Yesterday Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mark Takano (D-CA), and Mark Pocan (D-WI), along with folks from AARP and a broad coalition of progressive organizations, reiterated their NO CUTS to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid stand by presenting petitions with 2.3 million signatures on them to the White House. That didn't stop Obama and Boehner from moving forward with their plans to destroy the idea that Social Security is the third rail of American politics. Their plan to cut benefits to seniors and vets through their Chained CPI scheme was part of Obama's budget today. And it's why Boehner has a twinkle in his eyes. Not only is he going to get the cuts in Social Security the GOP and their corporate backers demand, he's going to get it with mostly Democratic votes because of the inept negotiating skills of the most lightweight president in our lifetimes. And he gets the first breach in the unbreachable: Social Security is forever on the chopping block if this goes through. The head of the NCRR, Greg Walden (R-OR) already attacked Obama for cutting Social Security. This will be the fate of any Democrat in Congress stupid enough to support this. They will lose their base of the left and be attacked from he right. Just say NO.
Mark Pocan, the progressive champion who took Tammy Baldwin's old Madison, Wisconsin seat after voters statewide elevated her to the Senate, explained what the hubbub was all about: "I and many others in Congress, 107 of us, signed a letter that said we do not support cuts to Medicare, Social Security, or Medicaid-- and we do not support the Chained CPI. And I am here to say that if we do any chained CPI to Social Security, that we will break our promise that we made to our seniors and others who rely on Social Security. I will not support that. I will not vote for any bill that includes that. And I stand with the 2 million-plus people who say that here today." Bernie-- God bless his soul-- was a little more bellicose, the Green Mountain Boy in him coming out: "Anybody in the Congress who believes in cutting these important benefits, we’re going to give them a political choice they can’t refuse. And that is: If they vote to cut Social Security, they may well not be returning to Washington."
But, in the end, the best response to Obama's decision to break his promise to the American people and cut Social Security benefits to the elderly and to veterans came in the form of the Grayson Takano No Cuts letter. Key phrase: “we will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits-- including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need.”
Several Members of Congress have released their own statements aligned with the letter. (Be careful of fakes. New Dems and other conservatives have put out statements with plenty of wiggle room to worm out of any commitment if they feel pressure. Ami Bera (New Dem-CA), for example, put out a statement that says he won't vote against benefit cuts but then refuses to say whether or not he considers Chained CPI a benefit cut. Disappointing freshman Annie Kuster (NH) has pulled the same trick. Jared Huffman released a decent statement, but not one that says he will "vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits." Here's what Huffman put out yesterday:
“I am disappointed to hear that the President’s budget will include a chained CPI. Quite simply, chained CPI means reduced benefits for seniors who have paid into the system, earned those benefits, and are counting on them.Not bad... but not quite what Chellie Pingree (D-ME) put out the day before: "No matter what you call it, a chained CPI is a cut to Social Security benefits. For someone who retirees today, that cut would mean they would be getting $650 less a year when they are 75 and over $1,100 less a year when they reach age 85. Seniors shouldn't be facing cuts to the benefits they have earned while millionaires and billionaires are getting a tax break. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are vital to the economic security of Maine people and I will vote against cuts to benefits in these programs." See the crucial difference?
My 83-year-old mom is like millions of seniors around the country. She worked hard all her life and paid into the system, and when she retired she counted on the government to honor its end of the bargain. I intend to make sure our government keeps its promise. We can reduce the deficit without forcing extra costs on the middle class, seniors, and the most vulnerable in our society.
While there is much in the President’s budget to admire, I strongly oppose chained CPI, and I will vote against these benefit cuts should they come before the House.”
