JUST SAY NO TO PRIVATIZING!
Never underestimate the power of the Bush PR machine. It is a steamroller. By last November, Dubya and Co. convinced a majority of Americans that Suddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11. They persuaded voters into believing the economy was robust with employment numbers growing by millions. And they were even able to influence a very sizable number of people to believe that although we were at war and had millions of children with no health care, abortion and gay marriage were the two most urgent issues facing the nation.
The latest public relations wallop to come out of the White House is what I call the Bamboozelebooza Tour. It’s slogan is “Privatize This”. The media is churning it 24/7. By now, you’ve seen and heard it. Social Security is suffering a crisis so calamitous, so urgent, so menacing, so dire, so apocalyptic… whew!…. we must fix it! Right now! It can’t wait another minute!
Of course, this is the same cock and bull we heard about WMD before the invasion of Iraq. The certainty of whether Social Security will continue to be a viable program is about nothing more than the fantasies of the right wing ideologues running the country and their efforts for raw political grabs. The last thing it has to do with is Dubya’s phony sudden concern for our children’s and grandchildren’s retirements.
In response to this recent trumped up, whirling, heap of a con-job, Democratic Congressman Harold Ford had this to offer, “The Democrats are going to have to get a better message on Social Security…Our only response cannot be to say, ‘No’”. Say what? The American worker and future generations of workers are about to have one of the bedrocks of American society, the government’s insurance plan for retirement, scammed by Bush and his pro-privatization investment banking buddies faster than one can say “Enron”. And all we are given are weasel words from one of the so-called rising stars in the so-called party of opposition.
But alas, hope springs eternal! Luckily, this week, the Democratic National Committee will most likely select Howard Dean as its new chairman. Governor Dean is very familiar with the phony Bamboozelebooza Social Security sham. In his campaign for the Presidency last year, the governor did not appear to have a problem using the word “no” when asked questions about this and other wrongheaded Bush ideas. But perhaps, for some laughs, he should invite Congressman Ford and others to watch the series of TV ads which have been featuring David Spade as a telemarketer who always says “no” to his customers’ requests. He teaches a trainee his method by using scenarios where the trainee responds with a “no”. “Mix it up! Tic tac no! E-i-e-i-no! Marco? Pono!” Pretty funny, but there is a lesson there for all Democrats. When it comes to fighting the destructive and deceitful antics of the current Republican leadership, we need someone who can just say “no”.But don’t take David Spade’s word for it. Ask Nancy Reagan.
