SOCIAL SECURITY BLUES….The LA Times reports today that Democrats are resolutely opposed to George Bush’s Social Security plans, conservatives are blowing their stacks over the possibility of raising the payroll tax cap, no one wants to talk about benefit cuts, and the public is slowly turning against private accounts. In other words, things aren’t looking good for the prez.
I guess they call it the third rail of American politics for a reason. I continue, though, to think that somewhere there’s a Plan B in the background. Bush has gained a reputation for resoluteness based on his unbending dedication to upper crust tax breaks and military action in Iraq, but as Marshall Wittman points out, he’s happily flip flopped on practically every other policy initiative he’s been associated with. He’s probably willing to do it this time too.
He’s good at it, too, which means that Max is right: Democrats shouldn’t let themselves get panicked into offering alternatives to Bush’s plan too soon. After all, there’s no particular crisis at hand and no particular reason to help Bush out of a dilemma of his own making. Let him twist for a while.
