The Times-Picayune on the McCrery Waffle …
McCrery has change of heart
Rep. Jim McCrery, R-Shreveport, who had been publicly skeptical of President Bush’s approach to overhauling Social Security, pronounced himself sold last week after a White House meeting. “Frankly, I had not thought of the policy rationale they described yesterday,” McCrery said Wednesday after huddling with Allan Hubbard, director of the White House National Economic Council. The comments were something of a turnabout for McCrery and evidence of the administration’s interest in lassoing strays from the Republican herd. McCrery joins the president in supporting the idea of private accounts, but he has been publicly wary of the chances of Bush’s plan to allow Americans to create them by diverting their payroll taxes. McCrery has said he leans toward another approach for financing the accounts, such as through tax overhaul or more government borrowing. Ten days ago, he warned that the president’s plan would give naysayers, such as AARP and most Democrats, a powerful line of attack because it takes resources from the Social Security trust fund. Now it appears McCrery is on board. “I’m convinced the president’s approach is worth pursuing in the legislative process,” he said after the White House meeting.
Flippity <$NoAd$>floppity.
