It's one thing for a loose cannon like House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) to call the President's plan "a dead horse," but it's something else entirely for the two top Republicans in the House to flatly say no to the President on Social Security. The Washington Post's Mike Allen has the story:

The House's top two Republicans strongly rejected an idea floated by President Bush to raise the ceiling on wages subject to the Social Security payroll tax, with Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay saying yesterday that they would consider that a tax increase.

Underscoring the fluidity of the debate over Bush's proposal for restructuring the 70-year-old retirement program, DeLay (Tex.) said he will not rule out an increase in the retirement age to hold down costs. But he flatly opposed subjecting more of the earnings of higher-income people to the Social Security tax.

"This Republican House didn't come here to raise taxes," DeLay said on Fox News. "We can solve this problem without raising taxes."

Bush certainly doesn't have the 60 votes in the Senate necessary to privatize Social Security and it's becoming increasingly apparent that he might not have a simple majority in the House either. Social Security "reform" might not come so quickly after all.