Bush & Cheney Holding Meetings in Their Residences With Select GOP

[Robbien]

NEWSWEEK: Bush and Cheney Holding Meetings in Their Residences With Select GOP Lawmakers About Social Security Proposal; 'We Still Have a Long Way to Go,' Cheney Tells Guests

NEW YORK, March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Vice President Dick Cheney recently met
with 40 members of the conservative Republican Study Committee in his official
residence. Cheney chatted with small groups of lawmakers, saying he understood
their position-after all, he was once a member of the RSC when he served in
the House. "It was very casual," Kevin Brady, a five-term Texas Republican
tells Newsweek, "or as casual as you can be at the vice president's house." It
was casual enough for some frank talk about Social Security. As Newsweek
reports, one lawmaker bluntly told Cheney the party wouldn't support lifting
the cap on payroll taxes. Others warned of the budget-busting cost of the
transition to private accounts. Cheney, on the verge of his own
town-hall-style sessions, listened carefully. "We still have a long way to
go," he reassured his nervous guests.

<snip>

Two months into its drive to overhaul Social Security, the White House is
casting about for help and fresh ideas. Cheney and Karl Rove sat down recently
with a newly formed group of congressional Republicans who are calling
themselves the House retirement-message committee. But at the strategy session
inside the veep's ornate reception room, overlooking the West Wing, there was
no agreement on how to talk to voters about investment accounts, or when to
start debating a detailed solution, Newsweek reports.

Rep. Sam Johnson told how he tries to persuade seniors in his Texas
district to support private accounts by asking them to send in pictures of
their grandchildren. The message: do it for the kids. According to Rove, the
current goal is to reassure seniors and those close to retirement that their
benefits are protected, while urging them to help future generations, Newsweek
reports.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/03-20-2005/0003227456&EDATE=

[Frances]

1. It's because of their children and grandchildren

that many seniors oppose privatizing social security

Many seniors remember the Great Depression when people lost everything: jobs, the value of their houses, stocks, all investments.

Today the future job situation for their children and grandchildren looks shaky with all of the outsourcing and union busting. Also companies are NOT giving pensions the way they used to.

The Bush grandchildren are trust fund babies. Most Americans won't be able to leave a trust fund to their children.

On edit, realized I had left out the word NOT.

[meti57b]

2. "do it for the kids" like as if the kids want grandma moving in with them

some day, or their mother-in-law ... because bush axed their Social Security in half or worse.

I'm sure "the kids" will also like those multi-trillion dollar deficits bush will be giving them.

[priller]

3. Rove's standard technique

Divide voters into groups, then appeal to each group's narrow self-interest.

-- To elderly: Don't worry, nothing will happen to your checks.

-- To young: Hey, SS won't survive for you anyway, so you've got nothing to lose by changing.

-- To blacks: SS isn't a good deal for you because you don't live very long.

Fortunately, in this case, the elderly aren't thinking in terms of self-interest. They actually care what happens to their children and grandkids. It speaks volumes about Rove that he doesn't realize this.

[lowreed]

6. Is Herr Rove a breeder?

[w4rma]

9. I believe Rove is a homosexual. (nt)

[NVMojo]

4. I'll bet that idiot from Nevada Jim Gibbons was there

[Wwagsthedog]

5. kevin brady is my congresspimp.

he is why I don't bother to call or write in. In this district, it's totally useless.

[TankLV]

7. But they raised hell because Gore used the phones when he was there.

[DemoTex]

8. Bu$h will glad-hand; Cheney will snarl and snap.

It's their well-honed "good cop, bad cop" routine.


What a Dick.

[jazzjunkysue]

12. Thanks. Now, I'm gonna have nightmares.

Shit, these repugs are fugly. I don't know which is worse: Rice's helmet, cheney's fangs, Wolfie's greaseball, or laura's crossed eyes. This is starting to look like some inbred royal family DNA-degraded X-Files episode. The canadians are looking real good these days, even with all that butterfat.

May I be excused, yet?

[ewagner]

10. Blackmail is a private thing

best that it takes place in the private residences......

btw: bribery is also a very private thing....

[applegrove]

11. Of course Rove is there. They want the republicans to change their

thinking and who better to do that than a psychopath? I mean for sure people are brought in one by one... the psycho has to figure out each person's personal issues and how that can be twisted to get them to support SS - when it is bad for Americans and Americans do not like it.

I am surprised they even allow Bush or Cheney in the room! Though I guess it would be too obvious if it was just Rove there. And of course if you "reframe it" as taking place at 'Bush's house' or 'Cheney's house' we all picture their respective houses in our minds and forget about Karl Rove.

Once again.. we need MRIs to vet out the sociopaths from high government positions.

[rooboy]

13. Send in photos of the kids so they'll be easier to round up...

and send off to war.

[skrunch]

14. Come for the cocktail weenies...

...stay for the Rovian Mind-Meld (patent pending).