New polling from PPP shows that Republican incumbents will have a hard time defending their seats on one issue in particular—Social Security—unless they disavow privatizing or cutting it. In five key Senate battleground states, "69% of voters say they're concerned about the changes Republicans might make to Social Security, and by a 33 point margin they say they're less likely to vote GOP this fall if they’re informed about what changes Republican control could bring to the program." That includes Pennsylvania, where it's going to be made an issue for Republican incumbent Pat Toomey.
Woodhouse said his group would be launching a “six-figure” campaign in support of Social Security in several states with high-profile Senate races, such as Pennsylvania, where Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey and Democratic challenger Katie McGinty are battling it out.
When asked about privatizing Social Security by investing in the stock market, 68 percent of voters opposed it with just 20 percent supporting it. In Pennsylvania, 65 percent opposed it while 25 percent supported it.
Eighty-eight percent of voters opposed cutting Social Security benefits, PPP found, while 5 percent supported that. Pennsylvania had similar results with 87 percent opposing cuts and 8 percent favoring them.
Raising the retirement age was opposed by 62 percent of voter surveyed while 28 percent supported it, but in Pennsylvania opposition was 69 percent and support down to 22 percent.
Those majorities are bipartisan—everyone continues to think sticking it to seniors, including privatizing benefits, is a really bad idea. And in Pennsylvania, 67 percent of voters said they'd be less likely to support a candidate who wanted to privatize it. Toomey, of course, insists that that isn't him. No, no way does Toomey think putting everyone's retirement security on the stock market is a good idea.
Except it wasn't all that long ago that that was exactly what Toomey—then president of the Club for Growth—was pressuring fellow Republicans to do. In fact, he and his organization were attacking Republicans who didn't line up behind then-President Bush's privatization scheme. So excuse us if we're skeptical of Toomey now, when he's trying to save his political skin.
Can you chip in $3 to Katie McGinty to send Pat Toomey packing?
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