The SS trust fund has been raided, as we all know. Repeatedly.

But that wasn’t how SS was originally designed. FDR never said “I want to create a trust fund that we can raid with impunity.” Rather, that’s an example of how a program can get corrupted in future years.

In his book “Fed Up!” Perry said something different.

First, he suggested that SS was an example of disrespect to the U.S. Constitution. Them’s fighting words, because it suggests that any elderly retiree drawing SS checks is cooperating in disrespecting the U.S. Constitution. Good luck trying to sell that one.

And Perry even wrote that SS was like a “bad disease” (!!!) (his words) that continues to spread. For those retirees who are struggling with serious illnesses (as many elderly people are), telling them that the SS program is similar to a bad disease they’re struggling with is going to fall like the proverbial lead balloon.

Perry isn’t just against raiding the trust fund. He isn’t just appalled at the inattention given to maintaining SS’s solvency. He’s clearly angry that SS was ever enacted in the first place–and the only thing stopping him from abolishing it is that Congress wouldn’t go along.

Perry is going to lose the election on that basis. That’s not sellable except to maybe some young folks–who will then turn around and vote for Obama anyway because he’s “cool”. In the meantime, all those retirees living in Florida will not vote for Perry–and Obama will win the state.

Finally, if Perry gets the GOP nomination, it will put Rubio in a bad spot. Rubio will have to thread the needle between supporting his party’s nominee and having to explain to angry seniors how he’ll defend SS against all comers.

I don’t know why Perry is bothering with this. Obama is vulnerable on about 10,000 different things. Perry (and the rest of us) should be running against Obama, not against FDR.

In 2008, people hated him because he didnt lie down for Fred Thompson, as if Fred were royalty.

Now, people are mad because he dare attack precious Perry.

Romney has taken plenty of barbs and arrows for a long time and has taken them like man.

I think this is the real reason Perry fans are so peeved today, InTrade:

Before debate: Perry 40%, Romney 33%

After debate: Romney 36.3%, Perry 35.5%

It goes,

If you don’t like the weather in Texas…wait ten minutes….It will Change

I would modify it for Romney

If you don’t like Mitt Romney’s position on any subject…wait ten minutes….It will Change

debate about Social Security between Perry and Romney.

Here’s what I’m starting to see as a range of pundits are seeing the aftermath of the SS exchange. They are starting to see the actions of Mitt Romney continuing the attack on Perry and SS. The problem they see with this is that it puts Romney in the camp with the Democrats in wanting to not change SS and Medicare, This means Perry got Romney to make himself out to be a democrat-lite.

Guess what that means? That means Romney now is turning off a large section of the republican voters who tend to be quite conservative and are looking for that outsider who will stand up strongly when the tough times come knocking. This pandering like the Democrats do is putting a really bad taste in people’s mouth towards Romney. By the time the next debate comes, Perry will be polling back up where he was if there is any change at all in the polls.

The way to look at all this, is to see what everyone is talking about, and it’s still “ponzi scheme”. Romney’s jobs plan barely got a mention, all 59 points of it. That’s how you know who is leading.

This is the pot calling the kettle black.
I’m NOT a big fan of Romney at all, but look back at Perry’s remarks about illegal immigration, abortion, and let’s not even forget the Al Gore campaign chair thing. I know, I’ll hear the “Reagan did the same thing” argument, but comparing the likes of Rick Perry to Ronald Reagan is like comparing Mark Texeira to Lou Gehrig.
Sure, I don’t want to have a candidate locked into not being able to change their mind, but it should be the exception. Perry and Romney make it the norm. Perry has flipped as much as Romney has flopped. And with some of the negativity thrown the way of Sarah Palin’s supporters and even some comparisons to her’s being on the level of the Paultards, Perry’s squishiness goes largely ignored by his supporters.
If these two are supposedly the best and the brightest, then the party is in trouble. I know Romney is preferred by the beltway, but how Perry’s supporters can miss how he’s blatantly done the same thing for years astounds me.

Your titles for the recent posts are certified Truths. For instance RP being crazy. This one – Mitt is a flip flopper. I don’t think any one doubts that. They are not assumptions. They are certifiable truths.
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PS: I am so pissed off at the recent middle class non sense of Mitt. Republicans don’t group people into classes. I will take a Huckabee or your doormat over Mitt any day.

On the list of our current problems, Social Security is not the highest priority. With common sense reforms the system can be extended, and should be as reform options are debated, but the critical problems are Medicare, Medicaid, ObamaCare, and overall spending policies.

Yes, Social Security must be dealt with at some point, but can we put out these raging fires first? Thanks!

This is a trap to divert the debate from the disaster of Democratic economic policies to one flawed but popular program which happens to benefit the most dependable voting class.

Don’t go there. Kill the wolves before worrying about boll weevils.

Romney’s statements don’t actually conflict.The second statement actually supports the first: the problem isn’t with the idea of having a government funded mechanism to function as a safety net for the elderly poor, but government has abused the fund by using it for things other than its intended purpose. So the funding mechanism needs to be fixed, but you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Spin meistering done. Wheh! I think I need a shower now.

Note that even with the spin meistering, it doesn’t make Perry wrong or Mitt right, it just isn’t as inconsistent as you claim. Perry is right. The fact of the matter is there never WAS a trust fund. The first money paid in went directly out to people who never paid a dime in, and it has been funded the same way ever since. This is the very definition of a Ponzi scheme, even before the diversion of money to ends not intended enters the matrix. You need to recognize that before you can fix the problem. Fundamental to the fix is doing away with SS. At some point on the demographic curve you need to grant people privately managed IRA/401K equivalents, and fund those above that point out of general funds. I’m open to still having a means tested benefit for the truly indigent, mostly because it may be necessary to get the votes so we can get the majority of people of the government SS dole.

People can whine all they want, but it was, and still is a horrible idea. Social Security was a tax scheme from the beginning. Democrats fallaciously sold it as akin to a savings account. It was never any such thing. Every year, Congress, Democrat and Republican alike, gleefully sucked up all this money and used it for things like “artistic porn” and Obama’s bus. Then applied accounting gimmicks to make payouts. That’s a Ponzi Scheme. There is no “balance” sitting there for the retirees.

Most people have never looked at their paycheck where it says “Social Security TAX” It’s called a “tax” for a reason.

That doesn’t mean to say that people Democrats have hooked on Social Security crack shouldn’t get their money. They should, it was promised to them.

But the” scheme” is not sustainable for future generations. Look at the numbers and independent reports. They all say the same thing. The only controversy is when. Period.

Frankly, I am a little sick of voters and in particular seniors, that don’t do their research and vote like Pavlov’s Dogs on emotional appeals every time some Democrat says Republican’s are going to take away their Social Security. I can’t think of one mainstream Republican that EVER said that. Ever.

Romney is riding this like Secretariat in his zeal to get elected and try to politically nail Perry. It won’t work and is just one more reason why Romney is McCain 2.0, with better hair.