GOP and Tea Party Agree: Abolish Social Security

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

We have already told you about GOP budget guru, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), and his "GOP Road to America's Future (Ruin)" here The GOP Road to Ruin and here Update: The GOP Road to Ruin. Ryan's plan is to privatize social security as George W. Bush proposed, and to ration Medicare until it also is privatized into a voucher program. The pirates of Wall Street stand ready to steal your retirement security. Remember this is what you are voting for when you vote for a Republican.

Now the leaders of the so-called Tea Party movement (corporate sponsored Astroturf campaign) agree: abolish social security. Jed Lewison reports that Tea party leaders declared they want to abolish social security during an interview on Larry King Live. Tea Party Leaders: Abolish Social Security:

Here's a Larry King interview that took a surprising turn: in the middle of discussion about whether it was appropriate to accuse President Obama of "terrorism," St. Louis tea party leader Dana Loesch admitted that she wanted to abolish Social Security — and her tea party leader compatriot Wayne Allyn Root [the 2008 vice presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party] joined her in calling for its elimination.

Watch:

(h/t: Think Progress)

Asked about a video clip of a tea partier who had accused President Obama of being a terrorist, Loesch said that while she thinks it is "a little bit egregious" to call him a terrorist, those who do so have "valid concerns" that Obama is trying to destroy the U.S. Constitution with programs like health care reform. King pressed Loesch, asking her if she would abolish Social Security. Loesch said she "absolutely" would. Root echoed her, saying he "certainly would like to…do away with" Social Security.

Now I don't know about you, but I attended several of the healthcare townhalls last year, and many of the teabaggers were clearly senior citizens receiving social security and Medicare and in some cases, VA benefits — all "socialist" federal programs. Several of these seniors shouted "don't touch my Medicare!" I suspect if you told them to turn in their social security card and Medicare card and to reject these "socialist" benefits (you do not have to accept the benefits, you can decline) you would not have had any takers.

So it seems an odd choice that Republicans and the Tea Party have settled upon an election strategy of abolishing social security and Medicare. They think this is a winning issue? As Jed Lewison says, "I'll bet there will be an unlimited supply of Democrats willing to take them up on that bet."