So... Who's Serious About Protecting Social Security-- Like For Real?

A few weeks ago we shared the letter Raúl Grijalva, Mary Jo Kilroy and Alan Grayson sent to Speaker Pelosi about protecting Republican attempts to start dismantling Social Security. As of today there were 102 names on it, mostly Congressional Progressive Caucus members, but some moderates and even a few conservatives and Blue Dogs as well. The list is sure to rise but it may go down as well. In fact we hear that Ohio Blue Dog Zach Space is considering having his name removed. Why? Heath Shuler is whipping Blue Dog caucus members against the letter!

Blue Dogs... we'd be so much better off without them!

Here's the list of signers as it stands now:

Michael Arcuri (Blue Dog-NY)
Joe Baca (Blue Dog-CA)
Robert Brady (D-PA)
Corrine Brown (D-FL)
Lois Capps (D-CA)
Mike Capuano (D-MA)
Andre Carson (D-IN)
Betty Castor (D-FL)
Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Lacy Clay (D-MO)
John Conyers (D-MI)
Joe Courtney (D-CT)
Jerry Costello (D-IL)
Mark Critz (D-PA)
Joseph Crowley (D-NY) 
Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Danny Davis (D-IL)
Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
William Delahunt (D-MA)
Ted Deutch (D-FL)
John Dingell (D-MI)
Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Donna Edwards (D-MD)
Keith Ellison – 9/14/10
Eliot Engel (D-NY)
Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
Sam Farr (D-CA)
Bob Filner (D-CA)
Barney Frank (D-MA)
Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
John Garamendi (D-CA)
Alan Grayson (D-FL)
Al Green (D-TX)
Raúl Grijalva(D-AZ)
36.  Gutierrez – 9/21/10
John Hall (D-NY)
Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
Phil Hare (D-IL)
Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Brian Higgins (D-NY)
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Mike Honda (D-CA)
Jesse Jackson (D-IL)
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
Steve Kagen (D-WI)
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Dale Kildee (D-MI)
Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI)
Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH)
Larry Kissell (D-NC)
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
John Lewis (D-GA)
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Nita Lowey (D-NY)
Betty McCollum (D-MN) 
Dan Maffei (D-NY)
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Ed Markey (D-MA)
Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Kendrick Meek (D-FL)
Mike Michaud (Blue Dog-ME)
George Miller (D-CA)
Jerry Nadler (D-NY)
Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Richard Neal (D-MA)
Ealanor Norton (D-DC)
Jim Oberstar (D-MN)
John Olver (D-MA)
Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Ed Pastor (D-AZ)
Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Nick Rahall (D-WV)
Charlie Rangel (D-NY)
Laura Richardson (D-CA)
Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)
Steve Rothman (D-NJ)
Bobby Rush (D-IL)
Tim Ryan (D-OH)
Mark Schauer (D-MI)
John Salazar (Blue Dog-CO)   
José Serrano (D-NY)
Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
Albio Sires (D-NJ)
Louise Slaughter(D-NY)
Zach Space (Blue Dog-OH)- watch this space
Pete Stark (D-CA)
Betty Sutton (D-OH)
Bennie Thompson (D-MS)
John Tierney (D-MA)
Paul Tonko (D-NY)
Ed Towns (D-NY)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Anthony Wiener (D-NY)
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
David Wu (D-OR)

A bunch of progressives from the House and Senate-- no match for the effective conservative coalition that always rules the Senate and often the House-- got together today to wave their fists at Obama's Cat Food Commission and tell them not to dare hurt Social Security.

The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform "should keep their paws off" Social Security, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said on a phone call with reporters, calling for "no benefit cuts, no raising the retirement age, no privatization."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said explicitly that the purpose of the call was to warn the commission not to include recommendations to cut Social Security. "If you do we'll vote it down, and do everything we can to see it defeated," he said.

Sanders and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have introduced a resolution to express Senate opposition to Social Security cuts, which has 12 cosponsors. More than 100 lawmakers have also signed a letter to be sent to Mr. Obama opposing such cuts.

Liberals fear that the commission will recommend cuts to Social Security in part because of co-chair Alan Simpson's suggestion that the program is "a milk cow with 310 million tits." The National Organization for Women (NOW) delivered 1,500 baby bottle tops (meant to represent the "tits") to Simpson yesterday as part of their push to have him removed from the commission.

For the commission's recommendations to go forward, they must be agreed on by 14 out of 18 commissioners, at which point Congress can move to consider them. (House leaders have vowed to do so.) The commission is charged with reducing the deficit to three percent of the economy by 2015.

Sanders pointed to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that the program can pay full benefits through 2039 if Congress does nothing, and can continue to pay reduced benefits afterward.

Brown said that while raising the retirement age may not seem like a big deal to white collar workers, it would be devastating for people who work on their feet, such as a waitress or a carpenter. The current retirement age is 67, and House Minority Leader John Boehner has raised the possibility of raising it to 70. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn have also invoked the possibility of raising the retirement age.