Rebuttal Begins for a Speech Not Yet Given (SOTU)

[papau]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/31/politics/31cong.html

January 31, 2005
Rebuttal Begins for a Speech Not Yet Given (SOTU)
By CARL HULSE

ASHINGTON, Jan. 30 - With President Bush scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address on Wednesday, Democratic leaders in Congress are planning a pre-emptive strike on Monday, challenging Mr. Bush on his policy in Iraq and his plans for Social Security.

In a "prebuttal" to the presidential address, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, plans to urge the president to use Sunday's elections in Iraq as an opportunity to change course in that country and "come clean" with the American public by presenting a coherent plan for what lies ahead in Iraq.

"Most of all, we need an exit strategy so that we know what victory is and how we can get there; so that we know what we need to do and so that we know when the job is done," said a draft of the speech Mr. Reid is to deliver in an appearance with Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, his counterpart in the House, at the National Press Club here.

Excerpts of Ms. Pelosi's remarks show that she plans to emphasize Democratic skepticism about Mr. Bush's efforts to change Social Security so workers could place some money into personal investment accounts rather than pay into the existing retirement program.

"Private accounts also take away the one thing that makes Social Security the bedrock upon which Americans can build their retirements - the guaranteed benefit," says Ms. Pelosi in her speech. "The burst of the Internet bubble in 2000 wreaked havoc on private investments. Imagine if it had done the same to their Social Security. We won't let a guaranteed benefit become a guaranteed gamble."<snip>

Reid: "There is a gap between saying we are a global leader and standing on the sidelines as new international institutions and alliances take shape without us."

"There is a gap between saying to reformers that 'the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors' and an Administration that stands by in virtual silence as Saudi dissidents disappear."

"And nowhere is the gap between rhetoric and reality greater than in Iraq."

Pelosi: "So it is right that we are having a discussion about the future of Social Security, but it is also right that Democrats stand up for our values the values that created, defended, and will strengthen Social Security."

"First, Democrats insist any changes not begin by cutting benefits. The average Social Security check today is $950 a month. That is not a great deal of money for those who depend on that check to pay for food, rent, heat, and medicine. "

"Under the leading privatization plan proposed by the President's Social Security commission, the Social Security benefit could be cut by more than 40 percent."

"Democrats will not allow this Administration to turn this proud, entrepreneurial achievement of the New Deal into a raw deal for millions of Americans." "Social Security is a promise, kept from generation to generation a guarantee of dignity and independence the closest thing our government has to a sacred trust."

"Mr. President, do not betray this trust."

[moggie12]

1. Thanks for posting the NYT article

I've been wondering who was going to give the Dem response to the SOTU -- at the bottom it says Reid and Pelosi will jointly give it.

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. Hopefully this is a sign that the Dems Are going to quit

catching punches and start throwing them.

[papau]

3. I hope so :-)

:-)