jan 2004 I saw the same scene played out on C-Span in Iowa with John Kerry.  I was working for Clark at the time and I thought - he have him now!  We are second to Dean in NH and we can close the gap in three weeks.  The rest is history.  I am not saying that Fred can come back like Kerry did.  But the parallels were eerie.

  by bluegrass50 on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 03:27:09 PM PDT