Bush Cites His Failed Attempt At Privatizing Social Security As A Success

Up is down and left is right in the Bush Administration. Even when George Bush isn't using outright doublespeak, what he says makes absolutely no sense at all. Two of his ever-lasting cheerleaders, Fred Barnes and William "The Bloody" Kristol went to interview him and extolled his greatness, even if the examples of it were disastrous failures.

From ThinkProgress:

Speaking of Bush’s legacy, Barnes reports that the president cited his push to privatize Social Security as his biggest domestic policy accomplishment:

On domestic policy, Bush was asked if he made progress in some areas for which he hasn’t and probably won’t get credit. Topping his list was his unsuccessful drive in 2005 to reform Social Security. Bush said his effort showed it’s politically safe to campaign on changing Social Security and then actually seek to change it.

He also said it was important to have raised private investment accounts as an attractive option in reforming Social Security.

It seems odd that Bush cited an unsuccessful effort as his biggest domestic policy achievement, but understandable given that he doesn’t have much else to consider. But not only was Bush’s drive to privatize Social Security an utter failure, the concept is also widely unpopular with the American public and if enacted, it would have had disastrous consequences for Americans’ retirement funds.

Billions upon billions, even trillions of dollars could have been lost had Bush won that legislative battle. Highlighting that episode is even stranger because it marked a turning point in his Presidency. It was only a few short months after being re-elected and his popularity plunged when he tried to privatize the third rail of American politics. His response to Hurricane Katrina did him in, but this was what started his long decline.

Chambliss Lies About His Record On Social Security

As I type, voters are heading to the polls down in Georgia to decide whether Chambliss returns to Washington or Jim Martin replaces him to change one corrupted seat in the Senate. Last night, in a bid to woo Georgians that want to keep social security as it is, he lied about his pro-privatization record, contradicting a statement he made this July.

Robo McCain Slimes Obama Over Health Care Plan

John McCain has significantly increased his robo-call attacks on Barack Obama. Perhaps it is cheaper to reach people than spending millions on advertising, but what is in those calls is becoming more and more disturbing. The latest one tries to say that Obama will slow the development of life-saving drugs even though nothing of the sort is mentioned.

From TPM:

Script

...because Barack Obama and the Democrats have jeopardized our Medicare and Social Security with their proposed massive government takeover of health care, and will be reducing access to doctors and slowing development of life-saving drugs. Don't let the inexperience and poor judgement of Barack Obama and his Democrat allies put our livelihood at risk. This call was paid for by the Republican National Committee and McCain-Palin 2008 at 866 558-5591.

It's pretty craftily worded. Note how the call insinuates that Obama and Dems will slow development of life saving drugs in addition to passing their plan, as if that's actually an Obama policy goal. That's a twist on the stock GOP line, which is that the plan itself would have that effect.

The Huffington Post first got word of this call from readers, and we just obtained the call from a reader in Wisconsin.

As the days before the election grow shorter, the attacks are and will become nastier. The reality is that while the conservative base would like to see medical advances from embryonic stem cells eliminated, Democrats want to continue those amazing discoveries and fully fund science programs so that we can remain competitive in scientific and technological breakthroughs in the future. As for Medicare and Social Security, McCain would reduce Medicare benefits and his goal of privatizing Social Security would have put the system in severe distress due to the perilous situation in the markets.

The GOP And Bush Wanted To Ruin That Too

Remember back three and a half years ago when George Bush said it was crucial that we privatize Social Security? Now on November 4th, keep it in mind that the Republicans still want their dream of privatizing SSI realized.

Happy Birthday Social Security

Who else would be better to wish the program a happy 73rd birthday than Franklin Delano Roosevelt's grandson?

McCain Wishes He Didn't Address Social Security Question

McCain shows off his "straight-talking" in York, PA today:

John McCain: A Total Disgrace

McCain manages to not only trash Social Security but compare his future Presidency to Ronald Reagan in the process.

John McCain: " Social Security Is A Total Disgrace"

So much for the third rail and the long-surviving institution created by the New Deal. At least as far as Republicans go that is. George Bush tried to privatize Social Security three years ago and at that point he lost all respect from the majority of Americans. Now John "McSame" McCain is not only following in George's footsteps, but he wants to take it even further because he feels that the entire program is "total disgrace."

From The Carpetbagger Report:

It’s possible John McCain decided he doesn’t really want to be president after all. It’s a tough, demanding job, and maybe McCain came to the conclusion he’s just not up to the task. It seemed like a good idea to him last year, but maybe he bit off more than he could chew. It’s too late for McCain to bow out, but he can ensure his defeat by saying the most breathtakingly dumb things imaginable.

Take Social Security, for example, one of the most popular and successful government programs in American history. McCain recently said he supports privatizing the system. Then he said, he doesn’t want to privatize the system. Then he said he would privatize the system, he just doesn’t want it to be called privatization.

Listening to him talk, it sounded as if John McCain, after more than a quarter-century in Congress, simply didn’t know how the Social Security system works. And this week, McCain proved that he simply doesn’t know how the Social Security system works. Here’s what he told a town-hall audience in Denver on Monday:

“Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that’s a disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace, and it’s got to be fixed.”

OK, let’s take a deep breath here. Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system. Current workers pay into the system to provide benefits for retirees, and when those workers retire, the next generation will pay their benefits. That’s what Social Security is. That’s how it works. That’s how it’s always worked.

And as Carpetbagger notes, this isn't the only time he has said this. If this is his opinion, then he wants to permanently end Social Security as we know it. The funds that pay for the system would disappear and the greatest social safety net we have ever created in the United States would be no more.

Unbelievably the media is not even bothering to call him out on this....so we have to, and so does Barack Obama. I can't wait for this to come up at one or all of the debates this fall. If it gets mentioned on national television, all I can say is that would be the end of John McCain.

Why You Should NOT Vote For Ron Paul

Everyone knows about Ron Paul now. He broke the record for most amount of money raised in a single day, gets a ridiculous amount of hits for his name on the internet and is a dark horse in the Republican primary, specifically for his anti-war stance and pulling troops out of Iraq. It all sounds so good at first, but there is more to the man than meets the eye. Generally for a politician, you can see below the skin from policy positions and especially from his voting record.

From DailyKos:

Ron Paul wants the US to withdraw from the UN or at least from UNESCO.

Ron Paul has authored legislation saying that life begins at conception, to prevent federal money from being spent on family planning (that would include contraception), and has tried to amend the Constitution to "guarantee the right to life."

Ron Paul has tried to repeal the Occupational Health and Safety Act, to abolish the minimum wage, and to eviscerate Social Security.

Ron Paul wants guns in schools.

Ron Paul has tried to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act to guarantee employees of federal contractors the prevailing wage and wants to make it easier to decertify a union.

Ron Paul wants to amend the Constitution to end birthright citizenship.

Ron Paul wants to dismantle the Federal Reserve and prepare for a return to the Gold Standard, which would destroy the economy.

And those are just the beginning, there are many, many, many more where that comes from. So to those moderate-conservative Democrats and Independents out there considering their support for Ron Paul, you better think twice before going into that polling booth.

I'd Love To See Obama Supporters Defend Barack Over The Third Rail

If any liberal has followed politics in America in the last few years, they can tell you that times were down and out until George Bush screwed with the unscrewable. The third rail is something you never touch on a train track and absolutely stay away from when a government program is considered as such.

When the President and his minions tried to privatize social security, they began to lose and lose big. It was George's first defeat and now it is one of many, especially with a Democratic majority in the Congress. Although Bush was doing spectacular damage to our nation from January of 2001, it was the social security debate that pulled the wool from the country's collective eyes.

So if any Obama supporters can tell me why Barack is buying into the right-wing hype that social security is a growing problem that must be addressed with increasing taxes for the slightly upper middle class (something wingers will pound us for), please let me know. If you are shocked that your candidate would do such a thing and the first thing that comes to mind is how to spin this so you can justify your support for him....please do not do that, just take a step back and realize that there are eight candidates in the race and that Barack isn't the only anti-Hillary.

We all know what the real problem is behind those increasing social security costs and Paul Krugman can tell you why.