Pelosi says rumored chained CPI change isn't happening, per Barney Frank.

[phleshdef]

This of course comes right after she met with the President.

Rep. Barney Frank says Minority Leader Pelosi reassured House Democrats that the COLA change (which amounts to escalating cuts to Social Security over time) floated in the press will not happen.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/07/update_on_social_security_cuts.php?ref=fpblg

[gateley]

1. Good. We've got your back, guys. Call your reps to let them

know. :hi:

[ProfessionalLeftist]

9. GREAT IDEA - let them know we thank them for refusing to support ANY cuts

....to Soc Sec or Medicare and that they have our full support as long as they do not.

Legislative Hotline: [phone], will connect you to your Member of Congress and Senators. Listen to the recorded message then dial in your zipcode.

[gateley]

11. I called DC and one of his local offices (for about the 3rd time)

plus e-mailed.

Kind of irked me that today the local guy who answered the phone sounded like he didn't give a shit, but he's not the one voting in DC, so, oh well...

:hi:

Thanks for providing the #! :headbang:

[Parker CA]

2. Kick and Rec!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Hope for no chains?

[MadHound]

4. Good, let's hope that particular trial balloon remains deflated,

The question is, what are they floating behind closed doors that we don't know about?

[DJ13]

5. I hope its true

But its still secondhand info at this point.

[Liberal Veteran]

6. Can we break out the fire extinguishers?

For my own part, the exercise I was getting dodging flaming craniums on 2 legs was good, but the smell was awful.

[MineralMan]

7. That's the thing about rumors. They're wrong more often than

they're right. The key is to look to see who started them and see whether they have some ax to grind. Most often, that is so.

As far as I know, President Obama has made no statement regarding any changes. He's keeping this whole thing close to his vest, and there's a reason for that. Whatever he has in mind, telegraphing it makes no sense in this situation. He's not dealing with us on this; he's dealing with Republicans. He's not going to show his hole cards at this point.

I'm not saying I know what he's thinking. I have no idea. I'm very sure, however, that we'll be finding out very soon.

Look for a major announcement on Sunday or Monday. Then, we'll find out what's been going on behind those doors. Some stuff needs to stay quiet until the entire round is over. You don't show your hole cards until your bet or raise is called. Basic rules of poker and negotiations.

[RaleighNCDUer]

23. It was not a 'wrong rumor'. It was a deliberatly leaked trial balloon

and if it had been ignored, it would have wound up in the negotiations.

He's dealing with the republicans, but he knows if he gives away the store he's going to have to deal with us come re-election.

He's trying to figure out where the lines in the sand are - and as he has no Democratic principles of his own, he has to use this method.

Typical goddam 3rd Way triangulation.

[MineralMan]

27. That is your opinion, not a factual statement.

You may believe it to be true, but without evidence, it is just an opinion.

It's really good to know the difference, I think.

[RaleighNCDUer]

28. And the same can be said of your own statement.

However, my hypothesis, being backed up by the understanding of the practical political results, makes more sense than your "the media is just making shit up" hypothesis.

Hell, nobody even buys newspapers anymore, so they wouldn't do it just to sell papers. Why, then, would they?

[MineralMan]

31. Yes, it can. That's why I have my signature line, which explains

that my posts are opinion. Every post I make here has that signature line. I'm quite clear about it.

[RaleighNCDUer]

34. I'm good with that.

And I must apologize - I brought in the 'media is just making shit up' from a different thread and different poster. I forgot which one I was in. I don't know why I remembered it as you making that statement upthread. You didn't (but of course, you know that).

[EFerrari]

36. Baloney. The idea was floated and that's what Pelosi responded to.

Ditto for Sanders, Whitehouse, Dean Baker over at CEPR.

And no, this "stuff" doesn't need to stay quiet. It needs to be aired out so people can respond to it before Obama offers up another disastrous compromise as a fait accompli.

[tavalon]

50. That wasn't a rumor, it was a trial balloon.

They both offer plausible deniability but that is where the similarity ends

[polichick]

8. Trust but verify, Nancy - you might find a knife in your back at any moment.

[phleshdef]

10. I guess she just gave a press conference where she reiterated this.

[gateley]

14. Yeah, CNN didn't show it at all, MSNBC showed PART of it then

cut away to the "commentators". JUST when she was being asked a question by a reporter. :banghead:

[LiberalAndProud]

12. This entire fiasco has my head spinning.

Communications between the interested parties seem to be rather garbled.

[Renew Deal]

13. OMG WE WENT NUTS FOR NOTHING!!!!!

:rofl:

[LiberalAndProud]

15. I don't think so.

I think they pulled it off the table *because* we went nuts. They got the message. Loud and clear.

[Renew Deal]

17. Right....

Of course they did.

[LiberalAndProud]

18. We weren't the only ones.

This was a trial balloon. They were testing the waters. There were a lot of organized groups, including the AARP who said "Don't touch this."

I don't doubt that this would have moved forward if the public reaction hadn't been immediate and adamant.

[Dept of Beer]

37. Then you're in agreement. Good.

[phleshdef]

24. I think it was probably one of those things someone threw on the table for discussion.

But it never went any further than that. The discussion was had and the decision was no, its a bad idea. But since it was even discussed at all, someone fed the story to the media and it got blown out of proportion.

[tavalon]

51. Learn about trial balloons and what our response needs to be

You are, in fact, part of the political process. And we shot this trial balloon down and I don't think it's in any shape to fly again.

[pipi_k]

56. Well shit that makes sense to me!

I have this horrible fear of giant Anacondas.

Every day I go outside and stomp on the ground, shake a stick, and yell, "Stay away Anacondas!!!"

I've done this each day for 15 years. So far it's worked. They don't stay away because they live in tropical South America. They stay away because I tell them to.

Anacondas are pretty smart. They get messages too.


:7

[mzmolly]

21. ... again.

:hi:

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Good thing the nation went crazy at the idea.

Too bad the WH is doing all of this without transparency, with optimal vagueness and full Beltwayspeak. They spend a lot on 'communications' for people who can not make themselves understood.

[defendandprotect]

19. kr

[mzmolly]

20. You mean the rumors that had people in a frenzy

were false? Huh.

[eridani]

22. No, the trial balloon got punctured with a hail of bullets from the public n/t

[mzmolly]

25. No, the rumors that got floated without any source or credible

quote from the President himself. Generally a "trial balloon" would be the President or his staff, saying something that suggested cuts to SS. They never did, so we're back to unfounded rumors.

[eridani]

26. Nonsense. If cuts hadn't been discussed, no one would have heard about it n/t

[mzmolly]

33. Cuts to entitlements are always "discussed" when Republicans are involved

in a meeting. What's nonsense is the fact that so many progressives took the bait and, continue to every single time the media hypes a non-issue. What's also nonsense, is the inability for reactionaries to ever admit that they were wrong.

[EFerrari]

35. No, we know they weren't just the WaHo blowing smoke because

Bernie Sanders and Sheldon Whitehouse got right on it and pushed back immediately. They went into the press and other media and got people to call and write and sign petitions. I don't know about you but Sanders and Whitehouse don't strike me as people who would go off half cocked over something a presstitute invented.

[mzmolly]

39. No we don't. All we know is that Sanders and Whitehouse responded

to the scuttlebutt. Unless Sanders or Whitehouse can provide me with a quote or a source for their information that the President agreed to cut Social Security benefits, I remain unconvinced that it was ever a legitimate issue.

[EFerrari]

40. Maybe you can cement your position with all the quotes of Obama

re-assuring us that he intends to preserve Social Security and Medicare or, those "entitlements" as he calls them.

[mzmolly]

42. I've provided information which turns into a debate on semantics.

Now, you provide one quote that merits the panic.

[EFerrari]

43. Pushing back is not panic, although, since most Americans have gotten zero

help from this administration since the crash, I don't blame anyone who does panic.

House liberals launch organizing drive against entitlements cuts

Posted at 04:55 PM ET, 07/08/2011
House liberals launch organizing drive against entitlements cuts
By Greg Sargent

House liberals are launching an organizing drive inside the Democatic caucus, in an effort to line up Democrats and get them to commit to opposing any final deficit deal that contains any cuts to entitlements benefits, according to a letter I’ve obtained.

The two co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus have sent the letter to Nancy Pelosi, pledging to stand behind her insistence that the final deal contain no benefits cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.

The letter will be used next week to gather signatures from House Dems, in an effort to maximize for Democrats by developing a unified front behind a refusal to support any cuts to those programs that reduce benefits or eligibility. The letter — which was sent my way by a source and is signed by Dem Reps Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison — reads as follows:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/house-liberals-launch-organizing-drive-against-entitlements-cuts/2011/03/03/gIQAnDY63H_blog.html

[mzmolly]

44. Pushing back against Republicans who desire cuts to entitlement programs is prudent.

Our Republican colleagues should be embarrassed by their insistence that unless Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits are cut, the nation will default on its debts. Middle-class families have sacrificed enough, and a deal that pushes the American Dream further out of reach, in order to pay for extending tax breaks for the rich and corporations, is simply unacceptable.

We are united as Democrats in saying that it’s time to stand up to the Republican hostage-taking. We will not be forced to vote for a “final agreement” that we do not agree to — and that the American people do not agree to.

We stand united with you in insisting that benefit cuts for working families, our seniors, children, and people with disabilities must be off the table, and we stand united with you in fighting for millions of Americans who need Democrats to be firmly on their side.

Suggesting the President offered to compromise future SS benefits, without any proof, is panic.

[EFerrari]

45. Then you better get on the phone to House liberals

because they are pushing back.

[mzmolly]

46. I've signed every petition that has come my way.

And, I will continue to support the "push back" - while pushing back against rumors that remain unfounded.

[EFerrari]

47. Sheldon Whitehouse will be on NPR at 7:10 EST tonight

to talk about these unfounded rumors some more.

[mzmolly]

48. I hope lots of people

donate to his campaign after tuning in. Perhaps he'll provide listeners with actual information on Obama's so called desire to cut SS?

[EFerrari]

49. Right. Both Senate and House Democrats are mobilizing

as well as liberal think tanks but they are all deluded and you are right.

You know, discouraging people from acting on their own behalf when their social safety net is threatened is irresponsible as possible.

[mzmolly]

54. They're mobilizing against Republicans who are promoting the cuts.

Please do not yield to outrageous Republican demands that would greatly increase suffering for the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. Now is the time to stand with the tens of millions of Americans who are struggling to survive economically, not with the millionaires and billionaires who have never had it so good.

Respectfully,

Sen. Bernie Sanders;

http://sanders.senate.gov/petition/?uid=c1fd7f9b-abd8-4e7a-a370-1867881259d8

So far, no legitimate word that Obama has an actual desire to cut Social Security.

[WinkyDink]

29. Pelosi's word means nothing. I'll leave it at that.

[JTFrog]

30. Better to put your stock in anonymous sources from the likes of WaPo and their ilk.

I'll leave it at that.

[WinkyDink]

52. Time will tell.

[JTFrog]

53. Well for fuck sakes, let's not wait to find out.

Let's just slather the grease on the old propaganda wheel.

[LiberalAndProud]

32. Will not happen.

And we'll hold them to that.

[SidDithers]

38. K&R...nt

Sid

[Rex]

41. I saw that picture of Nancy and Glowstick man sitting next to the POTUS.

She did NOT LOOK HAPPY AT ALL. Go Nancy! Knock some sense into your peers, thanks.

[woo me with science]

55. No, Pelosi has refused to rule out chained CPI.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1447220

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1444858&mesg_id=1445352