Not only is Rep. Virgil Goode of Virginia in the Conscience Caucus, he may even be Loud and Proud in his opposition to the president’s plan.
This afternoon we received a copy of a constituent letter Rep. Goode is sending out in which he says he is “negatively inclined towards these <$Ad$> private accounts and President Bush’s plan.”
We called up the congressman’s district office to confirm and ended up speaking to the man himself. While prefacing his remarks with the standard caveats that he hasn’t yet seen a specific plan, he told TPM that he was “negatively inclined toward these private accounts funded out of the Social Security tax.”
I tried to draw the congressman out on whether his apparent opposition to the Bush plan was based on opposition to private accounts as such or also to the substantial additional borrowing that the president’s plan would require. He paused for a moment and then said that he’d prefer to let his statement speak for itself, or words to that effect.
However, since both his cosntituent letter and his statements to TPM specifically grounded his opposition to private accounts, it seems pretty clear that that’s what he’s against. He apparently feels no need to hang his hat on the very real fiscal arguments in play. He’s just against phasing-out Social Security.
Goode’s inclination not to beat around the bush on this issue was also in evidence today in a quote he gave the local paper, News & Record. “I canât see establishing private accounts using Social Security funds, he tells the paper. “I want the benefits to be assured for our senior citizens so they’re not jerked around.â
Would that a few more Dems could put the matter so clearly. (Note that until a few years ago Goode was a Democrat.)
Sen. Patty Murray (D) of Washington, by way of contrast, is telling constituents she has “concerns about the use of individual retirement accounts … [and] serious concerns about changing the nature of the Social Security system.” Her colleague Senator Cantwell (D) of Washington is more straightforward. Near the top of her letters to constituents on this issue, she says simply: “I am opposed to privatizing Social Security.”
It’s possible of course that Sen. Murray’s concern is so profound that it has prevented her from taking a clear position on the issue.
