Follow the leader
by digby
Ed Markey shows how it's done:
The President released a budget that would cut Social Security benefits for retired Americans by adopting something called a Chained CPI.
It's a complicated-sounding name that boils down to this: Social Security benefits for seniors would be cut. You could think of "CPI" as meaning "Cutting Peoples' Income."
This is a wrong-headed move. Too many seniors -- almost two-thirds, in fact -- rely on Social Security for at least half of their income. Budgeting requires compromise, but we cannot compromise by cutting Social Security.
Democrats won huge victories in 2012. We reelected President Obama. We held the Senate and made gains in the House. We don't need to roll over to the right wing when it comes to budget choices.
There's plenty in the President's budget I agree with. But Chained CPI is just a bad idea. Investing in clean energy, education, and infrastructure should not come with the price tag of going back on America's promise to our seniors.
Tea Party Republicans may have pushed the President into making tough decisions. But that doesn't mean that this budget is right or fair for the most vulnerable among us.
Here's the thing: Markey is running in a state that re-elected president Obama by a 60% margin. If he can do this there, then any Democrat can do it. Many people may like President Obama and support him strongly, but they don't want these cuts. It's important that they know that other Democrats are against these Social Security cuts and will fight against them if it comes to that.
Markey is a good guy who's running against a Tea Partier in moderate clothing and he could use your help if you're so inclined.
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