This is a rare serious diary for me, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to offer a sincere thank you to the Democrats in power in Congress in 2005 that stood their ground and held George Bush's meddling little fingers to the third rail of American politics, Social Security. As we all contemplate how in the hell we are going to be able to make it through what possibly may be a worldwide financial failure and subsequent depression, I wanted to thank those courageous people who stood up and kept Social Security out of this free-market madness. I offer this MSNBC article from 2005... that reports on Bush's grandiose plans to privatize Social Security during his State of the Union for that year.
I remember that it seemed pretty hopeless at the time... we were still outnumbered. But, the bottom line is the Dems somehow stood their ground... the end result is that last week Social Security was not intertwined with the collapse of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and most of Wall Street. (Unfortunately probably a lot of my 401(k) savings WERE... but that's another story)
It's been my experience that a lot of people don't receive thanks for the things they do. I just want to say that I remember quite clearly the battle that transpired over this, and although I can't fill in any of the names that probably spearheaded the fight against this idiocy, I want to offer them my sincere thanks for persevering against great odds.
Please, remember and savor this victory from 2005 and keep it close to your hearts over the coming weeks as the Bush administration attempts the mother of all mulligans. We survived 2005, and we will survive this.
For anyone looking for a gratuitous Photoshop, here you go:
Thanks again congressional Democrats, and in the immortal words of commander Peter Quincy Taggart, "Never give up, never surrender!"