Okay, a walk down TPM’s memory lane. <$NoAd$>Back in 2002 we brought you the NRCC (the GOP’s House campaign committee) internal memo instructing candidates how to bully reporters out of using the term ‘privatization’ to describe their Social Security proposal — this notwithstanding the fact that this was the word they themselves chose to describe their plan and never had a problem with until their pollsters told them to drop it.
The memo also gave general guidelines on how to run away from their support for President Bush’s phase-out plan.
Some highlights …
Democrat attempt to label GOP position on Social Security as favoring “privatization” presents serious threat. GOP, Members, and candidates must fight back against this label.
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AARP is a dangerous adversary in this debate. They have greater credibility than any entity on this issue and are not viewed as partisan.
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Candidate must focus on messages that reassure voters/seniors that they will not cut benefits and that nothing will change with their Social Security.
With the debate heating up, we thought it was time to revisit these old favorites. Here’s the full memo (27 pages) and the highlights (4 pages) from the TPM Document Collection.
