Bush explains his Social Security Plan

“From the Bush administrations official site (see link at bottom for full transcript)



Q -- .... how is it the new plan is going to fix that problem?

THE PRESIDENT: Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what has been promised.

Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red.

Okay, better? I'll keep working on it. (Laughter.)

Yes, sir.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050204-13.html”

“Jay Leno put that film clip on his show the other night. The following night he put on another with a single mom telling Bush she works 3 jobs and he told her "That's fantastic".”

“And this is the fantastic leader for the neocons?

Follow the leader I guess.”

“Be afraid....be very afraid”

“I’m always surprised…OK, I’m lying, I’m not surprised with how premature the democrats and the left is in their condemnation of any ideas or proposals that come from this administration. Before Bush gave any outline at all the democrats came out and said they would oppose any efforts made to fix SS. Even when Bush stated in his speech that all options are on the table for what to do with SS we got nothing constructive from the democrats except childish cat calling and hissing.

And this is all well and good IMHO. Keep it up please. The “we’re against anything Bush is for” platform worked out real well in the election so we can only hope it drags the democratic party even further down as each attempt by the administration is booed and hissed at. The best thing is, the administration doesn’t need the left in order to achieve it’s goals. So while the admin actually does get things done the left will be shown to have no part in it’s success and will only be seen as a baseless party that acts as a spoiled child does.

Reach across the isle, don’t reach across the isle…makes no difference to me.”

“Nigal, that is not a plan. That is drivvel, pure and simple.”

“He was giving a speech not the complete plan Geo. This is my whole point. The left wants to simply shout down any and every idea rather than wait and see what the whole plan is. And in the meantime they are doing zero as far as trying to contribute to the plan and help flesh out the parts they are concerned with. They aren’t even willing to do the work.

The only outcome will be that the democrats find themselves on the wrong side of history once again.


(It would also benefit you to go to the link and read the whole speech. Not just the parts Ped wants us to.)
last edited: 2/12/05 10:53:55 AM”

“But Nigal, Bush is EVIL!! ;-)
last edited: 2/12/05 11:01:13 AM”

“If he doesn't understand his own plan, how is he supposed to sell it to the rest of us?

This notion that "The left wants to simply shout down any and every idea" is to simplistic for words. There are many Republicans that don't like what he is proposing too, are they also "shouting down" his ideas?

Are all those who oppose Bush Liberals?

This rhetoric is getting old.”

“The Dems have no plan. They say NOTHING is wrong with SS the way it is.

We all know, if nothing is done, SS will not be around for us when we retire.”

“What does that have to do with Bush being a fool?”

“"The left wants to simply shout down any and every idea"

That's what the left is doing.”

“The majority of voters do not think Bush a fool.
He won, get over it.”

“Once again...read real slow...

Many on the right disagree with many of Bush's cuts and programs....ARE THEY SHOUTING DOWN BUSH TOO?

It's folks like you that are turning this into a left against right debate. There are MANY Republicans that are having real problems with Bush.
last edited: 2/12/05 11:15:05 AM”

“I wont get over it, I want to be proud of my President, not ashamed and embarrassed.”

“Bush is a fool because he doesn't understand the rules.

The rules of the Senate require that he have 60 votes to pass his major legislation.

He has - at most - 55 Republican votes and he also has refused to negotiate in any meaningful way with Democrats. He banked on the fact that he'd be able to split off a few Democrats, but the Democrats have stood firm.

He also banked on a groundswell of support for the social security reform that he could shove in the face of purple state Democratic Senators, but it has brought his poll numbers lower, especially among the elderly.

The big surprise is that the Democrats are opposing a SPENDING INCREASE. That's what Bush is proposing - increased spending on social security. There is no spending cut in his plan.

He never banked on the Democrats becoming deficit hawks. But that's the role they play now.”

“Name calling. Great debate winner. LOL”

“Bush is bankrupting this country and Republican's are OK with this?
last edited: 2/12/05 11:17:38 AM”

“After years of calling Clinton names, suddenly the right has newly discovered moral outrage over this?

Get over it.”

“"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I just HATE that Bush!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
he makes my blood boil!!!!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Text from every DEM 'leader'.

LOL”

“Deficit spending has been a foundation-stone of Republican Policy since Reagan, with the exception of 1994 and the Gingrich Revolution.

Deficits don't matter.”

“So it's OK that he bankrupts the country because the left "hates" him?

Now thats smart.”

“StoveStomper, why do you support big government like this?”

“He's a Liberal!”

“How about that DEM Reid (SP?) fellow.
He sure got his panties in a wad when the Repubs hit him back with that 14 page memo of his past hypocrisies on SS.

No fair!!! They aren't supposted to fight back with truth!!!! ;-)”

“I prefer the 'Progressive' label. LOL”

“I'm missing something here...it's OK for Bush to bankrupt the country because Reid's ideas sucked?

LOL”

“Your man's a noron. If the plan is so damned good, why can't he articulate simple ideas? Why does he have to grasp for words? Why doesn't he have his talking points in order before talking to the press?

Stop blaming the "liberals" for making your moron look like a moron. He's his own worst enemy.”

“It's Clinton's fault he's a moron.”

“It's the Democratic Party, they can cry if they want to


Somebody call the waaaambulance. Realizing that they're losing the political battle, the Democrats have fallen back on their last resort: weeping. Or as liberals like to call it, "the nuclear option." Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada is crying mad at the Republican National Committee for calling him an "obstructionist" in a research document distributed to a million Republican activists across the country. Citing President Bush's call for bipartisan cooperation, Reid asked the Senate, "Is President George Bush a man of his word, [or] is what he is telling the American people just a charade?"

"What they want to do is just like [what] they did to [former Senate Minority Leader Tom] Daschle," Reid continued, holding up an issue of Roll Call magazine with the headline "RNC Turns Up Heat on Reid." Yes, senator, that would be the point of politics: to give your opponents the boot. If you really want to lead Senate Democrats, perhaps the best way to avoid ending up like Daschle is to – here's a bright idea! – avoid acting like Daschle. The obstructionist girly-man routine didn't work all that well for him, and that was even before President Bush's re-election and continued Republican gains in the Senate.

Reid isn't going to be able to get away with impugning the president's integrity on this one. He's clearly an obstructionist. The most inconvenient part of the RNC "hit piece" about Reid is that everything in it is true. Reid is one of the lead proponents of blocking judges who believe in actually reading the Constitution – he held a nine-hour filibuster in November 2003 to block "conservative" judges. He has vowed to oppose any plan to create Social Security personal retirement accounts as well.

Whining is not the way to win over the American people. But the Democrats are so wedded to the politics of the past that they're boxing themselves into a corner. They're not willing to go the extra mile to build new coalitions, to revamp their image or to even accept that their grip on power is gone. They're living in a dream world where they still run the Senate and can gain sympathy by calling Republicans "meanies" and "liars."

John Kerry's presidential campaign consisted almost entirely of references to his Vietnam service, juxtaposed with "outraged" statements concerning non-existent Republicans questioning his patriotism. After Kerry made the ridiculous statement that America needed "regime change," he came under Republican fire – and immediately resorted to the Kleenex box. "I don't need any lessons in patriotism," he told reporters. Needless to say, Kerry's strategy failed.

Sometimes, Democrats even whine about victimization at the hands of other Democrats, in a desperate plea for sympathy. Howard Dean, whose presidential campaign was based almost entirely on questioning President Bush's integrity, is the new Democratic National Committee chairman. Like Kerry, Dean resorted to whimpering when he came under attack. Only this time, he was under attack from rivals within his own party. He responded by calling out then-DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe, sniveling: "If we had strong leadership in the Democratic Party, they would be calling those other candidates and saying, 'Hey, look, somebody's going to have to win here.'" Again, this strategy wasn't too successful. Dean came in third in the Iowa caucuses, blamed others for attacking him, and then, like a Vermontian Wile E. Coyote, dropped the rest of the way off of the political cliff.

Playing the victim of a political drive-by became popular in the 1990s with President Clinton's faux despair over the "politics of personal destruction." Of course, Clinton was smarter than any of the current Democratic leaders – he didn't merely cry and then leave it to the American people to sympathize. He defended himself by dealing directly with charges leveled against him, even if that meant lying.

Today's Democratic leaders only remember Clinton's tears and think they can get away with avoiding legitimate charges by turning on the waterworks. They'd do well to remember Edmund Muskie, the prospective 1972 Democratic presidential candidate who fell out of the race because he supposedly shed a few tears after the media ripped his wife. He had a good reason to cry, and he still lost. Democrats like Harry Reid have only their own records to cry about.”

“cut n paste

Time to go do something.
Later kiddos...... ;-)”

“So because the Dem's are whiners, it's OK for Bush to bankrupt the country?

Pointing out the problems with the Democratic party doesn't answer the question. You've been listening to Rush too long.
last edited: 2/12/05 11:52:04 AM”

“They just can't grasp the basic concept that Shrub is a moron.

I can't remember one president in my lifetime who could not articulate his main agenda plan, ... not one.

I'm not even going to go into the environmental assault on the mountains that are near and dear to me.”

“I'm fed up with this Right wing, Neo con, Conservative Religious crap....



I'm going to weed the lawn.................that'll teach ya.”

“Make that neo-babble crap.”

“Let me see, the President needs five moderate Democrat-- votes in the Senate. So, he decides to release a 14 page personal attack against the leader of the moderate Democrat-- Senators in the same week.

That's smart.

And I didn't see anything in that previous post that justified any attack on Reid.

Here's what is so GREAT!

The Republican leader-in-waiting for 2008 is PRO-CHOICE Giuliani. The leader of the Democratic Party is PRO-LIFE Harry Reid.

Sell them tomatoes to the church folks.

BTW, Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm just announced her support for posting a Ten Commandments monument in the Michigan State Legislature. Last month, she announced plans for abstinance centers for teens across the state. She's a good Catholic, you know.

But George Bush supports civil unions, eh?”

“Answer the question????

Why? The left doesn't. ;-)



It's way more fun to stand back and throw rocks, LOL.
The difference is, I admit to throwing rocks.”

“It's just impossible for most Republicans in good conscience to support a president who increases the size of government in so cavalier a fashion.

That's why there is no legitimate argument to SUPPORT Bush's views and his philosophy.

The only thing that Republicans can do is to create an enemy. So they keep running against Kerry even though the election is OVER. They're trying to slam down on Reid even though he's more conservative than half the Republicans in the Senate.

When devoid of ideas and resources, create an enemy.”

“Straight from Shrub's mouth: "Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled."

He can't make it any clearer than that!”

“LOL”

“I love throwing rocks! I've always been more of a street fighter then a boxer ;-)

Bush hasn't answered the question either, thats what this thread was all about...LOL

Back to the burn pile!”

“Why do negative people get so offended when you call them negative?”

“It would also benefit you to go to the link and read the whole speech. Not just the parts Ped wants us to.)
last edited: 2/12/05 10:53:55 AM”
Nigal
10:52:54 AM


WTF - I went and found the whole link and posted it - so people could read the whole thing. Context is important - and I think the whole dialogue is telling. For one thing, look at the difference between his prepared speech and his skilled social banter and the way he tackles certain other issues when he has no prepared bit.”

“That's why I said to go to the LINK and read the whole thing. I wasn't accussing you of Violin-ish behavior Ped. LOL!”

“it's tiresome watching the conservatives whine and complain as people criticize bush's social security plan. get over it. to them, any criticism of bush is "bush bashing" and "negative." the man isn't perfect and as president he's open to criticism, especially about a plan as far-reaching as this one.

these are often the same people who love to criticize clinton and take great joy in making fun of cry-baby liberals. typical hypocrites.
last edited: 2/14/05 9:22:40 AM”

“LOL! Do note there mitch that it wasn't the ctitism I take issue with, it's the critism before the whole plan comes out. I have my own critisms of Bush.”

“Many people criticized the war in Iraq before it happened.....

Many in the military told of a need for a plan after we won and a need for more troops on the ground, etc.



Perhaps someone should have listened to them.”

“There would be a plan already if Bush actually had the requisite number of REPUBLICAN cosponsors in Congress for an actual plan.

The reality is that there is NO plan that Congressional Republicans can agree on.

Once Bush buys a few of them off with a nice spending program for his/her state/district, we'll have a plan.

So, maybe we can criticize the Republicans for being hopelessly muddled and disorganized?

But, really, the problem is cutting. All of Bush's previous victories - Medicare Drug Benefit, Tax Giveaway, Patriot Act, TSA, Homeland Security, No Child Left Behind - either didn't cost anything financially or cost MORE. He's never had a success in actually CUTTING anything.

It's easy to get what you want when you don't ask anyone to make difficult choices.”

“these are often the same people who love to criticize clinton and take great joy in making fun of cry-baby liberals. typical hypocrites.
last edited: 2/14/05 9:22:40 AM”
jmitch
9:21:35 AM
2/14/05

I can think of quite a few who fit this mold”

“I'm telling you now, Social Security reform by the president is dead, and he killed it."
-- Rep. Charlie Rangel on Meet the Press”