Private accounts supporter Rep. Chris Shays (R) of Connecticut takes a stand on privatization: “I am not going to impose my beliefs on Americans if they don’t buy off onto it because this is too huge a program.”
Actually, I’ll give Shays his due. This quote is from a townhall meeting he held in Darien on Sunday. And like a slew of other House Republicans, one of Shays’ special guests was President Bush’s childhood friend and now deputy Social Security commissioner James Lockhart, who must be racking up a helluva lot of frequent flyer miles. But Shays apparently also had AARP President Marie Smith on hand too.
So for once, it seems, both sides actually got represented at a Republican Social Security townhall meeting.