Karl Rove: Rick Perry’s Social Security Views ‘Toxic’

ABC News ^ | 09/07/2011 | George Stephanopoulos

[SeekAndFind]

On “GMA” this morning, Karl Rove noted that new GOP frontrunner has many strengths, but Rick Perry’s thoughts on Social Security are not among them.

Perry’s campaign has not backed away from what Perry wrote in his book “Fed Up” — that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme,” a “failure,” “something we have been forced to accept for more than 70 years now,” and one of many New Deal programs that have “never died, and like a bad disease, they have spread.”

But Rove pulled no punches today, calling that stance “inadequate.”

“They are going to have to find a way to deal with these things,” Rove said.

“They’re toxic in a general election environment and they are also toxic in a Republican primary. And if you say Social Security is a failure and ought to be replaced by a state level program, then people are going to say ‘What do you mean by that?’ and make judgment based on your answer to it,” he said.

Our latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that Republicans believe Perry is the challenger best able to beat Obama. But Rove thinks it’s too early to make that judgment, and that Obama can still pull out an election that is the GOP’s to lose.

Republicans “can blow it,” Rove said, by “having a candidate who could not appeal to the swing voters in this election who are conservative minded independents, latinos and white working class voters…The primary has to be a process by which our candidate is strengthened not weakened and emerges from the end of it ready to conduct a general election campaign for the voters who are up for grabs in this election.”

As for Sarah Palin, Rove still thinks he’ll jump in the race but “wouldn’t bet the ranch on it.”

[TexasCajun]

Rove and The Bush Klan were staunch supports of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who tried and failed to unseat Perry during last year’s contentious Texas Republican gubernatorial primary.

[toddausauras]

What a freakin’ David Brooks Rove is now. Go to hell you loser you’re not a conservative! What’s with guys like him and Scarborough?

[Digger]

Rove and Dana Perrino are a pair of ulcers left over from Bush II’s inglorious term.

They sure are a couple of elitist RINOs.

[Grunthor]

In the end, does that scenario not get us to a point of our government falling and perhaps something better rising from the ashes?

[tnlibertarian]

Okay cousin Karl, if Social Security is not a failure, why not let people opt out? If it is such a success, people would love to participate. Why should a supposedly free society force workers into a government funded retirement plan against their will? The whole idea is anti-liberty. I’ll make you a deal. You can keep every penny of what I have contributed over the last twenty or so years. Take that pile of money in my ‘account’ and have a big party with it. Stop taking money from my paycheck and instruct my employer to send his ‘matching contribution’ to me. I’ll sign an agreement relinquishing any claim on future Social Security benefits. Offer this option to everyone and see what a wonderful success the people financially supporting this legalized theft think of it. As long as Medicare and Social Security exist, we are not a free people.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

Hey, wait... I thought Perry was just a front for the Bush family. I think I read something like that on FR.

Or maybe Rove is saying things like this to make us THINK the Bushes don’t like Perry, and that secretly they love him to pieces.

I’m so confused.

[RobbyS]

Plus I suspect that Rove was the adviser who told Bush he should fly over New Orleans after Katrina rather than “interfere” with local efforts by staying at Barksdale for awhile. Barksdale had all the communication he needed (it was where he first landed after 9/11) to supervise the efforts of Fema and Blanco while being remote enough from nit t be thought of as a meddler. At least, he should have returned for a few days to Barksdale after his fly over and held a meeting with the head of fema and the governors of Lousiana, Mississipi, Alabama and Florida before returning to DC. Insread—I think—he listened to Rove.Maybe one reason why Rove left the White House early.

[RobbyS]

The BS element comes from the fact that the funding has been commingled with general revenue. But in truth there is no way to set it aside. Where do you put the surplus? Certainly not into government bonds. If we were still on the gold standard, into gold.

[Defiant]

When everyone here was celebrating and elated over Bush's win in 2004, by a measly 51-49, I posted several cautions, because there is no way he should not have won by a landslide like Reagan did. The demographics are a little different, but the main distinction was that Reagan forcefully argued his positions, convinced the people, and defended himself against the propaganda in the press. Rove and Bush seemed incapable of understanding the importance of that, and Rove seemed obsessed with creating a grand coalition in the middle instead of following Reagan's prescription of convincing everyone to move to the right. Rove crafted a strategy based on the electoral college and picking off key states with arguments they did not really believe in. It was a strategy that worked, barely, twice, but was not designed to build a conservative country or a GOP majority in the long run. The reason was not bad strategy, it was a good strategy for someone who was closer in tune with Democrats, as Rove and Bush turned out to be with hindsight. They are from the progressive wing of the Republican party, and that wing is ultimately Democrat in their world view, they just THINK the democrats are going too fast and too far. But....every time the democrats move the line a little farther left, they move over a little with them.

I wish he would just join Colin Powell on the Democrat side so we could stop confusing people by labeling him Republican. There are really only 2 parties in America, conservative (which characterizes most of the tea party, but not all) and progressive (which encompasses RINOs and Democrats.) Progressives are ultimately marxist, but some don't realize it. However, when progressivism is under attack, they all join together, as when people like McCain, Boehner and Rove join Obama and Reid to attack the tea party that threatens their progressive world view.

[isthisnickcool]

Rove is an ugly old fart who is fat and out of shape. He is an attention hog with self esteem issues. I’m sure others than myself have noticed that the people who are slovenly or just damn ugly seem to be pissing in other people’s cheerios. Look at Pelosi, Hillary, Boxer, Frank and others who I believe are as ugly on the inside as they are on the outside. They hate themselves so they jack with us.

It is also in my opinion why the hate people like Palin, Bauchmann, Perry and others who take care of themselves and are both physically and mentally centered.

[ZULU]

I totally agree with you.

The Democrat/Republican Party is often just the Bad Cop/Good Cop arrangement for the far left.

It APPEARS the Tea Party COnservatives are having some effect on the GOP - and that is good. Before we take the Presidency we need to take more seats in BOTH houses of Congress from the RINOs.

McConnell and Boner should be FIRST on our radar screens.

[blueunicorn6]

Well, if George Stufftheballotbox is putting this up, then it must be because he thinks it’s good for the Republicans.

[DManA]

Shut up Karl.