The Republicans See An Opportunity To Fulfill A Long Sought Dream-- Dismantling Social Security

"John Boehner has suggested the Social Security age should be raised to 70. His Republican colleagues have called for privatization or elimination of the Social Security program altogether, even after the economic meltdown of the past decade. In fact, there has never been a greater need for the safety net Social Security provides our senior citizens. Mr. Boehner's priorities are more than a little backward if he wants to give money to the wealthiest 2% of Americans through unfunded tax cuts and then rob our seniors of the security of a program they've paid into all their lives."

The above quote is from Justin Coussoule, the progressive Democrat running for the southwestern Ohio congressional seat currently held-- for the past two decades-- by John Boehner, the man with pretensions towards the Speakers Chair. This week Justin joined with Kentucky Attorney General, and Senate candidate, Jack Conway, and more than 200 other incumbents and Democratic challengers in signing a pledge to protect Social Security from the forces at work attempting to privatize it or dismantle it. Dozens of Republican candidates are claiming, like their antecedents in the 1930s and '40s did, that the program is unconstitutional, as though any of them had a clue or a care about the Constitution. The pledge states unequivocally that the candidates won’t privatize Social Security, either partially or fully, or allow the retirement age to go up, no matter how many times Big Business shills like Sharron Angle shriek incomprehensibly about "manning up."

You can find the growing list of candidates and incumbents at the PCCC website, SocialSecurityProtectors.com. Meanwhile Raúl Grijalva, Chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and one of the original signers of the pledge, sent a letter to President Obama, signed by 136 incumbents, firmly opposing any Social Security cuts. Along with Dan Maffei (D-NY) and John Conyers (D-MI) Grijalva has been working on their letter for several months. Grijalva is eager to point out that "there’s simply no reason to cut Social Security, and now we see just how much support we have across the country. The uninformed and misguided belief that it will reduce the deficit is dangerous for America’s current retirees, working families and students who will soon enter the workforce. Social Security is a fundamental compact between the government and the American people, and it’s not on the negotiating table in this Congress or the next Congress.”
 
Obama’s deficit commission, something that could easily prove to be the death knell of an already shaky presidency, and which is meeting in secret to plan ways to cut the budget deficit, will need a combination of Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress if it wants to pass any Social Security reductions. The 136 Democrats who signed on mean there is no other way to pass it other than for the conservatives-- all the Republicans and whichever Blue Dogs and their fellow travelers remaining after November 2-- to come out of their closet and show America that they are all basically Pat Toomey, Sharron Angle, Rand Paul, Ken Buck, Joe Miller, Ron Johnson, Marco Rubio and the other right-wing extremists whose contempt for ordinary working families has been bubbling over and unbounded.
 
“Social Security is not a gift, it’s a fundamental part of our social fabric and national support network,” said Grijalva. “This is not something you can just turn off or tune out.” This is the letter they sent to the President.

Dear Mr. President,
 
We write today to express our strong support for Social Security and our view that it should be strengthened. We oppose any cuts to Social Security benefits, including raising the retirement age. We also oppose any effort to privatize Social Security, in whole or in part.
 
You have charged the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with proposing recommendations that improve the long-term fiscal outlook and address the growth of entitlement spending. It is our view that Social Security-- which is prohibited by law from adding to the national budget deficit-- does not belong as part of those recommendations.   

By 2023, Social Security will have built up a $4.3 trillion surplus, and, without any action, can pay full benefits until 2037 and at least 75 percent of all benefits thereafter. Because Social Security is funded separately from the general treasury and has no borrowing authority, it has not contributed to the federal deficit. Despite these facts, some Commission members have repeatedly alleged the need to cut Social Security for budgetary reasons.
 
For 75 years, Social Security has been a promise to the American people that if they work hard and pay their fair share, they will have a financially secure retirement. In communities across this country, Social Security benefits are often the only source of income helping families maintain a decent standard of living. Social Security’s benefits are modest, averaging less than $13,000 a year, but they are vital to the vast majority of Americans who receive them.
 
Cutting Social Security benefits beyond the already scheduled increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67 would create even more needless hardship for millions of vulnerable Americans. This is especially true in the face of an economic downturn that has wiped out trillions of dollars that Americans were relying on for their retirement security and the increased dismantlement of the private and public pension systems.
 
If any of the Commission’s recommendations cut or diminish Social Security in any way, we will stand firmly against them. We urge you to join us in protecting and strengthening Social Security rather than letting it fall victim to a misguided attempt to reduce budget deficits on the backs of working families.

As for the pledge, every Blue America-endorsed candidate has signed it-- incumbents Alan Grayson, Mary Jo Kilroy and, of course, Raúl Grijalva as well as challengers Bill Hedrick, Beth Krom, Fred Johnson, Tarryl Clark, Billy Kennedy, Ann Kuster, Ed Potosnak, Justin Coussoule, and Joyce Elliott.

Let me go back to Coussoule for a moment, since he's how we started and his opponent is the one likely to make the first move against Social Security if-- as looks disturbingly possible-- he gets the opportunity. Below are two ads. The first is the Coussoule campaign's TV spot and the second is the Blue America TV spot. This page affords you the opportunity to donate to the one you like better-- or, hopefully, to both of them. Both are running in Ohio's eighth CD now. Both need some help staying on the air 'til November 2nd. If you want to see the first ad stay on 'til the end, put your money in the slot that says "Justin Coussoule." If you want to see the second ad on all the way to the finish line, put your money in the slot that says "Blue America PAC." The link again is here: Time For Boehner To Retire.