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Marsha Blackburn appeared on CNN's State of the Union with Candy Crowley and it seems she's hoping no one remembers this rant on the House floor from back in March when the health care bill passed where she was attacking Social Security.

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Marsha Blackburn Attacks Social Security

BLACKBURN: My colleagues are celebrating the birth of a great new entitlement program today. Only they see dependency on the Federal government and the death of freedom as a cause for celebration. My colleagues celebrate this day as being like the day when Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid were passed. They forget that today those programs are insolvent and will likely crush our children under their debt. My colleagues are overjoyed that soon their goal of having Americans dependent on the Federal government for mortgages, student loans, retirement and health care will be realized.

That is a chilling goal. My colleagues cheer that this bill is paid for. They ignore the fact that it is our children who will pay for their greed. My colleagues shame us for scaring the American people about the contents of this bill. We know the consequences of this bill will be frightening and horrible. Freedom dies a little bit today, unfortunately some are celebrating and I yield back.

As I said back then, it's too bad she didn't show the same indignation for those tax cuts for the rich or endless military occupations that she loves so much. I'm wondering if their direct attacks on Social Security have been giving them some headaches from real life voters because in her interview with Crowley she changes her tune a bit.

CROWLEY: Congresswoman Blackburn, can you cure what ails the U.S. economy without taking on entitlements, which also are not addressed in this pledge? Nothing about Medicare, nothing about Social Security. Can you really do anything about the economy unless you look at those, as well?

BLACKBURN: Candy, one of the things we have to realize is the document that is in front of us, the pledge, is for the here and now. These are things that could have been -- they could be done right now before the November elections, and they should be done, to give some certainty.

And yes, what we do is roll the spending back, cap it, freeze the federal hiring, and then start working our way through. You know, what the American people have told us as we have listened to them, spent months listening to them, and developed this document is, look, show us what is going to be the pathway to a balanced budget. Show us how we're going to be able to get this debt under control because it has skyrocketed, absolutely skyrocketed in the past three years.

And then let's sit down and have a discussion, an adult discussion between the tax-payers, between our elected representatives of how we address entitlements and how we make certain that the commitments that are there on Medicare and on Social Security are going to be kept.

We have to remember that money, the Medicare money, the Social Security money, people have had that coming out of their paycheck all their working lives. It is their money.

It's their money, huh? Except you want to turn it over to Wall Street under the guise of "protecting it." And as far as her pretending she's listening to her voters when it comes to that ridiculous "pledge"on they just sent out, Rachel Maddow had something to say about that last Thursday. They're only listening to their voters if those voters happen to be the former corporate lobbyist who wrote the pledge for them. They're not listening to the people who weighed in on their web sites.

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MADDOW: Now, in politics, of course, whenever you‘re making one of your sacred pledges, you also, you know, want it to seem—you always want to seem like that God beamed this down to you and you were just the spokesperson, just the mouthpiece for the Almighty. It wasn‘t authored so much as it was delivered.

Well, in this case, the right click trick shows that this document the GOP pledged for this year is less of a delivery from the Almighty and more of a delivery from AIG and ExxonMobil and Pfizer and Comcast. The magic of right clicking the PDF revealed today that the listed author of the Republican Party‘s new “Pledge to America” is a fellow named Brian Wild, a staffer for John Boehner, who is also a former lobbyist for all of the aforementioned companies and more.

Mr. Wild worked for the Nichols Group, a lobbying firm that was paid more than $740,000 to lobby for AIG, more than $1.3 million to lobby for ExxonMobil, more than $625,000 to lobby for the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

The reason that is particularly awkward for this particular political document is because Republicans went out of their way with this thing to make this particular pledge seem like it was just the voice of the people.

Republican Congressman Mike Pence said the effort would prove that “the Democratic majority isn‘t listening, but House Republicans will.” House Republicans will, not like those rats.

House Republicans will listen and then we‘ll have an Exxon lobbyist write it down.

As part of that “we‘re listening to you” spin, the whole basis of the Republican campaign pledge was their big “America Speaking Out” Web site—giving the impression to anybody visiting that Web site, that whatever suggestion got the most thumbs-up votes on the Web site would become part of this Republican agenda. Republicans were merely a vessel for the desires of the American people.

But it turns out the desires of the American people as expressed at AmericaSpeakingOut.com with those little thumbs-up, they were for legalizing pot and ending the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries. Those are some of the things that turned out to be the most popular ideas, the most thumbs-up on the “America Speaking Out” Web site.

But those stated desires of the American people, that Americans weren‘t going to ignore like that Democrat majority does, those desires were not, in fact, beamed directly from AmericaSpeakingOut.com through the larynxes of the Republican leaders today and back out to the American people when these Republican leaders gather to unveil their new agenda. Legalizing pot, for example, shockingly, is nowhere to be found in the Republican‘s new “Pledge to America.”

And Republicans say nothing at all about that other very popular idea of trying to stop the outsourcing of American jobs, which would seem to suggest two things. One, who they say they‘re listening to doesn‘t seem to be nearly as important as who they actually let the write the thing. And two, next time Republicans decide to come up with a pledge or contract or manifesto, wouldn‘t it be awesome if the pot lobby got a lobbyist on the inside who could secretly author the whole thing? That I would pay to see in a full-page ad in TV guide. That I would tear out and put up on the fridge.

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32 Comments
Ape-Man's picture

How dare a reThuglican lecture us on greed!


"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-

Seriously's picture

because this is why I drink. Play her off, Keyboard Cat.

ministerbruce's picture

Social Security was started in 1935, ever since, each Congress and President, to today, have passed and signed off on "Raiding the SS Trust Fund". Next Question (s) that should be asked to, all “Railings" like Blackburn and you must demand they answer, because she and even pompous small g Conservative Republicans, like morning Joe, were signers...

How much money has been taken... OUT... of the SS Trust Fund, since 1935?

Crickets!

How much Tax Payers money has been put back, by Congress?

At last count, 15 years ago, the total was $26 TRILLION Tax payers Dollars, taken out of the SSTF, by EVERY Congress and every President and IOU'S placed in the SSTF.

Ask her how much $ and what Bill have you sponsored, to put our money back, so it will be solvent?

These are the questions, that should always be asked of any and all Politicians, and it makes no difference whether they talk of saving SS, or cutting SS.

Stop letting any Congress person, including every President, start to talk, or make statements, or demagoguing, with attacks, when they haven't been made to... FIRST OWN THEIR THEFT, don't entertain them, tell them until you answer my, our, your DIRECTION QUESTION with answers... until that point, tell them too shut the %*#@ up.

Do the shut up, politely if possible, please.


Ministerbruce

sixandseveneights's picture

when George Bush and the Tom Delay congress was turing Bill Clinton's legarcy of record prosperity and peace into record deficits and 2 failed expensive wars?

Sort term deficits necessary to put the country back on track after almost a decade of Republican governing failure and to help the middle class....bad. Run away deficits for wars that line the pockets of big oil, Halliburton, defense contractors and the super rich...good. The Vanilla Pledge looks a lot like the Contract on America.

Tax the Rich's picture

That was okay. They were stealing for the rich.


If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.

docb's picture

since her first day...Blackburn is another 'jill in the box' republcan wingnut but needs to be called on it..CNN.com/contact is a good place to slam crowley and the others for their bias!

Captain Kangaroo's picture

These scum are going to try to take Social Security and just tell you and me that it is gone. Ok but I'll tell you this; If and when they do this the shit is going to hit the fan. Read up on what happened during the French revolution.

their abundance of wealth when 90% of people are reduced to having nothing. Duh!

GOG's picture

The problem with showing these side by side clips on this web site, is you are preaching to the converted; these clips need to be put out there on conservative blogs and TV, I know "fair and balanced" Fox is a lost cause but maybe the rest of the MSM conservative press like CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC will do their job of actual reporting and show these, just don't hold your breath.

Ape-Man's picture

That would be the responsible thing.
Maybe they will do the responsible thing.


"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-

glogrrl's picture

out your arse tomorrow.


“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”

Alien_Overlord's picture

and the wicked must pay ...


Get your lemonade, watch the traitors hang
Congress' TREASON have no boundaries, so does M$M's brainwashing/sidetracking
Republicans for Voldemort
Government does work, just not for YOU. Government work ONLY on the behalf of the Tycoons
Repeal stupid

Nobody for President's picture

"Scumbag" is not gender exclusive.

Daddio478's picture

that I'm equally sure they would like to forget. If they are looking for sympathy, it can be found in the dictionary between the words shit and syphilis.


"No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master." - Hunter S. Thompson

Trittydi's picture

They're never going; to stop trying to privatize Social Security - it's in their DNA.
*

VegasRage's picture

People just haven't come to terms with it. Personally I don't count on it being there when I retire, it would be nice, but I'm planning on having to fend for myself in old age. It's wiser to do so. I know a whole bunch of folks here thinks the GOP is lying about it's insolvency, but the GAO have been warning us for over a 2 decades now.

Read the GAO’s information for yourself.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Social Security
REFORM Answers to Key Questions - May 2005

On Page 17 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05193sp.pdf
17. Do Social Security taxes get spent on other government programs?
Yes. By law, the Social Security trust funds must invest in interest bearing federal government securities. Treasury then uses the cash to pay for other government expenses. In effect, Treasury uses Social Security’s excess revenues to help reduce the amount it must borrow from the public to finance other federal programs. In other words, Social Security’s excess revenues help reduce the overall, or unified, federal budget deficit. If Treasury could not borrow from the trust funds, it would have to borrow more in the private capital market and pay such interest in cash to finance current budget policy. However, Treasury still has to pay the trust funds interest on these securities. When Social Security needs to draw on the trust funds to pay benefits, Treasury provides cash in exchange for redeemed trust fund securities.

Why are people worried about privatizing social security? The government already has their hand in your retirement money and are leaving IOU's for you to retire on because they LUV you.


Goodnight, Frau Blücher

Tax the Rich's picture

Thanks for the Fox noise talking points.

We certainly needed to hear how the only part of the government that is solvent is really going broke because.........., well, the people who stole all the money want to privatize it.

Do you really think these rich greedhead a**holes would be chomping at the bit, foaming at the mouth enraged, if they could get their hands on all that "non-existent" money?

Try a little critical thinking.


If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.

VegasRage's picture

You think that is a FOX NEWS talking point? I list the link directly to the government document. Do some research and look at the GAO's long term fiscal challenge documents. Pull your head out of the sand the proof is right in front of your face!


Goodnight, Frau Blücher

Falmouth's picture

I know Vegas doesn't deal in the truth much. Fixing social security is not difficult. Why doesn't he discuss something difficult like Medicare ? Or the fact that the so called pledge is a promise to bankrupt Govt even further and is the solution to nothing.

Captain Kangaroo's picture

I think what Vegas is saying is true. At least the part where the government is borrowing from the fund. I think they are trying to get everybody ready for them to say they cannot pay it back. That is about the time the people start frog marching the congress out to the gallows.

VegasRage's picture

I realize that the Republicans which make my gut churn as much anyone here are attacking social security and using it as a political tool. But the link I provided above is straight from the Government Accountability Office. They have warned us on the topic of Social Security and Medicare for the last 20 years. The ugly truth is SS and Medicare are both insolvent and Paul Krugman saying otherwise doesn't make not so, he's wrong and the proof they are taking from SS is above, the government's own documents admits it.

Before you can find a solution you have to come to grip with the facts, there are a lot of liberals who don't believe their own eyes because conservatives are saying the opposite of what they want to hear. Come to terms that social security is robbed and then let's propose some real solutions, otherwise the GOP will get their way because they have the only idea on the table.

These are the facts straight from the Government Accountability Office:

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM Answers to Key Questions - May 2005
On Page 17 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05193sp.pdf

GAO's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/long...

GAO's Long-Term Simulations
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/simu...

GAO - The Nation's Long - Term Fiscal Challenge
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/longterm/chal...

The dates in the above numbers have been accelerated as a result of the financial crisis and subsequent increased deficit spending detailed this April testimony before Congress by the comptroller Gene L. Dodaro, read at least the first 2 pages.

U.S. GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Fiscal Year 2009 Audit Highlights Financial Management Challenges and Unsustainable Long- Term Fiscal Path
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10483t.pdf

This is worth perusing too
GAO - Fiscal Year 2009 Financial Report of the United States Government
http://www.gao.gov/financial/fy2009financialr...


Goodnight, Frau Blücher

Alien_Overlord's picture

Once YOUR friends are gone form congress all those FAKE reports about "THE ONE INSTITUTION THAT KEEPS THE REST OF THE GOVERNMENT AFLOAT" will stop.


Get your lemonade, watch the traitors hang
Congress' TREASON have no boundaries, so does M$M's brainwashing/sidetracking
Republicans for Voldemort
Government does work, just not for YOU. Government work ONLY on the behalf of the Tycoons
Repeal stupid

ysbaddaden's picture
)O(

Isn't the use of the term rant sexist or something

Stupid like that?


Diabolus est Deus Inversus

bushsucks12's picture

That this woman got elected as a representative of her state, and not only that I presume will get elected again by spuouting this pablum non answer, answer nonsense that she has obviously mastered through years of learning how not to answere. But the real issue is not that she won't answer but the fact that the american people who we have sat down with and listened to (not) for months now have told us and are showing us a way to get our country solvent so that we as true republican representative can find a way to continue to use and abuse the money that the suckers...er, citizens of this great country work so hard to hand over to us without ever realizing that we are selling them a bill of goods that basically lets us rob them day after day! Is this a great country or what?


stephen

Alien_Overlord's picture

Once YOUR friends are gone form congress all those FAKE reports about "THE ONE INSTITUTION THAT KEEPS THE REST OF THE GOVERNMENT AFLOAT" will stop.


Get your lemonade, watch the traitors hang
Congress' TREASON have no boundaries, so does M$M's brainwashing/sidetracking
Republicans for Voldemort
Government does work, just not for YOU. Government work ONLY on the behalf of the Tycoons
Repeal stupid

Alien_Overlord's picture

Once YOUR friends are gone form congress all those FAKE reports about "THE ONE INSTITUTION THAT KEEPS THE REST OF THE GOVERNMENT AFLOAT" will stop.


Get your lemonade, watch the traitors hang
Congress' TREASON have no boundaries, so does M$M's brainwashing/sidetracking
Republicans for Voldemort
Government does work, just not for YOU. Government work ONLY on the behalf of the Tycoons
Repeal stupid

Nobodycouldhavepredicted's picture

"It's their money..." She says this at the very end, at the 1:32 minute mark.

Every time I heard Bush say this is 2000 I wound up screaming at the TV, "It's also your DEBT!"

Before it is "your money" it is "your debt". It's "your money" only when you pay off that debt.

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha said nothing. She didn't answer the question, and the answer is - raise taxes.

Cowboy912's picture

The reality...

The federal government 'owes' the alleged Social Security Trust Fund about $2.5 trillion that it 'borrowed' from Social Security 'surpluses'.

Do we heard the feds telling us how they plan to pay it back... or do we hear about increased Social Security taxes (yet again) and later retirement (yet again) ???

FDR admitted that the Social Security Act, which we are burdened with trying to "fix" now, was nothing but a vote pandering device. FDR said, "I guess you're right on the economics, but those taxes were never a problem of economics. They were politics all the way through." This was a quote from FDR in reply to the fact that Social Security Payroll Taxes were a drag on the economy.

[Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny, by Frank Freidel. Published - Boston: Little, Brown, 1990, page 150]

hair. It's so dowdy and the color is ghastly.

Oh, the good times. Watching that tape of Marsha on the floor of the house after the passing of health care reform was a lot of fun. Democrats should campaign on how much they pissed off wing nuts like Blackburn when Health Care Reform was passed, and, when, as Marsha put it, "Freedom died." Now, that was a real accomplishment, one the truly deserves celebrating and gloating over, pissing off Marsha Blackburn and her cronies so much that they became as unglued as they did. Democrats would seize more power if they used that as an example of their greatest accomplishments!

Marsha was the very picture of civility on Candy Crowley's show, wasn't she? She didn't say anything of any substance. But how could she have? She was talking about the great republican Pledge of Nothingness, or rather, more properly, the bush redo. Yes, I think she would like for America to forget about how much she hates entitlement programs, for now. But, if they get more power, republicans will do all they can to kill such programs, guaranteed. They won't be successful, of course. But they will do what they can to kill them anyway because they hate them and want nothing more than to see them gone and for America to regress back to the good ole days when there was absolutely no safety net of any kind.

MickeyWhite's picture

Marsha Blackburn Voted FOR:
Omnibus Appropriations, Special Education, Global AIDS Initiative, Job Training, Unemployment Benefits, Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, Agriculture Appropriations, FY2004 Foreign Operations Appropriations, U.S.-Singapore Trade, U.S.-Chile Trade, Supplemental Spending for Iraq & Afghanistan, Flood Insurance Reauthorization , Prescription Drug Benefit, Child Nutrition Programs, Surface Transportation, Job Training and Worker Services, Agriculture Appropriations, Foreign Aid, Debt Limit Increase, Fiscal 2005 Omnibus Appropriations, Vocational/Technical Training, Supplemental Appropriations, UN “Reforms.” Patriot Act Reauthorization, CAFTA, Katrina Hurricane-relief Appropriations, Head Start Funding, Line-item Rescission, Oman Trade Agreement, Military Tribunals, Electronic Surveillance, Head Start Funding, COPS Funding, Funding the REAL ID Act (National ID), Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, Thought Crimes “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, Peru Free Trade Agreement, Economic Stimulus, Farm Bill (Veto Override), Warrantless Searches, Employee Verification Program, Body Imaging Screening, Patriot Act extention.

Marsha Blackburn Voted AGAINST:
Ban on UN Contributions, eliminate Millennium Challenge Account, WTO Withdrawal, UN Dues Decrease, Defunding the NAIS, Iran Military Operations defunding Iraq Troop Withdrawal, congress authorization of Iran Military Operations, Withdrawing U.S. Soldiers from Afghanistan.

Marsha Blackburn is my Congressman.
See her unconstitutional votes at :
http://mickeywhite.blogspot.com/2009/09/tn-co...
Mickey

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