And McCaskill continues…

24 Tuesday Mar 2009

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

This sort of talk by our junior senator is absolutely infuriating.

Entitlemnt reform is making sure Medicare & Soc Sec don’t devour every penny of our budget leaving nothing for education or other services.

12 minutes ago from web

Just came from bipartisan meeting on fiscal discipline. We must deal with entitlement reform. Very hard, but absolutely essential.

20 minutes ago from web

6 thoughts on “And McCaskill continues…”

Michael Bersin said:

March 24, 2009 at 7:51 pm

…at Washington Monthly:

PERHAPS MCCASKILL NEEDS A REFRESHER COURSE…. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) attended a “bipartisan breakfast” this morning. That, in and of itself, doesn’t have to be a bad thing. But Greg Sargent, pointing to the senator’s Twitter feed, explained that McCaskill came away from the gathering “persuaded that Social Security — which she described as ‘entitlement reform’ — needed to be fixed ASAP…”
…McCaskill wasn’t in Congress in 2005, so if we’re being charitable, it’s probably worth remembering that the senator wasn’t involved in the last debate over Social Security. She probably missed the reports showing that Social Security is largely fine, and didn’t see the work many did debunking conservative claims. McCaskill may simply be unaware of the fact that 2005 was a gut-check moment for the party, when Democrats realized that if the party stood for anything, it stood in support of Social Security.
With that in mind, let’s call this a “teachable moment” for McCaskill. She’s been led to believe that changing (read: cutting) Social Security is “very hard, but absolutely essential.” Her allies, colleagues, and constituents should take this opportunity to help her understand why this simply isn’t true…

Uh, she was aware of the discussion. From her campaign web site:

RETIREMENT SECURITY
Since its inception in 1935, Social Security has served as a crucial safety net for our nation’s seniors, allowing them to retire with dignity and security. Today, over one million Missouri seniors rely on Social Security that helps keep them out of poverty. Meanwhile, 826,000 Missourians also rely on pensions during retirement.
Unfortunately, in recent years both Social Security and retirement pensions have come under attack from the Bush Administration and Republicans in Washington. After years of reckless spending, tax cuts for big special interests and raiding of the Social Security trust fund, they have completely eliminated the Social Security surpluses created under President Clinton. They’ve allowed corporations to raid their pensions and dump their obligations onto taxpayers and retirees.
As Missouri’s Senator, Claire will put our seniors first ahead of the special interests. She will oppose the type of irresponsible spending that has put Social Security at risk. She will fight efforts to privatize Social Security and work to strengthen one of the most successful insurance programs our country has ever had. Claire will also fight to make sure Missouri’s seniors get the pensions they’ve earned. Missouri seniors need to have a Senator on their side.
Social Security
Social Security is under assault by President Bush’s plan to privatize the system. Rather than increasing the long-term solvency of Social Security, the Republicans’ costly privatization scheme would put seniors’ benefits at the whim of the stock market and saddle our children with an even greater national debt. The transition alone will cost us literally trillions of dollars, and given the massive federal deficits run up under this Administration’s reckless fiscal policies, that’s simply a cost we can’t afford.
Oppose Any Changes Reducing or Removing Social Security as a Guaranteed Benefit. Claire opposes any changes to Social Security that increase our national debt, reduce benefits, or remove the promised guarantee. Social Security is a covenant with those who pay into the system, and we have an obligation to ensure that retirees continue to receive the benefits that they were promised, while also guaranteeing that the program will be there for future generations.
Support a Bipartisan Commission to Study Social Security’s Future. The Senate should call on the President to appoint a new bipartisan commission to study the future of Social Security. We face rising government debt and ever-growing budget deficits, and we need to get serious about ensuring the long term solvency of this vital program. We need to make sure the program will be there for our children and our children’s children…

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grog said:

March 24, 2009 at 9:51 pm

her poll numbers among Dems starts to nose dive?
What will make her wake up and remember that she’s a Dem. Agreed, this state is a helluva lot redder than most outsiders (and comfy STL and KC -based bloggers) care to admit.
But still. Nobody out here in East Anklescratch will vote for her no matter what her stand is on gutting Social Security, Medicare or any other social welfare program.
Ugh, this woman has turned into a real disaster.

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- Michael Bersin said:
  
  March 24, 2009 at 10:44 pm
  
  …Unfortunately, in recent years both Social Security and retirement pensions have come under attack from the Bush Administration and Republicans in Washington. After years of reckless spending, tax cuts for big special interests and raiding of the Social Security trust fund, they have completely eliminated the Social Security surpluses created under President Clinton…
  
  [emphasis added]
  
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maryb2004 said:

March 24, 2009 at 11:10 pm

It is hard to believe that she is so gullible as to believe this when she WAS informed at one time.
And yet I believe it.

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