Rep. Aderholt (R) of Alabama a possible Caucus man?
Some interesting comments from the article: Aderholt “has yet to see much mail from constituents about it. He figures they’re waiting to see the details. Most of the comments so far are coming from activist groups on both sides of the issue, he noted.”
“There’s not a lot of details of the president’s plan out there. We certainly want to hear from our constituents. I’ve not committed to the president or the leadership what I would do.” Later he says Social Security is meant to be a safety net. “If we take that away, it’s defeating the purpose of Social Security. So many Americans today depend on Social Security as a major part of their income.”
Here’s the comments Aderholt made after coming back from a visit to the White House to hear the president’s pitch on Social Security on February 9th.
If Aderholt does eventually join the Conscience Caucus, he’d join fellow Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers (R), who came in back on the 6th of February.
I’m curious whether Aderholt has really gotten as little feedback on phase-out as he claims. It’s quite unpopular in the state. Even Sen. Richard Shelby (R) has made a series of skeptical statements about the president’s plan.
Of the state’s other House Republicans, Rep. Spencer Bachus seems most, as the Tuscaloosa News puts it, “in lockstep” with the Bush plan. A constituent letter we’ve seen marks Rep. Terry Everett as basically a phase-out man. And Rep. Jo Bonner (R) remains on the fence.
