WHouse Balks at Submitting Social Security Plan

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has told lawmakers it has no immediate plans to submit its own detailed proposal to Congress for overhauling Social Security, sources briefed by the administration said on Tuesday.
...
Republican and Democratic congressional aides said the White House made clear in briefings this week it would not submit a legislative proposal, at least not for the time being. Instead, the White House will try to coordinate efforts with lawmakers crafting their own proposals.

A senior Bush administration official said no final decision had been made. "If there comes a point when the president needs to spell out specific legislation, he won't hesitate," the official said.

A Democratic congressional aide said the White House was "backsliding" in the face of stiffer-than-expected opposition.

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7574181

[ourbluenation]

1. wtf? why make all the fuss then?

Is there something wrong with this picture?

[NYC]

9. They got caught.

Several newspapers have carried articles about how bad this plan is for the people.

[cthrumatrix]

38. bingo...the "trial balloon popped"

[Occulus]

2. BWAAAAAAA

Don't let up, people. Don't let up at ALL.

[DS1]

3. Umm, nevermind that Sochasecurity thing, TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!!

"Mars, sir"

TO MARS AND BEYOND!!!

[Larkspur]

4. Keep the pressure on folks

The Regressives melt in the face of a strong and courageous opposition that beats it with the truth.

[cthrumatrix]

33. exactly...keep calling your reps...let them know

[applegrove]

5. Even their own Patriot Patsies will not go for it!

Even their own Patriot Patsies will not go for it!

Perhaps coming up with that 55 year-old-line didn't separate folk like they had hoped. Now what is it about Grandparents that makes it much harder for them to be sliced and diced and separated from their "known enemies - the young".

Tell Karl to get on that one right away!!!

[MSgt213]

6. Next they will be saying they didn't even raise the issue. Clinton did.

[No Exit]

10. LOL! Actually, they did indeed say that!

Clinton's responsible for the Iraq mess and for all those illegal aliens, too, haven't you heard?

[Petrushka]

29. Clinton? -- Nuh-uh. -- FDR !

"Roosevelt saw need for personal accounts: Said Social Security would require such reform by about 1965"

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42750

:eyes:

Edited to add: FDR's words taken out of context. His 1-17-35 statement to Congress can be found at the Social Security Administration's website @:

http://www.ssa.gov/history/fdrstmts.html

His 1935 State of the Union speech:

http://www.albany.edu/faculty/gz580/his101/su35fdr.html

[madaboutharry]

7. The truth is they don't have an f****** plan.

Just like they didn't have a plan for Iraq. They never think of tomorrow, only what they want today.

[Just Me]

39. Naw. They'll pop a 1,000 page legislative piece night before the "vote".

That's been their past tactic.

Betcha' they'll just withhold it until the very last minute so there can't be much debate!!

:mad:

[struggle4progress]

40. Oh, but they do have a plan. It's called "Screw you, Granma" ...

... and was designed by the same crowd that thought up Enron's "Screw you, California." They'll happily show it to us, if we promise not to scream "Republicans are a bunch of wacko extremists!"

[flyarm]

8. why let americans know...

how badly they are getting screwed...until the deal is done...

whats another screwing by the * cabal??
(scarcasm)

we are getting used to it now!!

doesn't everyone want to eat dog food as a senior citizen??

:evilfrown: :mad: :wtf: :argh: :grr: :nuke:

fly

[More Than A Feeling]

11. I knew it!

Unless Bush knows he will win beforehand, he won't even risk defeat. If he can't spin it somehow into a victory for him, it would be a major blow to his prestige. Then the floodgates would open and he would be crowned a lame duck.

[AlCzervik]

12. hey they figure why should they

they're gotten away with everything else at this point.

[Gloria]

13. Dems should continue to blast away, paint the big picture of how

this is a big RIP-OFF!!

And watch for the GOPers to try to pass little bits and pieces of this crap....

The Dems have to make this part of a bigger picture about how Bushco is screwing the average American in all facets of life....

[tabasco]

14. The Democratic aide used a bad choice of words.

He/she should have said the White House was doing the right thing by not pushing this ill-intentioned plan on the People.

Saying the White House is backsliding seems like saying "bring em on."

[TahitiNut]

15. It's called "a pig in a poke" ... in this case, a rotten carcass of a pig.

It's the oldest con job known ... almost as old as "of course I'll respect you in the morning."

[BrotherBuzz]

16. Focused on finding a bipartisan solution?

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush "is focused on finding a bipartisan solution that addresses this important priority this year."

Me thinks they found the solution....Third rail syndrome...Don't Touch!.

[The Zanti Regent]

31. And Lieberman STILL backs this

PLEASE is there NOBODY in Connecticut who will challenge that whore?

[Nite Owl]

17. They have no plan!

Just like the war they just sort of expected the public to greet their airhead proposal with open arms. Just 'believe us', it'll work.

[aquart]

18. WHAT????

Are they supposed to vote on it and then write it? What on God's green earth is going on?

[winston61]

19. Nothing new for Bush/Rove

Anyone who lived in Texas under Rove/Bush knows that this is standard operating procedure for them. We know that shrub has no interest in policy so it's no surprise that he has no input. They didn't form the proposed demolition of SS, that came from Cato and Heritage. We are in the era when think tanks and lobbyists write legislation and hand it over to Congress. Shrub just parrots what he is told. Rove makes sure that nothing concrete will come out of the White House. When a policy fails Bush can walk away from it because his finger prints aren't on it. If something succeeds, the party will allow him to step up and take credit for his 'leadership'. In the Bush White House, 'leadership' means talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. He's not really very interested in giving speeches. Did you see him during the intro at the Detroit Business Club today? Try as he might he can't do anything about his body language and the look on his face and the tone in his voice. They give him away every time.

[applegrove]

21. Interesting - the way they never leave things on paper

I guess if nothing is on paper then they just change the thinking of all and take or leave credit. Thus they end up with a perfect record.

No record at all.

Makes no sense that they don't want fingerprints on paper. Since they didn't even mention SS in the election as a plan.

Smoke and mirrors.

Democrats should just drop the whole SS thing. Force Bush to do something or take some action.

[cthrumatrix]

25. BINGO .... and the lapdog media never questions his lies along the way.

[TahitiNut]

28. It's easier for them to talk about things that don't exist.

It's easier to talk the talk when there's no walk to walk. Just like the TANG during the Vietnam era, they pretend. (The 'P' in 'GOP' stands for 'Pretentious.' It's another word for fake.)

When something exists, there's always the chance that something they might say about it is either discovered to be untrue or is politically inconvenient. They've honed the fine political art of creating the "perception (that) is reality." After all, how many times has the Whore Media referred to the "White House Plan"?? How many times have we heard the pimps for the Reich challenge the Democrats to offer an "alternative plan"?? Throwing shit on the wall, these septic tank escapees are waiting until enough sticks. They're the Bob Rumson (of 'American President') Party.

[despairing optimist]

20. From the future: a photo of * after touching the third rail

"What, you say? You don't trust me?"

[deacon2]

22. It's another "faith-based" initiative from the Annointed One

They're playing High Noon with us now. We're supposed to counter offer to their non-offer so they can steal any good parts and then flail us with whatever they don't like. I prefer the way the Dems are playing it right now - "this is beneath contempt. Next!"

[AndrewJacksonFaction]

37. Bingo

They want the Dems. ideas just like they did in the election. Remember Kerry's plan for Iraq? Kerry suggested a pretty detailed proposal then all of a sudden shrub came sliding in and said that has been his plan all along. The only difference here is that the Dems. have suggested that we just repeal 1/3 of the tax cut, Shrub wants none of that. So he will have to come up with something of his own, which we know, WILL not happen. This poor bastard has never had an original idea in his life.

[reprehensor]

23. WHouse Balks at Submitting Social Security Plan

Nothing to see here, move along.

WHouse Balks at Submitting Social Security Plan

Tue Feb 8, 2005 08:31 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has told lawmakers it has no immediate plans to submit its own detailed proposal to Congress for overhauling Social Security, sources briefed by the administration said on Tuesday.

President Bush has made adding private retirement accounts to the Social Security system his top domestic priority. The proposal has run into opposition from Democrats and some of Bush's fellow Republicans.

Bush bases his call for a broad overhaul of the 70-year-old Social Security program on his contention it is headed into a financial crisis, a characterization Democrats, and many in his own Republican Party, say exaggerates the problem.

Republican and Democratic congressional aides said the White House made clear in briefings this week it would not submit a legislative proposal, at least not for the time being. Instead, the White House will try to coordinate efforts with lawmakers crafting their own proposals.

more@link

[liberal N proud]

24. The outrage over the changes is so big, they will bury it for a few

months then sneak it in under the radar and BOOM, it is done before anyone knows it.
Watch and see.

[KayLaw]

26. I suspect Tahiti Nut is right

It's a good old-fashioned pig in a poke, but what if it's more? What if they plan to spend all the money on PNAC's wars and run up debt on other horrid things? What if they know we're heading toward a crisis similar to Argentina's? I read in an article on Smirking Chimp that all it takes is an Act of Congress and they can cut current recipients payments. That's what they did in Argentina--they just stopped writing the checks?

Who would be blamed? The Democrats. Bush could just say, Well, I tried to fix they system but they wouldn't let me.

[sadiesworld]

27. SS is running a surplus...

and that surplus is still being used to fund government. If I understand your post correctly, you are concerned that in the event of a fiscal meltdown the repugs will argue that (because of dem obstructionism) there isn't ENOUGH $ being diverted from the SSA to the general fund. Seems like a tough sell to me.

Reid has the right idea--don't offer a counter-proposal to a non-proposal. Explain the rip-off to the American people and fight making the tax cuts to the uber wealthy permanent.

[KayLaw]

30. I'm with you

Unfortunately, there have been so many tough sales made, sometimes it seems anything is possible.

[sadiesworld]

32. "so many tough sales made...seems anything is possible"

Agreed. And should have been included in my original post. :hi:

[adigal]

34. Dems have to do like Repubs

did with Clinton's health care. Say the problem is exaggerated and refuse to put forth an alternative that can be used against them. Just for now, talk about rolling back the tax cuts, raising the cap. No NEW plans.

[rodeodance]

35. it may be a winning tactic by the WH--get all the guff out on both sides-

then come acroose as having the Best plan. Not bad, not bad.



........."They know if they send up a plan with benefit cuts it will get killed," a Democratic congressional aide said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush "is focused on finding a bipartisan solution that addresses this important priority this year."
"We're going to continue to talk with Republican and Democratic leaders about how best to get this done. ... He welcomes all ideas. And so those are matters that we'll continue to discuss with members of Congress about how best to proceed going forward," McClellan added.

[cthrumatrix]

36. translation -- they are scrambling to find a new way to screw us!

[Disturbed]

41. The Rethugs have no ideas..

They want to Dems to come up with plans so that they can steal them and call them their own. Sen. Kennedy offered a solution but that will never be in play: Scuttle the tax cuts for the Wealthy.