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Rep. Nancy Pelosi Under Fire from Progressives Over Proposed Social Security Cuts
Only 38 Dems have signed letter against draconian cuts
Apr 11, 2013
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who has remained passive at best in regards to President Obama's recently proposed cuts to Social Security, came under fire Wednesday from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
The group focused their attention on Pelosi in a conference call with Democratic Reps. Alan Grayson of Florida and Keith Ellison of Minnesota, The Daily Beast reports Thursday.
"The Democratic leader put out a statement [on Wednesday] where she failed to even mention chained CPI [Social Security cuts]," Adam Green, co-founder of PCCC said on the line, adding that she has in the past "said she was quote-unquote 'agnostic' about chained CPI."
Green added that Pelosi is "now on the right of a Republican congressman," in reference to New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who came out against Obama's cuts to Social Security this week.
On the call, Ellison compared the president's proposals, and similar cuts proposed in the House-passed budget, as an attempt "to take apart everything that helps make American lives better ... and to shrink government to the size where you can drown it in the bathtub ... Why is Obama being a party to it?"
Meanwhile, both Grayson and Ellison argued that Obama's proposed cuts were bad policy and terrible politics, and several former Obama campaign workers who participated in the call described his budget--in the words of one volunteer--as a "hideous betrayal."
"I feel terribly betrayed," said a woman who identified herself as Susan, a 67-year-old campaign volunteer from Alexandria, Virginia, who knocked on doors for Obama in 2008 and 2012. "The president reneged on his promises ... This hideous betrayal haunts me."
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee was among several groups who presented a petition of over 2.3 million signatures to the White House Tuesday, rejecting President Obama's proposal to cut Medicare and Social Security.
The petition letter was penned by Grayson along with Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) and called on fellow House Democrats to "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."
The letter has been signed by 38 of their colleagues and millions of citizens.
However, Pelosi and roughly 162 others are thus far still missing from the list of House Democrat signers.
Green said during the call that his group will now stage protests at the district offices of Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Ron Kind, the chairman of the conservative New Democrat Coalition, which supports the President's budget proposal.
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Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who has remained passive at best in regards to President Obama's recently proposed cuts to Social Security, came under fire Wednesday from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
The group focused their attention on Pelosi in a conference call with Democratic Reps. Alan Grayson of Florida and Keith Ellison of Minnesota, The Daily Beast reports Thursday.
"The Democratic leader put out a statement [on Wednesday] where she failed to even mention chained CPI [Social Security cuts]," Adam Green, co-founder of PCCC said on the line, adding that she has in the past "said she was quote-unquote 'agnostic' about chained CPI."
Green added that Pelosi is "now on the right of a Republican congressman," in reference to New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who came out against Obama's cuts to Social Security this week.
On the call, Ellison compared the president's proposals, and similar cuts proposed in the House-passed budget, as an attempt "to take apart everything that helps make American lives better ... and to shrink government to the size where you can drown it in the bathtub ... Why is Obama being a party to it?"
Meanwhile, both Grayson and Ellison argued that Obama's proposed cuts were bad policy and terrible politics, and several former Obama campaign workers who participated in the call described his budget--in the words of one volunteer--as a "hideous betrayal."
"I feel terribly betrayed," said a woman who identified herself as Susan, a 67-year-old campaign volunteer from Alexandria, Virginia, who knocked on doors for Obama in 2008 and 2012. "The president reneged on his promises ... This hideous betrayal haunts me."
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee was among several groups who presented a petition of over 2.3 million signatures to the White House Tuesday, rejecting President Obama's proposal to cut Medicare and Social Security.
The petition letter was penned by Grayson along with Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) and called on fellow House Democrats to "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."
The letter has been signed by 38 of their colleagues and millions of citizens.
However, Pelosi and roughly 162 others are thus far still missing from the list of House Democrat signers.
Green said during the call that his group will now stage protests at the district offices of Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Ron Kind, the chairman of the conservative New Democrat Coalition, which supports the President's budget proposal.
Jacob Chamberlain
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who has remained passive at best in regards to President Obama's recently proposed cuts to Social Security, came under fire Wednesday from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
The group focused their attention on Pelosi in a conference call with Democratic Reps. Alan Grayson of Florida and Keith Ellison of Minnesota, The Daily Beast reports Thursday.
"The Democratic leader put out a statement [on Wednesday] where she failed to even mention chained CPI [Social Security cuts]," Adam Green, co-founder of PCCC said on the line, adding that she has in the past "said she was quote-unquote 'agnostic' about chained CPI."
Green added that Pelosi is "now on the right of a Republican congressman," in reference to New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who came out against Obama's cuts to Social Security this week.
On the call, Ellison compared the president's proposals, and similar cuts proposed in the House-passed budget, as an attempt "to take apart everything that helps make American lives better ... and to shrink government to the size where you can drown it in the bathtub ... Why is Obama being a party to it?"
Meanwhile, both Grayson and Ellison argued that Obama's proposed cuts were bad policy and terrible politics, and several former Obama campaign workers who participated in the call described his budget--in the words of one volunteer--as a "hideous betrayal."
"I feel terribly betrayed," said a woman who identified herself as Susan, a 67-year-old campaign volunteer from Alexandria, Virginia, who knocked on doors for Obama in 2008 and 2012. "The president reneged on his promises ... This hideous betrayal haunts me."
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee was among several groups who presented a petition of over 2.3 million signatures to the White House Tuesday, rejecting President Obama's proposal to cut Medicare and Social Security.
The petition letter was penned by Grayson along with Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) and called on fellow House Democrats to "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."
The letter has been signed by 38 of their colleagues and millions of citizens.
However, Pelosi and roughly 162 others are thus far still missing from the list of House Democrat signers.
Green said during the call that his group will now stage protests at the district offices of Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Ron Kind, the chairman of the conservative New Democrat Coalition, which supports the President's budget proposal.
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