Smelly Old SuperCommittee For Sale

Between reading Nancy Pelosi's disappointing and disheartening pledge of allegiance to the Austerity Class and the disgraceful, craven sell-out of the entire premise of the New Deal by the Beltway Democrats on the SuperCommittee, I was fit to be tied all day. And depressed. Then I started calling some of our Blue America candidates to ask them what they thought. What cheered me up and helped remind me about the difference between those who kiss up to the 1% in our party-- the Steny Hoyers and the Rahm Emanuels and the Blue Dogs, etc-- and the actual New Deal Democrats who are all about the 99% Movement. Ken Aden, who's running in a nearly impossible district in northwest Arkansas, was on his way home from the DCCC meetings in Washington this week. He called on his cell phone and told me that he had "met many people from across the economic spectrum this week in DC... and while some of them do have the average American at heart, when legislating a great many more have utterly and completely sold out to corporate interests. Now more than ever we as citizens must educate ourselves when it comes to the corporate prostitutes who claim to represent us and our families. We will be able to identify them by their works and voting record. Whether you have a D or R before your name... if you back attempts to cut Medicare and Social Security, you are nothing but a criminal." That cheered me up-- knowing there are candidates with fire in their belly on this and not going to let sleazy career politicians collecting cash from lobbyists get away with it. And Ken was hardly the only pissed off Democratic candidate. Norman Solomon is the progressive running for an open seat in Northern California. This is what he told me, coming back from the same DC meetings as Ken:

"Several months ago, our campaign took out a full-page newspaper ad in this district, throwing down a gauntlet with the headline: 'Cutting Social Security and Medicare Is Not Fiscal Responsibility. It's Betrayal.' I just returned home from Washington, where progressives are struggling to impede the momentum of slash-and-burn efforts against Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on Capitol Hill. We should be outraged that most of the Super Committee is so eager to engage in Super Betrayal of our country's precious social compact."

I'm not sure if Darcy Burner has made a public announcement that she's running for a new Washington congressional seat that seems almost tailor made for her. But she is running and the new district is made up of the parts of the old district she won when she ran in 2008. She's been working in DC since then but I'm glad to see she hasn't lost any of her fire or her indignation towards those who would go to the capital and sell out their voters back home. "We should not be asking seniors to sacrifice the healthcare and Social Security benefits they spent their lives paying for just because bankers don't want to pay for the damage they've caused to our country's economy. We must end the wars and ask millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share." Same Darcy Burner we've always loved! 

Lee Rogers is a world-renowned California physician running against anti-family reactionary and corporate shill Buck McKeon. A very moderate guy, he doesn't seem very pleased with the Democrats on the SuperCommittee. "It's deplorable," he told me, "that the Democratic Super Committee deficit reduction plan proposes such drastic cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Basically, they put social programs for our seniors and the poor on the table when the Republicans are unwilling to compromise on defense spending and revenue increases. These are not the right priorities." State Senator Eric Griego (D-NM) is running for the open seat in Albuquerque. He's been on fire lately and this morning he told me this:

“It would be unconscionable for any members of the Super Committee to put Medicare and Social Security cuts on the table. Millions of seniors rely on these bedrock Democratic programs for their wellbeing. What the Super Committee should be cutting instead are the billions spent in tax loopholes for Wall Street and big corporations, and the Republican Congress’ continued focus on using taxpayer money to coddle millionaires and Big Oil instead of standing up for middle class families-- the 99%.”

And it's not just candidates who are angry; there are more than a few Members of Congress who are fuming over the SuperCommittee sell-out as well. Let me publish House Concurrent Resolution 72, written by John Conyers (D-MI), with dozens of co-sponsors:

Expressing the sense of Congress that any legislative language approved by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction should not reduce benefits for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid recipients.

Whereas S. 365, the `Budget Control Act of 2011', creates a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction tasked with providing recommendations and legislative language that will significantly improve the short-term and long-term fiscal imbalance of the Federal Government;

Whereas large majorities of Americans want to address the deficit in a way that preserves Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits;

Whereas the Medicare program reflects the Nation's commitment to the health and independence of older Americans and Americans with disabilities by providing health care coverage to 42 million people;

Whereas Medicare safeguards beneficiaries and their families from the ruinous costs of medical treatments and prevents individuals from spending unmanageable proportions of their incomes on medical care or being pushed into poverty by their medical bills;

Whereas Medicaid provides a safety net for both low-income and middle-class families who may have family members stricken with catastrophic illness or injury or face prolonged infirmity in old age;

Whereas cuts to Medicaid would severely impact low-income families and individuals with disabilities, and curtail access to critical services, including nursing home and community care services;

Whereas cuts to Medicaid would limit the program's ability to provide women without health care coverage with prenatal, maternity, and postnatal care and hamper the United States efforts to prevent infant and prenatal deaths;

Whereas Social Security provides essential financial support to almost 55 million people in the United States, including more than 35 million retired workers;

Whereas Social Security provides modest benefits averaging $14,000 per year for retired workers, based on contributions paid into Social Security over a worker's lifetime of employment;

Whereas Social Security can pay full benefits through 2035;

Whereas Social Security has no borrowing authority, currently has $2.7 trillion in accumulated assets, and, therefore, does not contribute to the Federal budget deficit; and

Whereas the citizens of the United States deserve thoughtful and fair Social Security reform to protect current and future benefits and to ensure ongoing retirement security for seniors, protections for persons who become disabled, and benefits for the young children and spouses of deceased and disabled workers: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—
 
(1)  any deficit reduction plan put forward by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction should not balance the budget by eroding America's hard-earned retirement plan and social safety net;
 
(2)  Medicare's ability to deliver high quality health care in a cost-efficient manner should be strengthened and its benefits should be preserved for current and future retirees;
 
(3)  appropriate reform to strengthen Social Security's long-term outlook should ensure that Social Security remains a critical source of protection for the people of the United States and their families without further increasing the retirement age or otherwise decreasing benefits; and
 
(4)  Federal funding for the Medicaid program should be maintained so that senior citizens, poor and disabled children, and others with disabilities are able to gain and retain access to affordable health care.

There may well be more co-sponsors now but these are the folks who signed on to Congressman Conyers' resolution originally:

Joe Baca (D-CA)
Karen Bass (D-CA)
Robert Brady (D-PA)
Corrine Brown (D-FL)
G.K. Butterfield (D-NC)
Mike Capuano (D-MA)
André Carson (D-IN)
Judy Chu (D-CA)
David Cicilline (D-RI)
Hansen Clarke (D-MI)
Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)
Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Joe Courtney (D-CT)
Mark Critz (D-PA)
Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Danny Davis (D-IL)
Pete Defazio (D-OR)
Rosa Delauro (D-CT)
Donna Edwards (D-MD)
Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Bob Filner (D-CA)
Barney Frank (D-MA)
Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
Chalie Gonzalez (D-TX)
Al Green (D-TX)
Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)
Janice Hahn (D-CA)
Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI)
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Mike Honda (D-CA)
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Dale Kildee (D-MI)
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
John Lewis (D-GA)
Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Ed Markey (D-MA)
Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Brad Miller (D-NC)
Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Jerry Nadler (D-NY)
Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
John Olver (D-MA)
Ed Pastor (D-AZ)
Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Charlie Rangel (D-NY)
Silvestre Reyes (D-TX)
Laura Richardson (D-CA)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Bobby Rush (D-IL)
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Bobby Scott (D-VA)
José Serrano (D-NY)
Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
Pete Stark (D-CA)
Bennie Thompson (D-MS)
John Tierney (D-MA)
Paul Tonko (D-NY)
Edolphus Towns (D-NY)
Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
Frederica Wilson (D-FL)
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)

Conyers wasn't happy seeing Democrats on the SuperCommittee going over to the Dark Side. "We should not tackle our country’s fiscal problems by asking working and middle class Americans to sacrifice benefits earned over a lifetime of hard work. These benefits stand for the premise that if you work hard and play by the rules, you will be rewarded with a measure of economic security when retirement comes. We cannot back out on this commitment now, particularly during tough economic times."

John Waltz, running for the House seat in the Kalamazoo-based district currently held by Whirlpool heir and SuperCommittee member Fred Upton, is on the other side of Michigan from Conyers, but he was the first candidate Conyers endorsed this year. You can see why with this blast Waltz took at the same weak-knee-ed Democrats that drive Conyers and other progressives nuts:

"It seems like déjà vu all over again. When will the Democrats stop caving in to Republicans and fight against disastrous cuts to Medicare and Social Security? If Republicans want to draw a line in the sand with no tax increases then Democrats should do the same with these programs. We can easily cut the deficit not by raising taxes, but eliminating the loopholes that millionaires use to avoid paying their fair share. What about ending the wars and shrinking the military footprint we have around the globe? I know these proposals would cause some ire with Republicans, but isn't that a lot better than knowing you are being a sell out."

 
Raúl Grijalva, back home in Tucson consulting with his constituents this weekend, told me by phone that “The Supercommittee is playing by the rules that Republicans established. Democrats cannot play along. Let’s identify real savings and then present proposals that serve the American people. Let’s hold the line on Social Security and Medicare. Right now the American people need bold fighters, not cornered negotiators. Democrats can and should be those bold fighters.”
 
Democrats at the grassroots who have heard about this betrayal are flipping out. It was expected, of course, that all the Republicans and Max Baucus (D-MT) would do whatever they could to further the narrow interests of the 1%-- as they always do. But, when we're being sold down the river and stabbed in the back by the likes of Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), James Clyburn (D-SC), John Kerry (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), it makes you stop and wonder how much better a D-minus is than a flat-out F. As CredoAction reminded us:

The Republicans have a long-standing desire to dismantle Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. But according to recent news reports, a majority of Democrats on the Super Committee just proposed their own plan to reduce the deficit that included slashing Medicare benefits by $200 billion.

It's hard to image how the Democrats on the Super Committee could be any more out-of-touch or wrongheaded.

In the face of massive unemployment, rampant foreclosures, a sputtering economy and widespread anger that the country is systematically prioritizing the needs of the ultra-rich and wealthy corporations over the needs of the other 99% of us, the Democrats who support this plan think the best thing to do is make it harder and more expensive for seniors and the less fortunate to get medical care.

Just wondering, but would you pledge to actively work towards defeating any Democrat who sells out Medicare? I sure would-- and will.


UPDATE: More From New Deal Democrats

Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH): "Once again, the budget burden is falling more on seniors and working people instead of millionaires and Wall Street. We need to protect Medicare and Social Security from bad cuts and demand that those wealthy Americans who benefited from the economy pay their fair share in taxes.

Rep Brad Miller (D-NC): “Some Democrats apparently think the New Deal was all a mistake, and we need to get back to our roots as the party of Grover Cleveland. I’m not one of them. Democrats need to claim our legacy as the party of Social Security and Medicare, and the party willing to take on concentrated economic power on behalf of working and middle-class families. Most Americans believe in equality of opportunity and a broadly shared prosperity, which should be core Democratic values. If we stand with them, they’ll stand with us.”

Dave Lutrin (D-FL): "It is time for Congress to stand up for all of the American people instead of a select few. It is time for Democrats to stand up to the neighborhood bullies. If the Democrats on the Super Committee cave to the Republicans, it will be like Marlon Brando's character, Terry Malloy, 'taking a dive' in On The Waterfront. Terry said 'I coulda been a champ, instead of a bum, which is what I am.' Terry regretted his decision, as I believe will any Democrat who takes the wrong side. The Dems were elected to be champions of the people, they cannot let the people down. No cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Raise revenue for the good of the country."

Ed Potosnak (D-NJ): "I'll fight against cuts to Medicare, Social Security and budget tricks that break our promises to Seniors. Earlier in this Congress we saw Paul Ryan’s plan to turn Medicare into an inadequate voucher program, now we face a bi-partisan SuperCommittee that is once again trying to balance the budget on the backs of Seniors. We need to change the people in Washington. I will fight against cuts to Medicare and Social Security every day I'm in office and so should the Democrats on the SuperCommittee."

Nick Ruiz (D-FL): "Voters, organizations and personalities that support Democrats who act to decimate the greatest New Deal traditions of social justice and economic fairness, or do nothing to stop it-- are as much to blame as the corrosive politicians themselves. Liberals must stop walking around blind without a cane and act now to reject politicians who have betrayed them. Voters must act now to produce politicians who will not dance with the devils of working class destruction."

Howard Dean: "If the so-called Super Committee votes to increase the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67, it will completely erase all the gains we made in providing healthcare to every American under President Obama. Medicare is the only universal healthcare program that exists in the United States of America. No one who supports moving back the age of eligibility can possibly be considered an advocate for universal health insurance. In fact, if that happens, the legacy of the Democrats for the past four years will have been to do far more harm to the healthcare system than good... This is bad policy and we have to stop it. I will personally not support any candidate for any office that attempts to cut back Medicare in this way."

The 1% will spend like mad to empower a Congress filled their eager handmaidens like Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan and their supposedly reluctant handmaidens like Max Baucus and Chris Van Hollen. If candidates who are part of the 99% are going to overtake them, we need to elect people like John Waltz instead of Fred Upton and Eric Griego instead of Marty Chavez. If you can, please chip in here or here. Even $5 or $10 goes a long way towards saving the country from what the conservatives have in mind.