Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas said that partisan warfare over President George W. Bush's Social Security plan would render the plan "a dead horse." He called "on Congress to undertake a broader review of the problems of an aging nation."
He thought that Medicare's problems should be included in the review. He suggested that perhaps benefits for women should differ from those of men because women live longer; and that maybe blue collar workers could retire earlier than white collar workers.
Quite a mouthful. Some people think Republicans are getting cold feet. Maybe some are. But I doubt that Bush is. I think they are trying to confuse Democrats.
Listen to Thomas's warning:
If you start with the statement that your goal is to sabotage whatever we try to do, to try to put you in the majority in the next eleaction, then I am forced to try to solve the problem on a partisanship basis.
When was the last time we had bipartisanship in Congress? Republicans have been, for the last 4 years doing everything in the most egregious partisan way. They have excluded Democrats from bill writing, limited Democrat discussion, and kept Democrats out of Senate-House Conferences. Democrats were treated like dirt. Now Republicans are asking for bipartisanship. It makes you wonder why.
Some optimistic Democrats are proclaiming that we have won the Social Security battle. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Social Security battle will rage for a good part of this year. It is ridiculous to think that Bush would give up on the number 1 priority item on his agenda.
What's happening now are Republican machinations. Democrats need to be wary. They need to stand pat and insist on NO PRIVATIZATION. No bipartisanship unless PRIVATIZATION IS DROPPED. We definitely should not wade into Medicare. This is nothing but bait to catch Democrats who have been saying that Medicare is a bigger problem than Social Security. So it is, but it should be tackled with another bill. And NO PRIVATIZATION.
All Democrats should speak with one voice: We will listen to any proposal, but NO PRIVATIZATION.
