Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Not 'no,' but 'hell no!'

Like a snarling little yorkie that won't let go of its favorite toy, Bush wants to drag the country into another argument over Social Security "reform." The White House is floating the notion that a little bipartisan cooperation is all that's needed to sell Social Security privatization to the American people.

Bush cited overhauling immigration laws and policies, expanding federal school accountability requirements and changing the fiscally imperiled Social Security system as areas in which prospects for bipartisan cooperation seemed brightest. "I view the election as an opportunity to say to all of us in Washington, 'Let's work together,' " he said. "People want that."
This is nonsense. The idea failed two years ago for a reason: it is a terrible idea. The American people rejected it unequivocally. We don't want it now any more than we did then.

There is no reason for congressional Democrats even to pretend to cooperate with Bush on the destruction of Social Security. The first time they are asked, Democratic leaders should declare it a total non-starter, dead-on-arrival, no IFs, ANDs, or BUTs.

Democrats won the mid-term elections. Republicans lost. Bush's radical domestic agenda died with the GOP congressional majority. This president is a lame duck, and there is no reason to help him pretend otherwise.

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