Will Lieberman Sell The Democrats Out On Social Security?

[LiviaOlivia]

&c.
Noam Scheiber's Daily Journal Of Politics
11-17-04


WILL LIEBERMAN SELL THE DEMOCRATS OUT ON SOCIAL SECURITY?: I have a piece in next week's issue laying out where I think Social Security reform is headed. One of the assumptions in the piece is that it's going to be extremely difficult for the White House to get Democrats on board--for all the obvious reasons, and for some that are less obvious. (One is that the president just successfully campaigned against Texas Rep. Charlie Stenholm, one of the few House Democrats willing to work with him on Social Security privatization.) I still think that's going to be the way Social Security reform shakes out--that is, if we get any bill at all, it will be an obviously partisan bill that's rammed through Congress over Democratic objections. Certainly it won't be anything resembling genuine bipartisanship. Still, for Hill Democrats currently plotting their Social Security strategy, this nugget in today's Washington Post had to be a little disconcerting:

Meanwhile, a group of "centrist" Democrats and Republicans, led by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), met to plot ways to push a moderate agenda on fiscal policy, Social Security reform, and aid to education.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55404-2004Nov16.html

As with tax cuts, I'm pretty sure the president isn't looking to pursue a moderate agenda on Social Security reform. (What comes to mind for most people on the center-left when they hear the phrase "moderate agenda on Social Security reform" is a slight tweaking of the growth in benefits, the retirement age, or the payroll tax in order to make the program solvent for the next 75 years.) Which means the only Social Security bill Lieberman could conceivably help pass is one that partially privatizes the program, something he's been sympathetic to in the past. It'd be a real shame if Lieberman were to become the Democratic window-dressing on a truly awful Social Security bill. Let's hope that's not where this is going.

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A real shame? Any compromise with the GOP on anything will be treachery, disloyalty, faithlessness, perfidiousness, deceitfulness, duplicity, Machiavellianism and a complete breach of trust. The rules of the game have changed and some still don't get it.

[VivaKerry]

1. Yes. of course. Is the pope catholic? n/t

*

[Surikat]

2. betcha...

[NV Whino]

3. Lieberman will sell the Democrats out on everything n/t

[rooboy]

4. Joe Lieberman is a Democrat ???? Huh. n/t

[w4rma]

5. Dems should have forced is greedy butt to give up that Senate seat to run

for Vice President. FORCED HIM. Then maybe he would have fought Cheney harder since he wouldn't have a cushy job to return to. Sen. Lieberman simply cannot be trusted, anymore.

[autorank]

6. He sold the country out when he opposed accounting reform.

Why not the trifecta: screw social security and then take a * cabinet position just before the stooge Republican Governor of CT steps down.

LIEBERMAN IS IMMORAL. LIEBERMAN LACKS ETHICS. LIEBERMAN HATES GOD

Corporate America controls the media and we get manufactured news.
Corporate America now controls the voting machines and we get manufactured elections.

http://www.blackboxvoting.org/

[madfloridian]

7. Yes, that is part of the DLC platform....read this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1365751

[JohnnyRingo]

8. Is he a democrat now?

...When did that happen?

[eileen from OH]

9. Sorry, only got to the first six words

and the answer is "yes".

We need "go-mentum". Or "stay home-mentum". Or "blow-joe-mentum."

Or "bite-me-mentum". (Yeah, it doesn't rhyme. Sue me.)


eileen from OH

[American Tragedy]

10. And people wonder why we don't trust Lieberman and his moderate corps

When I heard that Lieberman had supposedly formed an alliance with moderate Republicans, I knew it would be nothing more than a premeditated capitulation.

[zulchzulu]

11. Has Loserman said any quotes about privatizing Social Security?

I did some quick Googles and he appears to be against it...but then I couldn't take any more research on such a boring guy.

http://www.socialsecurity.org/election00/candidates.html
http://www.socialsecurity.org/daily/08-17-00.html
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45c/187.html

He was sort of for it, then sort of against it. Ick... enough of seeing that DINO fuckwad in my brain.

[Kahuna]

12. Well now. He just wouldn't be our Joementum unless he rats us out.

:shrug: