At the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, where I'm a senior fellow, we've done our fair share of holding Democrats accountable when they've failed to be strong. But this weekend, Sen. Harry Reid went further than pretty much any other Democrat in standing strong for Social Security against proposed right-wing cuts, and we wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that.
Sunday on Meet The Press, Senator Harry Reid was asked if America should "fundamentally change" Social Security to deal with the national debt.
Many other Democrats have flubbed this question, but Reid hit it out of the ballpark. He said:
"One of the things that always troubles me is when we start talking about the debt, the first thing people do is run to Social Security. Social Security is a program that works...Stop picking on Social Security."
WATCH HERE -- then sign the PCCC's thank you card to Reid. We'll deliver it to him personally.
During the Bush years, Dick Cheney famously said, "Deficits don't matter."
But now that Democrats are in charge, Republicans are using deficits and debt as an excuse to slash the most critical government programs.
As Reid said, Social Security is "not in crisis" -- it has a surplus. Cutting benefits and raising the retirement age "is something that's perpetuated by people who don't like government." He added, "There are a lot places we can go [to reduce the deficit]...Social Security is fine."
Americans agree. Our post-election poll asked voters how we should reduce the debt. 43% said tax the wealthy. 23% said cut wasteful military spending. Only 12% said touch Social Security.
As TPM wrote about our poll, "Republicans, Democrats and independents agree that cutting Social Security is the least acceptable option."
Click here to thank Sen. Reid for standing up for the will of the American people, and standing strong for Social Security.
(I'm proud to work for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee)