from my blog Basie!
As
Reuters reports, the Democrats threw a nice soiree for the Social Security program on the radio this morning that
perhaps evinced a new tack they are willing to take.
On the eve of Social Security's 70th anniversary, Democrats said on Saturday they are ready to move toward revamping the financially troubled retirement program but warned against stripping away benefits to retirees and relying on private accounts for funding.
"We have a moral obligation to stand up and protect Social Security for the next 70 years and beyond -- that means stopping privatization and dropping partisan demands for private accounts," said Rep. John Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, in his response to President George W. Bush's radio address.
I can't entirely understand why the Democrats are trying to bring Social Security back to the fore at this juncture. It seems, to me at least, that they are just tempting fate.
Clearly, the Democrats have trounced both the President and the Republican Party on the issue of Social Security. Seldom does the President talk about privatizing the program -- a sharp contrast to the daily bamboozlepalooza show he ran across the country in the spring.
By debating Social Security now, the Democrats have little to gain and much to lose. True, Social Security could deflect attention away from their imminent defeat on the Roberts nomination, but is this a good thing. Should not Democrats take time to thoughtfully and truthfully lay out Roberts' opinions to the nation to help make the case for 2006.
What's more, the Democrats could be providing the Republicans with just the opportunity they desperately need in order to privatize, at least partially, the program. Instead, the Democrats should let the sleeping dog lie -- for now.
Many pundits claim that the Democrats are devoid of ideas, or at least have yet to elucidate anything substantial to the American people. These talking heads repeatedly call on the Democrats to lay out a vision today. Such a tactic would be a catastrophic blunder for the party of Jackson and FDR.
All too often, people forget that Newt Gingrich's Contract with America was not presented to the American people until six weeks before the 1994 midterm elections. Six weeks. This was just enough time for the American people to learn about the basic tenets of the platform while not enough time for the Democrats to create a successful strategy to combat the plank. Brilliant, no?
So why should Democrats today offer a comprehensive plan? To provide the GOP with fodder with which to distract the American people from their own shortcomings? To give the GOP more than ample time to devise a strategy to undercut the Democrats' platform?
No. It simply does not make sense for the Democrats to go out on a limb these days while the President and the Republican Party are floating around like ships adrift. Come September 2006, perhaps pundits will have the right to clamor to hear some policies. But for now, pay no heed to these malcontents and certainly do not complain if you desperately desire to hear a bullet-point strategy for fixing the ills of this country.
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