It seems that Jerry Weller is shy about his feelings on Social Security. When he visited Joliet he wasn’t too excited to talk about it:
U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Morris, refused to give a citizens’ group a comment last week when they hounded him after a Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Citizen Action Illinois, which included local residents who firmly oppose privatizing Social Security, said they wanted to know Weller’s position on the issue.
Weller, who entered and exited the Renaissance Center by a side door, told Pulse the protesters were simply “part of the political landscape.”
He said his position on the Social Security issue is clear, while one of his staff members handed out a packet on a plan to privatize Social Security.
After the luncheon, Weller and a staff member walked swiftly down a back hallway, ignoring pleas for a comment from one of the activists, a police escort following close behind.
“It’s somewhat ridiculous that we have to resort to these things,” said Ryan Canney, organizing director for Citizen Action Illinois. Canney panted in the afternoon heat, his necktie loosened and suit slightly disheveled from jogging after Weller as he left the center. He took a picture of the congressman with his camera phone.
“He wouldn’t talk to us. He jumped in his car and covered his face up,” Canney said.
All of this means Weller is
A) Lying
or
B) Really stupid
No one should discount a combination of the two, but in being asked about the McCrery plan that has been in Ways and Means for a month and Weller is on Ways and Means, Weller said he was unfamiliar with the plan, but touted the Shaw plan that Bill Thomas has declared dead. (PDF)
Jerry’s not a details guy it seems.
I’d be more than happy to talk to Citizen Action about social security reform. I believe it was STAR, up in Schaumberg, who asked AARP and I believe Citizen Action, to a panel discussion with me and no one would agree if there was pro-reform person on the stage.
Also, other NCPA and Cato, who is talking privatization? Personal accounts aren’t even close, I beat up on reporters who try to call it privatization…Personal accounts which I support in the interim are an insult to privatization.
A rose is a rose and a turd is a turd…
Doesn’t matter if you call it “personal” accounts or “private” accounts, Greg. It means the same thing and we all know it so stop pussyfooting around with semantics.
An IRA that you own, that you can roll over, that you can choose what to invest in and how much you invest, or whether to invest is a private account. You own it and it’s portable.
A personal account, as defined by the Administration, means govt. chooses how much you put in, govt. limits where you can invest, and govt. takes the money out of every paycheck whether you wish or not. You merely get to choose to sock away a small portiont. The only you own is the name on the account. Govt. even tells you when and how much you can take out.
The saving grace of personal accounts is that if we are allowed to invest in a TSP like program we can note that the TSP Federal employees invest in grows at about $1.6 billion per year right now. Social Security’s assets are shrinking.
Believing the degree of separation between the two examples given above is one of mere semantics is a pretty radical view of what is private.
I loved the Geraldo title, by the way. I’ve got a good story, if I can find it, to swap with AP offline sometime about Geraldo’s father-in-law.
“All of this means Weller is
“A) Lying
“or
“B) Really stupid”
Sorry, Larry, I’m going with “C) All of the above.”
Hey AM>>>
===No one should d&scount a combination of the two
And Greg deserves credit for his position and willingness to debate. If only–Jerry was so strong an advocate 😉
I’ll bet every dollar that someone living in a “Right to work” state has saved due to the repeal of the “Death Tax” while watching TV coverage of the “Central Front on the Global War on Terror” and celebrating the “Clear Skies” and “Healthy Forests,” while bemoaning the “Murder” of Terri Schiavo and “Partial Birth Abortions” that it isn’t a matter of semantics.
Greg:
As far as I know, we were never invited to the event you referenced. However, we have participated in forums in the past with speakers who supported privatization.
-Ryan
Citizen Action/Illinois
Illinois United to Protect Social Security
Ryan:
Well, it would’ve been more fun had you been there. And hey, let me apologize if I got you guys confused with another group.
With that said, maybe when the issue heats up again, we’ll get the opportunity. Of course last time, I was on a panel with a staffer, now w/AG Madigan I believe, we ended up bonding over opposition to corporate welfare…
I vote for C. all of the above also. I can vouch for Worthless Weller not being big on details. It’s harder than cement getting a direct quote from Weller rather than one of his staff – so he can then say STAFF was wrong not Weller. His recent quote on the Energy Bill shows just how much of an idiot Weller thinks his constituents are. He was quoted as saying “The reason gas prices are so high is becasue of the delay in signing this (energy) bill.” He also, at the above mentioned Joliet event, declined to answer a question about the Iraq war and his stance on it by saying “I don’t want to endanger the lives of the troops.” GAG! GAG! BARF!