The time for compromise has passed
God dammit don’t the Democrats see that the Republicans have been doing a variation ofthe bait and switch on them for a long time now. Except it’s a reverse bait and switch with the real ugly proposal up front so that the Dems suggest a compromise giving the GOP most of what it wants?
In one example, Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr. (R-Fla.) said, a compromise might involve merging Bush’s proposal with plans — some backed by Democrats — that create government-subsidized savings plans outside Social Security. Under this scenario, Bush’s proposal to divert 4 percent of an individual’s Social Security payroll tax would become 2 percent or less.
“The president could claim a real victory just by getting personal accounts,” said Shaw, who has shared his ideas with Vice President Cheney and White House senior adviser Karl Rove. “It may be that a hybrid” is the key to compromise.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said that he is discussing with Democratic colleagues a compromise plan that would guarantee low-income beneficiaries will do better under a new program than the existing system, even if this increases the program’s cost.
White House officials said Bush is open to such a compromise and will continue to signal this publicly in the days ahead.
I don’t just mean for the Social Security kerfuffle either. This is SOP for the Republicans, it’s their playbook for fuck sake, and the end result is with every compromise the Democrats make you lose a little more of your freedom, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and corporations gain an even greater stranglehold of the economy, politics, privacy and the environment.
When oh when are the Democrats going to get some backbone and stand up and say enough is enough, no more compromising away America’s future.
Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid has declared that Senate Democrats are united in their opposition to personal accounts carved out of Social Security. That is a deal-killer if true, since as a practical matter the most controversial ideas typically need a supermajority of 60 votes to end filibusters and allow a vote. Despite Reid’s assertion, however, several moderate Democrats have not ruled out backing a more modest version of the president’s plan.
Some of these centrists, such as Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), have been meeting with Republican colleagues to discuss whether there is a middle ground.
Not as long as Lieberman is there, that’s for sure. Isn’t it time you “crossed the floor” Joe and took up your true color, red.
