Posted on 09/22/2005 3:41:51 PM PDT by Crackingham
Frustrated by Congress' failure to move on Republican plans to address Social Security problems, Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday said he thought that the White House had made a "fundamental error" in handling its public relations campaign to restructure the federal retirement system.
Looking back on the last year, Santorum, R-Pa., said he had struggled to understand President Bush's decision to come out "right after the campaign" -- without allowing the 2004 presidential election fervor to cool -- "with this mandate that you're going to change the sacred cow of the [political] left, who've just been energized beyond belief.
SNIP
In an interview in his office last evening, Santorum said he "pleaded" with administration officials to develop and launch a strategy to convey the issue's importance to the public immediately, and even to forgo Christmas breaks to ensure that a plan was in place.
But the White House preferred to wait until Bush's State of the Union address Feb. 2, a strategy that made it difficult for GOP senators to build support for Social Security changes among their constituents, Santorum said.
Foes of the reforms "didn't waste" the holiday breaks, he said. "They started hammering on the president, basically starting to tear this apart in December. What [the White House] needed to do immediately was what they did three months later, which was to lay out the problem and get ahead of the curve.
"It's the old thing in politics: You either define your opponent or your opponent defines you, and we sat back and let our opponents define us and define the issue," he said. "We were just playing catch up the whole time, and that was the fundamental error."
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Hello Rick??
What gives with this guy? Does he think trashing Bush is the way to get Democrats to vote for him?
Couple this with his moronic statement about fining heavily those who stay behind after a mandatory evacuation is ordered, and I'm beginning to wonder about Santorum's political judgment.
Really? As I recall it was Republicans in the House and in the Congress, Santorum included, running scared telling the President no way in HELL were they going to jeopardize their elections by tampering with FDR's legacy.
Then when he wouldn't back down, they consented to consider addressing it but private accounts were too risky.
Santorum, with all due respect, you're full of it. And I find it rich to hear a U.S. Senator lecturing the President about not jumping out of the gate on a problem. Where the hell were all of you on Judges before you lit a fire under you!
And while I've made the case that Toomey supporters will damn well get what they deserve if bitterness prevents a vote for you, I also believe this type of tripe will merit the conseqences it deserves as well. It's shaping up that if you lose, I won't feel sympathy for Penn conservatives nor for you. Only sympathy for the fact we'll lose an automatic vote not used for the filibuster.
Doesn't change the fact that Social Security is a completely ruined system. Now that America is burdened with Katrina, Rita, and Iraq, we simply do not have the time we once had.
Social Security should've been changed, but now it's too late to do anything. Once again, an opportunity squandered by these Republican leaders scared that they'll lose political power. Ridiculous. DT, this is Big Government. A vast majority of our senior citizens are already dependent on the fed, and it's a real shame.
Not now. It's a silly thing to bring up with all the hurricanes, and Iraq, and judges.
Bush's harping about SS right from the gates of the '04 election was a total WTF? for me when there are so many other pressing issues. A total waste of "political capital."
I suspect he's a goner from the Senate.
Send in the Fat Lady.
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