Ed Markey Runs Against Obama’s Proposed Social Security Cut

[DonViejo]

SAHIL KAPUR 3:43 PM EDT, TUESDAY MAY 7, 2013

"Tell Obama," declared Ed Markey in the subject line of a Tuesday email to supporters. "Don't cut Social Security."

The Democratic nominee for Senate in Massachusetts is mobilizing his supporters against a proposal in President Obama's budget to reduce the growth of Social Security by cutting future benefits. The policy, known as Chained CPI, is opposed by progressives and even some conservative Democrats.

"You could think of 'CPI' as meaning 'Cutting Peoples' Income,'" Markey wrote, attacking President Obama for making a "wrong-headed move" on the cherished retirement program.

Markey wrote:

Full article
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/markey-runs-against-obamas-proposed-social-security-cut

[Parable Arable]

1. Excellent

The more defenders of SS in senate, the better.

[mucifer]

2. Yay!

[Kolesar]

3. The cut which is not being proposed any more...eom

[CTyankee]

4. I just hate that it was even talked about by a Democratic president. It was sad.

[Addison]

7. Worse than sad - a travesty

[CTyankee]

8. try as I may, I cannot possibly find an upside to this.

[djean111]

5. Is there a new budget proposal?

In any event, that cat is not going back into the bag.
Everybody knows that, or they should have known it.
Obama is for it, Pelosi is for it. Dems would be remiss not to use that to get any advantage they can, now that a Dem has proposed it. If the GOP had proposed it, that would be useful ammo too.

[Mojorabbit]

6. A big hit to the Democratic brand. IT makes me really sad. nt

[sofa king]

9. How come?

Forget for a moment who proposed the idea and notice that the Democrats can run against it, Republicans cannot because it's what they actually want, and the President's re-election prospects are completely unchanged as he takes the flak for it.

Then remember for a moment who proposed it, and how many Republican legislators will reject the proposal out of hand because they want to keep their unblemished records of opposition to the President.

The idea is deader than Dennis Miller's career, and Markey gets to be the first person to count coup on it. What's not to like?

[Mojorabbit]

10. We are supposed to be the party that cares about the average Joe

and who will protect SS. To have the leader of our party advocate for this is a travesty. I don't care how politically convenient it may be for the next election. There is plenty not to like. He said he would not touch the programs and then right after back in office offers it up. Who wants to trust another politician after that to protect it? Not me.

[sofa king]

11. I can understand that.

The President's actions can easily be misconstrued as a betrayal of sorts. It's not a perfect approach, to be sure, because it has a HUGE element of deception in it--a deception that cleverly works in opposite directions depending upon one's political stripe--and it is tragic that this President can only achieve what he wants through ruse and trickery. .

But I implore you to concern yourself less with perception and to focus more sharply upon the results of the President's action. The result is that by pretending to like the idea for three days, the issue is now dead to everyone for the next year and a half.

One technical point: this issue begins and ends with the President himself. He may have temporarily handed it off to Congress, but he has final approval no matter what happens to it (trust me, nothing is going to happen to it, anyway) through his veto power. So he is not entrusting this to other politicians at all; rather, he is positioned to make certain that it can never be signed into law no matter who changes or rewrites it.