OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING (via the great Patrick Ruffini):

Bush Continues to Back Privatized Social Security (Amy Goldstein, July 25, 2002, Washington Post)

The White House yesterday stood firmly behind President Bush's plan for workers to divert some of their Social Security payroll taxes into the stock market, despite the dramatic drops Wall Street has suffered in recent months.

[White House press secretary Ari] Fleischer made clear that Bush continues to favor permitting Americans to take a portion of the taxes they ordinarily contribute to the Social Security trust fund and invest it on their own. "That would include markets," Fleischer said. "Nothing has changed his views about allowing younger workers to have those options." [...]

The White House's reminder that Bush wants to overhaul Social Security comes as the administration is redoubling its efforts to draw attention to strong points in the economy. The remarks about the retirement system, on a day when the stock market rose after nine weeks of historic declines, typify an administration that has prized consistency in its policy positions, rather than shifting with changed circumstances. [...]

For now, the White House essentially is speaking into a legislative vacuum. Republicans, fearing that the volatile issue could prove damaging in the elections this fall, persuaded Bush last winter that Congress should not consider any Social Security reforms until 2003. Now some in the party are suggesting that debate should be deferred until after the 2004 presidential election.

House Republicans have distanced themselves from Bush's ideas -- at least rhetorically -- by passing a bill that promised not to "privatize" the retirement system, although many in the party still favor what they now call "individual investments." House Democrats are trying to force a vote on the president's proposal, believing that a debate may prove politically advantageous during a season of investment losses and corporate scandals.

Republicans should accept this challenge from the Democrats and ram it down their throats. Have a full vote in both houses on privatizing the system and let people see which party believes in capitalism, free markets, people being responsible for themselves, etc. Then crank up the ads about the current state of the system, ghow much more people could realize in returns if they invest themselves, and as the market starts rallying put up one of those little charts with the arrow showing how much a simple index fund has gone up since the day of the vote. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 25, 2002 1:03 PM