Confirming my suspicions, Republicans don't seem too bothered by Texas Gov. Rick Perry's "Ponzi scheme" rhetoric. A new Gallup poll showed:
• 19% of Republicans were more likely to support Perry for saying it
• 19% of Republicans were less likely to support Perry for saying it
• The ratio was 12% and 32% for Independents
• 24% of Republicans said it made no difference
• 21% of Independents said the same
In truth, it doesn't make a difference. As I said in How the Left is Losing and the Right is Framing the Social Security Debate, how some crank defines Social Security is irrelevant. What matters is the future of the program under a Republican president. Both Perry and Mitt Romney, the two frontrunners, believe Social Security should be privatized. Privatization would turn Social Security into a retirement plan that benefits the well-off, not an anti-poverty safety net for seniors.