http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/breaking_news/10866462.htmRALEIGH -
He's pressuring lawmakers who are wary of his plan to offer personal investment accounts to younger workers in return for scaled-back guaranteed retirement benefits. And he's doing it in the lawmakers' own backyards.
"I like to get out of Washington," Bush explained to an audience in North Carolina. "I like to talk to people. But I also know that when the people speak, people in the Congress listen. So I'm kind of sharing with you a little bit of my strategy about how to move this issue forward."
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"I believe candidates are rewarded, not punished, for taking on tough issues," he said. "I say that to give assurance to the members of Congress who may be somewhat fearful of taking on the issue."
Still, Bush faces opposition to his plan for personal accounts from North Carolina Democrats. Rep. Bob Etheridge issued a statement admonishing the president for offering a "partisan political marketing ploy" that doesn't fix the problem and only creates massive costs and huge benefit cuts.
Outside the Raleigh event, there were protesters waving commercially made signs that read: "Hands off my Social Security."
(My first attempt at posting a picture, this one from the article just made me laugh;