Perry Doubles-Down On Opposing Social Security

I have to give Rick Perry a little credit -- he actually showed up for the debate yesterday. I had thought he would once again use the wildfires as an excuse to duck appearing on the same stage with his fellow candidates. And he should have, because he made a giant mistake in the debate -- one that will haunt him on the campaign trail.

A few months ago Perry wrote a stupid and very ill-timed book. Evidently he thought at the time he wrote the book that he would never run for another political office, because he wrote in the book that he believed Social Security and Medicare were both unconstitutional. He went on to say that each state should be able to opt out of either or both programs.

This was not too bright, and now that he's a candidate, he should be begging forgiveness for ever saying such a thing. It probably wouldn't work (since he actually put his opposition to Social Security in print), but maybe he could have claimed he was "temporarily insane" when he wrote the book, or maybe it was a mis-print and the fault of his editor -- anything but what he actually did during the debate.

What he did was double-down on his hatred for Social Security. When what he had said about Social Security was brought up, he acted like he was proud of that and even went on to called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and say it would not even exist when today's young people need it. That's right, he attacked Social Security on nationwide television.

Evidently Perry must have been visiting some other planet when the House Republicans tried to abolish Medicare (and also when the Bush administration tried to privatize Social Security), because the public sent the Republicans to the woodshed for a proper spanking both times. A lot of the House Republicans are still afraid to hold a Town Hall meeting after their recent vote to abolish Medicare.

Somebody needs to explain to Rick Perry, slowly and in small words that he can understand, that Social Security and Medicare are government programs that are extremely popular with a huge majority of the American public. That's because both of these programs work just as they were intended to do. Before Social Security was passed about 50% of the elderly lived in poverty, while now that figure has dropped to less than 10%. And Medicare assures that ALL elderly Americans can get health care.

What Perry has really done is give his opponents a great issue to beat him over the head with -- and if his Republican opponents won't do it, you can rest assured President Obama will. Attacking Social Security and Medicare is a sure way to turn large segments of the American population against you, and the smart politician just doesn't do it. But then, no one has ever accused Rick Perry of being that smart.

It was a boring debate full of Republican nonsense, but it may turn out to have been an important debate -- because it may be the moment that Rick Perry sowed the seeds of his own destruction.