Jonathan Singer: Bush's Soc. Sec. Plan Could Spell Disaster for GOP in 2008

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Friday, April 29, 2005

Bush's Soc. Sec. Plan Could Spell Disaster for GOP in 2008

At least that is the concern of consevative activists, as reported by The Washington Post's Dana Milbank and Jim VandeHei:

[C]onservative Republicans will balk at his call last night for "progressive indexing," which would reduce future payments for middle- and upper-income retirees by linking increases to prices rather than wages. Stephen Moore, a leading proponent of personal accounts, warned of a "nightmare" in which benefit cuts "cost Republicans the Senate in 2006."

"He has a clear conundrum right now," Moore said.

Look for more defections from the right in the near term, and not just from outsiders. It would be hard to imagine the dozens of members of the extremely conservative Republican Study Committee in the House to sign on to any plan that cuts benefits unevenly (leaving alone the fact that Dems won't agree to a plan that cuts benefits so dramatically). Conservatives in the Senate might be as loath to support such a plan as well.

So while The Washington Times and Fox News might have deemed the President's press conference last night a success, looking ahead, it's clear that the President did little to advance the cause of privatization.

Posted by: Jonathan Singer / 9:42 AM | Basie! Home