| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the Senate on Tuesday predicted that President Bush's plan to revamp social security by diverting taxes into private investment accounts would fail to pass Congress.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid was speaking as Bush prepared to use his State of the Union address on Wednesday to argue for his proposals and then follow up with a five-state tour to campaign for the new investment accounts. "President Bush should forget about privatizing Social Security," the Nevada Democrat said. "It will not happen. The sooner he comes to that realization, the better off we are." Bush has yet to spell out details of his plan but hopes to build public support and win over some Democrats while shoring up support from his own Republicans who control Congress. Without Democratic support, the plan will fail to win the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles which can block any major piece of legislation in the 100-member Senate. Reid said none of the 44 Democrats in the Senate would back a plan that diverts Social Security taxes into accounts that workers would invest in stocks and bonds. Opponents argue it would only add to Social Security's financial problems, force big cuts in benefits and add to ballooning budget deficits. |
Several things.
First, this is an amazing show of Democratic unity, and an excellent sign for things to come under Reid's leadership. The president hasn't even formally announced his plan, and already the Dems have lined up enough support to ensure that when he does its quite literally dead on arrival.
Second, this should continue to escalate the pressure on Republicans to take a strong stand in opposition to Bush's proposal. If they know that the measure has quite literally no chance of passing, there's no way they'll want to go on record in support. The political risk is simply too great. And in case you want proof that this is indeed happening, check out Josh Marshall's TalkingPointsMemo blog. Over the past few weeks he's been doing an absolutely brilliant job of not just cataloguing the lack of congressional support for the plan, but organizing and pushing constituent efforts to get uncommitted reps to take a position prior to the president's official launch of the plan.
Third, and perhaps most significant, are the implications this has for Bush's second term agenda. Almost inexplicably, Bush decided to come out of the gate with an issue that had tremendous potential to unite his opposition. That potential has clearly been realized - just 2 short weeks into his new term! If the coalition holds - and I strongly suspect it will - that will translate into a huge early victory for the party, something that will only strengthen their hand going forward. As with sports, momentum can be critical racking up a string of victories. If the Dems can claim an early victory on one of the signature proposals of Bush's entire second term, well... who knows where that will lead.
This is not, however, meant to suggest that anyone should get complacent. Even this battle has just barely begun. Contact your Representative. Contact your Senators. Let them know you're watching. Let them know this matters. Do it now. Go. What are you waiting for?
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