Bush's Social Security Push Planned to Fail

Even as Bush goes around the country, from one supporter-filled town hall to the next, he is not gaining any support for his plan to privatize social security. I am quite baffled by this, as it seems to me that Bush/Rove would not champion something unless they knew it was going to be a sucess for them. Even though the corporate donors are surely pushing Bush to get this through congress, I don't think that Rove would choose to sacrifice the party's chances in '06 on this.

Enter Frank. I was reading What's the Matter with Kansas last night. One of his theories is that the Republicans are insituting a class struggle based on culture, not economics, the so-called Cultural Civil War, also discussed in Lakoff's work. One of the major tenants of this theory is that the "Middle Americans" view themselves as always on the losing side of a nation-wide cultural war between themselves and the "liberals." They represent everything about good, tradtional, American values. Liberals represent snobby, latte-drinking overlords of the American cultural behemoth that is always advancing their pro-gay, pro-abortion, pro-sex, anti-Christian values in to the American culture, as viewed in Hollywood movies, on TV, and in modern fiction. Obviously this is preposterous because the people they vote for support the people who _own_ this fiction, but that is not important. It's what the people who vote for Bush perceive that is important.

So I propose, in order to perpetuate this view of "Middle Americans" being victims to the "Liberal Machine," Bush champions a seemingly winnable issue to most of his supporters in the flyover, while being a seemingly lose-lose issue to most people in mainstream politics and mainstream culture, the very people these Bush supporters view to be the "liberal machine." Granted, some of Bush's supporters do not support the cause themselves, but the conservative conservatives will ignore this because it does not fit in to their frame of being victims to the liberals. The end result, when the social security plan does not materialize, is that the heartland of America will feel themselves to be victims of the liberals once again.

It's really much simpler than that. He needs to bankrupt Amurica, but he didn't count on the seniors seeing through this particular scheme. But Bush being the "staying the course" kind of guy that he is, will not give up.

it over 70 years ago. That's why he's pimping this plan. He wants a big, important to the Republican Party, policy passed before he leaves office.

but it's not reason enough to risk destroying support for the party in '06.

dream about it. It's the Republican Holy Grail of policy, to destroy Social Security.

For SS, it IS the heartland who is resisting. Old, conservative, rural people aren't buying it. The republicans are riding the fence. Sure, the pres is trying to blame do nothing democrats. But when do nothing is an optioned favored over private accounts----

So it isn't like the permanent war on abortion, where they get to plead that they are thisclose and one more election cycle is needed to finish the job--as they have argued since 1976.

and fits in with their MO, but Shrub LOVES to win and look like a winner -

I tend to the idea that huge SS 'reform' effort is a smokescreen, diverting attention away from:

-more important social program needs (Health insurance, education etc)
-violence in Iraq
-Bankrupcy bill
-bad economic trends

There are so many other things shrub could be spending time on, many many many things, yet he spending all his time working on this issue that most people just don't support

god I hate this government

good point there, and not that farfetched.


www.BlackEyedSundays.com

Bush has been trying to privatize Social Security since unsusccessfully ran for Congress in 1978.

I'm seeing people who question it but still think George Bush walks on water. And I'm not so sure he won't ultimately push some version of it thru in spite of what polls say. I'll never forget how the polls showed only 25% approval for attacking Iraq when the idea first came up-- but they proceeded anyway and then a certain percentage succumbed to the lies and deceit and their own psychological need to see a good, strong protective daddy in George Bush instead of what he really is.