Go First, No you go First. Damnit, I will Go First!

The Republican in Congress are playing a game of chicken, the House GOP want the Senate GOP to go first and f*** up Social Security first by drafting a bill. The Senate GOP is taking it time drafting a bill to f*** up Social Security.

Hastert, fearful of having his members take a stand unnecessarily, wants the Senate to act on a bill first, said the aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. One said the speaker does not want the House to risk antagonizing voters before the 2006 midterm election by passing a tough Social Security bill that gets dropped in the Senate. [..]

Hastert, R-Ill., issued a statement last week applauding Thomas's hearings, but Republican aides said Monday the speaker's enthusiasm is muted.

"We're expecting the Senate to go first," one aide said Monday.

The GOP House wing nuts, are getting mad. So, they will go first and draft a bill to f*** up Social Security.

Majority Leader Tom DeLay and many conservatives unhappy with the Senate's cautious approach want a House bill on Social Security ready as soon as possible, while Speaker Dennis Hastert prefers to wait and let the Senate act first, according to Republican aides. [..]

Thomas promised to hold hearings weekly beginning May 12 "until we produce legislation, probably in the early part of June." A spokeswoman refined his remarks Monday, saying Thomas expected to act sometime this summer, not necessarily in early June.

DeLay, R-Texas, joined the chorus for quick action. An aide said he was particularly concerned that personal accounts remain in the formula after Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he might omit them from the bill he intends to produce before August. He said he expects the decision on the accounts to be made by the full Senate. [..]

"Republicans in the House must rescue the Social Security debate from the clutches of the bean counters who have bewitched the administration and most moderate Senate Republicans into obsessing over solvency," Steve Moore, president of the Free Enterprise Fund, said in a memo last month.

While the Republican Party is drafting bills to f*** up Social Security, the Democratic Party is going to protect Social Security for the working class people.

Let Me Tell You What's NOT Going to Happen

The men in my family of my father's generation returned home after serving their country and got jobs in the local steel mills, as had their fathers and their grandfathers. In exchange for their brawn, sweat, and expertise, the steel mills promised these men certain benefits. In exchange for Social Security taxes withheld from their already modest paychecks, the government promised these men certain benefits as well.

Yes, they were union men: they paid their dues, occasionally went on strike, and negotiated (at least, on their part) in good faith with the mill for the best wages they could get for the back-breaking work that brought the mills profit. There was honor in the arrangement and a proud culture among the families of these workers that grew up in steel towns. These were church-attending, flag-waving, football-loving, honest family men. They are rightfully proud of providing homes and educations for their children and instilling the sorts of values and manners that serve them well as adults. And if I have to move heaven and earth, now that they've retired, the Republican party is NOT going to redefine them as welfare recipients.

Hear, Hear!