Who got to Sherry Boehlert? Did they make him an offer he couldn’t refuse?
We knew the day would come, but we can see here that the days of trials have begun for the Conscience Caucus.
Just shy of two weeks ago Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R) of New York told his constituents: “Iâve never been a gambler ⦠I donât want to gamble with Social Security trust fund moneys. And so I am very, very skeptical of the so-called plans to privatize. And I think a disservice is being done to a great many Americans by sort of sounding the alarm that everythingâs going to hell in a hand basket and weâre going to be broke by 2018. That simply is not so.”
But look at today’s Poughkeepsie Journal and see what a change a few days back in DC has wrought: “Boehlert said he needs to hear more details before deciding whether to support the [President’s Social Security] plan. But he praised Bush for trying to tackle the politically difficult issue.”
So, now, not only is Boehlert open to supporting the president’s phase-out plan, he’s also praising him for trying to fool the public into thinking the program is going broke.
Perhaps some of his constituents can throw Sherry a lifeline. But for the moment we’re going to have to shift him to the new Conscience Caucus “CUP” (“Caving under the pressure”) status.
