[Peace-discuss] Fw: Senator Durbin parroting right-wing talking points?

[David Johnson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Daniel Mintz, MoveOn.org Political Action 
To: David Johnson 
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 3:31 PM
Subject: Senator Durbin parroting right-wing talking points?


Dear MoveOn member,


Senator Dick Durbin is usually a reliable progressive, but on economic matters, he's just said some awfully troubling things.


Yesterday, Durbin told ABC that changes to Social Security should be part of the deficit reduction deal he's currently negotiating with five other, mostly conservative, senators.1 That makes no sense.


As numerous senators-including Majority Leader Reid and Bernie Sanders-have pointed out, Social Security doesn't contribute one penny to the deficit and making it part of negotiations gives Republicans an opening to dismantle it under bipartisan cover.


Durbin also said that Rep. Paul Ryan's radical plan to end Medicare should be "placed somewhere on the right side of the spectrum," while President Obama's centrist plan-which includes $3 of cuts for every $1 of increased revenue-would be "the other side of the spectrum."2,3 Thinking like that ensures that any final "compromise" will be deeply conservative.


Senator Durbin's comments are disturbing, and do great damage to progressive priorities on the economy. Progressives around the country are objecting, but he'll pay particular attention to pushback from his constituents in Illinois.


Can you call Senator Durbin now and let him know that you heard about his comments and didn't like them?
Senator Dick Durbin
Phone: 202-224-2152


Let us know you called and what Durbin's office said by clicking here

Thanks for all you do.

-Daniel, Tim, Sarah, Peter, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Sen. Dick Durbin: Social Security Cuts Should Not Be Ruled Out," ABC News, April 19, 2011 
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=207947&id=&id=27037-18292185-HNFyOJx&t=2

2. "Obama Deficit Speech Outlines Approach For Reducing Spending (FULL TEXT)," The Huffington Post, April 13, 2011 
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=207948&id=27037-18292185-HNFyOJx&t=3

3. "Sen. Dick Durbin: Social Security Cuts Should Not Be Ruled Out," ABC News, April 19, 2011 
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=207947&id=&id=27037-18292185-HNFyOJx&t=4


Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members-no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to David Johnson on April 19, 2011. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20110420/3676e37d/attachment.html>