Republicans jousting in a primary to challenge Rep. Travis Childers are now sparring over a GOP proposal to privatize Social Security and create a voucher system for Medicare.
Support is growing for the Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan on Capitol Hill, and he picked up another supporter in Angela McGlowan, a former Fox News analyst and candidate in Mississippi’s First Congressional district.
McGlowan backs private Social Security accounts, according to the Commercial Appeal. The newspaper reported last week “McGlowan has been criticized for her suggestion the public should be allowed to invest at least some of the social security money the federal government deducts from paychecks.”
That’s put state Sen. Alan Nunnelee, the GOP’s preferred candidate, on the spot as reporters ask if he’ll support the Social Security changes too.
Nunnelee gave a squishy answer to a local television station that politicians must be “honest with ourselves if we intend to fix it” but not taking a clear stand on whether he would vote to privatize the entitlement program.
“We have a moral commitment to men and women that have paid in to Social Security all their lives and they are now drawing it, and we need to do everything we can to make sure we honor that commitment first,” Nunnelee said, adding that Social Security is “going toward bankruptcy.”
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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee whacked Nunnelee for the non-answer. “Alan Nunnelee either stands with his primary opponent and the Republican leadership in Washington or with the seniors of Mississippi,” said DCCC spokesman Jesse Ferguson.
We’ve called both campaigns for comment and will update if we get one.
The Democrats have been attempting to pin Republicans down on the Social Security proposal, targeting GOP candidates across the country.
A recent Democratic release in Texas went after 23rd district candidate Quico Canseco (R) who told a reporter in a 2004 interview there was a need to privatize Social Security.
