Many progressives are deeply dismayed about the shortcomings of the Senate bill. And they should hold onto that feeling! History suggests that this reform will get much better over time — but only if people keep demanding improvements.
But I think my reaction to the bill’s apparently imminent passage is being shaped, in part, by memories of how it was, not long ago. Five years ago, after the 2004 election, I was devoting most of my efforts to an attempt to
stop Social Security privatization. And it seemed likely to be yet another losing battle: all the wise heads, all the makers of conventional wisdom, were sure that Bush was going to get what he wanted, and that people like me were just
boorish obstructionists unwilling to embrace change.
But Social Security survived. And here we are now with a reform that, for all its faults, is the biggest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare. That, in my book, counts as a big victory.
The battle for social security was classic. Kerry was warning about it in the last stages of the campaign. The media, including factcheck.org, were claiming he was being disingenuous. No sooner had Bush returned to the WH, he launched his privatization scam, and Kerry and the Democrats took to the road effectively killed he scheme.
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