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As the Battle Rages, It's Time to Check the Pulse of Swing States
Reviving a 2005 issue, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is running an ad in which "regular people" say GOP hopeful Lou Barletta, left, backed privatizing Social Security. Barletta is looking to unseat Rep. Paul Kanjorski in Pennsylvania's 11th District.
(By Carolyn Kaster -- Associated Press)
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In Pennsylvania's 11th District, where Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D) is fighting to keep his job, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is running an ad against GOP candidate Lou Barletta, featuring "regular people" calling Barletta "George Bush's friend, not mine." Barletta, they say, "supported privatizing Social Security. Too risky for me."
And in Illinois' 11th District, an open-seat race to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Weller (R), the DCCC has been sending out mailings accusing Republican Marty Ozinga of backing "tax cuts that put our Social Security and Medicare in danger."
Individual Democratic candidates are also attempting to attack their GOP opponents on Social Security, and DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) predicts, "You're going to see a big uptick in this issue."
Barack Obama got in on the act Friday, asking attendees at a Miami rally to "imagine if you had some of your Social Security money in the stock market right now."
But Republicans scoff at the notion that Democrats will gain any traction on Social Security and suggested that Democrats were trying to distract from the real problems facing Congress.
"Clearly, they are not serious about finding solutions to this country's very serious economic challenges," said Ken Spain, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
And will a stray line from Obama, an ad or a piece of direct mail really serve to put Social Security back on the front burner, particularly since the major debate over Bush's reform plan happened three years ago? The Monday Fix will keep an eye on those polls in Florida.
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