Bill Flores Has a Truth Headache

[Yeggo]

So, Bill Flores, Republican nominee for Texas' 17th district, and a favorite to oust Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards, said in an interview that he favors raising the Social Security retirement age.

That's not surprising, right? Deep down, a lot of fiscal conservatives probably think that's the right thing to do. The first problem for Mr. Flores is that there's a difference between THINKING that, and saying it out loud in a district that has 77,000 seniors in it in a country that is absolutely opposed to raising the age.

The second problem is that if you're going to say it, own it. But instead of "manning up," Flores first backtracked, then tried to get the interview squelched, then blamed it on a headache.

If you're going to backtrack on what you believe every time you accidentally tell the truth about it, maybe you should reevaluate what you believe.

http://bit.ly/cbvaDY

[sabrina 1]

1. Chet Ewards should use this in the campaign.

If there's one thing that will make a candidate unpopular, it is cutting SS benefits or raising the Retirement age (which has been raised slightly by months over the years btw).

"Bill Flores supports cutting SS Benefits'! Seems like a winning issue for the Dem.

[Yeggo]

2. He's already hit back on it.

I'd be SHOCKED if it doesn't make it into an Edwards ad. Shocked, I tells ya.

Here's the written response from the Edwards campaign to Politico:


“After Bill Flores blamed his position on raising the Social Security age to 70 on a 'headache,' what is next?" Edwards wrote. "Is Mr. Flores going to blame his plan to privatize VA health care on a Dairy Queen Hunger-Buster and blame his company’s having stuck taxpayers with $7.5 million in unpaid government loans to a case of indigestion?”

[sabrina 1]

3. Good, it should definitely be in any ads they produce.

Flores probably has inside information into the Deficit Commission's proposals. Alan Simpson has already let the cat out of the bag regarding what they want to do. He too said the retirement age should be raised to 70, then when he saw how unpopular that was, tried to backtrack and said that the 'old geezers' who are complaining should stay out of the debate since they are only going to cut benefits for younger people. So should younger people 'stay out of the debate' also considering Simpson and his rightwing friends are out to take their SS retirement funds?

I can see an ad with Alan Simpson expressing his opinion of retirees which is that they are 'selfish old geezers' who won't give up part of their retirement benefits just because they are so selfish, and they don't need it? Tell THAT to the average retiree trying to survive on the pittance they get from SS.

Then show Flores saying that he too wants to cut those benefits by raising the retirement age.

I think on this issue alone, the Dem. could win.

[Yeggo]

4. Good point...

Like to share that comment with the readers on my site, if you don't mind...

[sabrina 1]

5. No, of course I don't mind.

Another quote from Simpson, who has attacked SS Retirees, women and here, he attacks Veterans:

“The irony (is) that the veterans who saved this country are now, in a way, not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess,” said Simpson, an Army veteran who was once chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

He thinks Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam should give up their medical benefits to help cut the deficit.

Someone should ask Flore if he agrees with Simpson that the deficit which was created by tax cuts to the wealthy, the two Wars we were dragged into, and the Financial Meltdown also created by the wealthiest Americans, should be paid for by the poorest Americans. Apparently he does.