Chuck Grassley, in explaining why he’s abandoning efforts at bi-partisanship in dealing with Social Security, told the New York Times, “I’m going to put together a Republican-only bill as a first step to getting bipartisan support because I can’t lose time waiting for the Democrats to come to the table.”
The funny thing is, Dems have come to the table; they just don’t like what they’ve found.
Much to my chagrin, all three members of the “Fainthearted Faction” quietly sat down with White House officials recently to see what kind of Bush-backed plan they can support. I think this is a mistake — Dems negotiating with Bush in good faith has never worked in the past — but these timid Dem senators seem ready to wrench defeat from the jaws of victory.
But a funny thing happened when these fainthearted Dems got all dressed up and were ready to negotiate — they couldn’t find anything they could agree with.
Although Republicans have been publicly hammering Democrats for refusing to “come to the table” on a plan to overhaul Social Security, many moderate Senate Democrats have been meeting privately with White House officials to talk about what they may or may not be able to support.
However, the White House’s full-court press to win support from centrist Senate Democrats for its controversial Social Security plan continues to fall short, much to the consternation of Republicans in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill.
“There isn’t anything to be on board with — there’s no plan,” said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who, along with other Democratic moderates, will not rule out the possibility that they could support the White House’s efforts at some later date.
Indeed, a handful of Democratic centrists, including Nelson, have said they are open to proposals to create personal retirement accounts under Social Security, but they say the White House hasn’t come up with a plan they can support yet.
“I have not yet heard an idea that I can vote for,” said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who noted that he met with Bush administration officials to discuss Social Security two weeks ago. “I’m someone who is open and listening, but not someone who is supportive at this point.”
After months of disarray and embarrassments, the Bush gang is finally dealing with Dems who are prepared to bolt from their otherwise unified caucus — and even under these circumstances, the White House has nothing to offer.
Conventional wisdom has emphasized the tremendous job Harry Reid has done keeping the caucus together. While I love Minority Leader and believe he deserves to be praised, it seems that Bush’s failures have to be given at least as much credit as Reid’s successes.
In this case, Dems aren’t sticking together because Reid has instilled a sense of party discipline; there are plenty of Dem senators who want to be lured away but haven’t found anything they can work with.
“The administration itself made four visits to our state before they even called me. I’m not trying to be ugly, but what kind of overture is that?” asked Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who said she went to the White House last week to talk to officials about Social Security.
Though Lincoln agreed to listen to the White House, she added that the president’s desire to create personal accounts is “a nonstarter” for her.
The irony is, Bush is pursuing his sycophant-only approach in the hopes of generating support, but would probably have more support if he spent less time talking to sycophants and more time with Dems. Who knew?