Illinois was my home for 27 years--I was born and raised there--and everytime Dick Durban makes noises about "saving" Social Security I get very upset. Early in his career he was a legal counsel for Paul Simon, became a close friend, and then won Simon's IL Senate seat after Simon retired. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that Simon would not approve of Durbin's misinforming people about SS or advocating for cuts or raising the retirement age. Simon, after all, voted against Clinton's welfare "reform" and pushed hard for intervention during the Rwanda genocide--he actually cared about people who needed help.
Does Durbin care? I know he's not stupid, he must understand that the information he spouts is at best half-truths and at worst outright bullshit, he must be aware of the truth about SS, its solvency, how important it is to the elderly, and how we are now facing a huge retirement crisis and it really should be expanded. If he doesn't know the truth, he's incompetent. If he does, he's evil. His ideal is the 1983 "bipartisan" agreement--and he thinks change now should be "bipartisan." This makes me question his sanity and I wonder how he's survived with his head in a hole for the last 13 years. In 1983 the awesomest solution ever to fix the non-crisis for eternity raised the age limit for full benefits to 67 for those born after 1960 (thanks assholes--I was born in '62). How'd that turn out? It's so simple, raise the freaking payroll cap!! When will he start shilling for Fix the Debt?
It's difficult to not see him as a new Joe Lieberman--with us on everything but SS. This kind of betrayal of the American people and the Democratic party and its constituents is worse to me than campaigning for McCain and Sarah the Unworthy.
Is there any chance he can be primaried from the left ala Lamont? No Democrat should be saying these things and when they do they need to be reminded that this is unacceptable.
Thanks to Liberty, Equality and Trees for keeping an eye on this apprentice Durberman.