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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=tanstl@hotmail.com href="mailto:tanstl@hotmail.com">David Sladky</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, February 28, 2013 6:20 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Not Taking a Stand Against Cuts in Social Security,
Medicare and Medicaid</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=4>Not Taking a Stand Against Cuts in Social Security,
Medicare and Medicaid <BR></FONT>
<H1>Progressive Caucus Folds</H1><FONT size=2>by NORMAN SOLOMON <BR>For the
social compact of the United States, most of the Congressional Progressive
Caucus has gone missing.<BR>While still on the caucus roster, three-quarters of
the 70-member caucus seem lost in political smog. Those 54 members of the
Progressive Caucus haven’t signed the current letter that makes a vital
commitment: "we will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or
Social Security benefits — including raising the retirement age or cutting the
cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need."<BR>More than
10 days ago, Congressmen Alan Grayson and Mark Takano initiated the forthright
letter, circulating it among House colleagues. Addressed to President Obama, the
letter has enabled members of Congress to take a historic stand: joining
together in a public pledge not to vote for any cuts in Social Security,
Medicare or Medicaid.<BR>The Grayson-Takano letter is a breath of fresh
progressive air, blowing away the customary fog that hangs over such matters on
Capitol Hill.<BR>The Progressive Caucus co-chairs, Raul Grijalva and Keith
Ellison, signed the letter. So did Barbara Lee, the caucus whip. But no signer
can be found among the five vice chairs of the Progressive Caucus: Judy Chu,
David Cicilline, Michael Honda, Sheila Jackson-Lee and Jan Schakowsky. The
letter’s current list of signers includes just 16 members of the Progressive
Caucus (along with five other House signers who aren’t part of the
caucus).<BR>What about the other 54 members of the Progressive Caucus? Their
absence from the letter is a clear message to the Obama White House, which has
repeatedly declared its desire to cut the Social Security cost of living
adjustment as well as Medicare. In effect, those 54 non-signers are signaling:
<I>Mr. President, we call ourselves "progressive" but we are unwilling to stick
our necks out by challenging you in defense of Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid; we want some wiggle room that you can exploit.<BR></I>In contrast, the
House members on the short list of the letter’s signers deserve our praise for
taking a clear stand: Brown, Cartwright, Conyers, DeFazio, Ellison,
Faleomavaega, Grayson, G. Green, Grijalva, Gutierrez, A. Hastings, Kaptur, Lee,
McGovern, Nadler, Napolitano, Nolan, Serrano, Takano, Velazquez and
Waters.<BR>If you don’t see the name of your representative in the above
paragraph, you might want to have a few words. (For a list of the 54 Progressive
Caucus members who haven’t signed the letter, click </FONT><U><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>here</U></FONT></FONT><FONT
size=2>.)<BR>It’s one thing — a fairly easy thing — to tell someone else what
you hope they’ll do, as 107 House Democrats did recently in a different letter
to President Obama: "We write to affirm our vigorous opposition to cutting
Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. . . . We urge you to reject any
proposals to cut benefits."<BR>It’s much more difficult — and far more crucial —
for members of Congress to publicly commit themselves not to vote for any cuts
in those programs, which are matters of life and death for vast numbers of
Americans.<BR>Even a signed pledge to do or not do something, in terms of a
floor vote, is no guarantee that a member of Congress will actually follow
through. But in a situation like this, the pledge is significant — and even more
significant is a refusal to make such a pledge.<BR>As of now, 54 members of the
Congressional Progressive Caucus have taken a historic dive. We should take note
— and not forget who they are.<BR><B><I>Norman Solomon</B> is co-founder of
</FONT><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2>RootsAction.org</U></FONT></FONT><FONT size=2> and founding director of
the Institute for Public Accuracy. His books include "War Made Easy: How
Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death." He writes the Political
Culture 2013 column.<BR></I></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>