SS: So Where Do We Stand?This morning there were reports from the latest stop on the SS Phase-Out "Bamboozlepalooza" tour. So where do our elected officials stand?
The picture here definitely seems clearer, at least from Chuck Grassley:
From the Washington Post:
"Today, the public has not found his personal account approach compelling," Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa) said in an interview late Tuesday, less than 24 hours before appearing with Bush at Kirkwood Community College here.
...Grassley, chairman of the Senate panel responsible for Social Security, said in a separate interview Tuesday afternoon: "I don't think [Bush] has made much progress on solving the solvency issue or what to do about personal accounts. It concerns me because as time goes on, I was hoping [Bush] would be able to make my job easier. We are not hearing from the grass roots that, by golly, you guys in Congress have to work on this." Grassley supports private Social Security accounts.
The home-state Des Moines Register noted something a little different:
"I'm gaining confidence," Grassley said. "I'm gaining confidence because of the fact that [Bush] is working so hard."
But Grassley, an Iowa Republican and chairman of the influential Senate Finance Committee, remained skeptical about whether Americans would embrace personal investment accounts. Bush spent most of his time Wednesday promoting the controversial proposal.
But Grassley, who controls the agenda for the committee that oversees Social Security and supports the idea of allowing younger workers to invest part of their payroll taxes in government-managed accounts, said the public is "not closer in buying into personal accounts."
The NY Times also noted this:
Representative Jim Leach, a moderate Iowa Republican who flew with Mr. Bush back to Washington on Air Force One, said they did not discuss Social Security on the flight. Mr. Leach is one of several Republicans who have not taken a position on individual accounts, and he says he has heard plenty of resistance from constituents.
So - what's going on? It seems that the constituents (i.e. "The Iowa Public") are against phasing out Social Security - removing the fixed benefit plan that we've come to count on.
However, the administration is definitely convincing Iowa's GOP Representatives to "stick to principle" and vote against the will of their constituents.
Folks, write this one down and remember it come election time in 2006.
Another note from elsewhere: pstans at the Democratic Underground reported on a town hall meeting held by Tom Latham.
The verdict: Latham is also perfectly willing to defy his constituency in order to support phase-out.
I pointed out to Latham that his web site and the pamphlet he mailed out stated he is adamantly opposed to privatization, and I was glad to see that. But is he really opposed to Bush's privatization plan? He then tried to redefine privatization, and he would not say one way or another if he supported Bush's privatization plan. Others pointed out to him how misleading he is with his stated opposition to privatization. I think he is very vulnerable on this issue, and he came off to many as quite evasive and deceiving on this and other issues.
So, three congressmen leaning "phase out" against their constituents (Grassley, Latham, Leach), two going silent (King, Nussle - hey, isn't there another race in 2006?) and two against (Boswell, Harkin).
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