Erick Erickson's Blog, page 114

Solyndra, Barack Obama, and Crony Capitalism: Picking a Loser to be a Winner

The Operation Gun Walker scandal has not yet percolated in the mainstream media outside CBS News, though it is only a matter of time that it catches on, given the cirminal enterprise the U.S. Government seems complicit in aiding and abetting.

There is, however, a scandal taking off like a rocket and directly relevant to Stimulus II. Via Doug Ross comes word that ABC News has uncovered the makings of a very real and potentially damaging scandal for Barack Obama.

Newly uncovered emails show the White House closely monitored the Energy Department's deliberations over a $535 million government loan to Solyndra, the politically-connected solar energy firm that recently went bankrupt and is now the subject of a criminal investigation.

The company's solar panel factory was heralded as a centerpiece of the president's green energy plan — billed as a way to jump start a promising new industry. And internal emails uncovered by investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee that were shared exclusively with ABC News show the Obama administration was keenly monitoring the progress of the loan, even as analysts were voicing serious concerns about the risk involved. "This deal is NOT ready for prime time," one White House budget analyst wrote in a March 10, 2009 email, nine days before the administration formally announced the loan.

"If you guys think this is a bad idea, I need to unwind the W[est] W[ing] QUICKLY," wrote Ronald A. Klain, who was chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, in another email sent March 7, 2009. The "West Wing" is the portion of the White House complex that holds the offices of the president and his top staffers. Klain declined comment to ABC News.

But no unwinding happened. Barack Obama and Joe Biden stood behind Solyndra even as the company headed toward bankruptcy. Moreso, just three weeks before George Bush left office, the Bush Administration's Energy Department credit committee unanimously rejected a loan commitment to Solyndra.

But Barack Obama desperately wanted to tout a green jobs initiative. He needed one to make his case for the stimulus's "green jobs" efforts. So he put his faith in a company that was falling apart. And emails within the White House make clear that despite protestations the administration knew nothing about Solyndra's financial problems, there were warnings.

The White House just chose to ignore them and throw taxpayer money in Solyndra's direction.

Morning Briefing for September 14, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For September 14, 2011

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

NY-09 Goes Republican For the First Time Since 1922

NY-09 last saw Republicans hold it in 1922. The seat, last held by Anthony Weiner, flipped back to the GOP tonight in a stunning rebuke to Barack Obama.

In every special election in New York for the past few years, even in 2009/2010, the Democrats pointed their finger at each one and declare it spelled disaster for the GOP. Today, the Democrats will declare NY-09 has no bearing on anything under the sun.

Except, in NY-09 the Democrats attacked the Republican, Congressman-Elect Turner, on the Paul Ryan plan. They attacked him on social security and medicare. All things the Democrats did in the last New York congressional special election they did again this time. And they lost. They lost a district that went for Obama, Kerry, and Gore. They lost a district that has had a Democrat representing it for almost 90 years.

Obama lost New York Jewish voters. He lost them because of three things.

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1. Solyndra, Barack Obama, and Crony Capitalism: Picking a Loser to be a Winner

2. Bachmann Stayed Quiet on Mandatory Vaccinations While Serving Minnesota

3. No Girls Were Harmed During the Production of This Executive Order

4. House Republicans Ram Highway Bill Through Without a Roll Call Vote

5. Pennsylvania considering Electoral College split

6. Why Are Obama & Union Bosses Working to Destroy Companies & Jobs?

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1. Solyndra, Barack Obama, and Crony Capitalism: Picking a Loser to be a Winner

The Operation Gun Walker scandal has not yet percolated in the mainstream media outside CBS News, though it is only a matter of time that it catches on, given the cirminal enterprise the U.S. Government seems complicit in aiding and abetting.

There is, however, a scandal taking off like a rocket and directly relevant to Stimulus II. Via Doug Ross comes word that ABC News has uncovered the makings of a very real and potentially damaging scandal for Barack Obama.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Bachmann Stayed Quiet on Mandatory Vaccinations While Serving Minnesota

What's worse than a mandatory vaccination that never actually came to law and, even if it had, contained an opt-out? According to Michele Bachmann, nothing. In fact, if you listen to Michele Bachmann these days, you'd think Governor Perry was strapping 12 year old children to tables to inject them when he takes breaks from using the other needle on inmates.

Bachmann is making the case that opposing vaccinations required by the state is fundamentally a conservative issue, which is news to many conservatives given that mandatory vaccinations have been around as long as they have, and, to my knowledge, we haven't made it a big part of the Republican platform to oppose them. But if you listened to Bachmann last night, it's clear that she believes this is the type of issue on which a presidential candidate must stand, must do the right thing, and cannot waver in putting this forth as a conservative principle lest we risk infecting millions of children with mental retardation.

Has this always been an enormous part of this warrior's soul? Apparently not.

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3. No Girls Were Harmed During the Production of This Executive Order

From Ben Domenech's most excellent Transom comes this, backing up what I think ends this as an issue for Perry:

"The attacks on Perry's HPV vaccine actions five years ago have now taken up roughly 15 minutes in both the MSNBC debate and the CNN debate. Perry's message on this has been straightforward: that he made a mistake on the way he did the approach, that he'd approach it differently if he could do it over again, and that he listened to opponents and took his chiding from the legislature. He's defensive about the fact that he did add a parental opt-out (Santorum's assertion that all vaccines should be opt-in indicates that he has zero understanding of herd immunity), but that's the rule for all of Texas.

"But here's the real reason this is a silly debate: the policy never went into effect. Not one girl was vaccinated under the policy. Not one shot was given. Demanding apologies from Perry for a policy that never went into effect gets tiresome after a while – particularly when Mitt Romney has never apologized for his namesake health care reforms, in effect in Massachusetts still today."

Now, you can still say that Perry shouldn't have done it, but the attacks diminish when, in fact, no one was affected by a policy then undone — compare that to Romneycare.

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4. House Republicans Ram Highway Bill Through Without a Roll Call Vote

House Republican Leaders seem absolutely hell bent on violating their own budget. First they announce that the legislation or the "continuing resolution" to extend discretionary funding for the next fiscal year will exceed the House-passed, Paul Ryan budget resolution by $24 billion and line up instead with the sacred debt limit agreement.

Then we find out that a separate bill (H.R. 2887) to extend the federal highway and aviation programs for six months was rushed through the House this afternoon without even a recorded vote. The problem with this legislation was that it extends a broad set of transportation programs that the nation can no longer afford and which are in dire need of reform. It was a missed opportunity, and at the very least, the bill should have extended the programs at the level provided for in the Paul Ryan budget. Ryan's budget—which almost every Republican Member voted for—included $27 billion for highways programs, about $15 billion less than was provided in FY 2011. In addition, H.R. 2887 lacked a formal cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, so its impossible to nail down the numbers for sure. Bills without cost estimates shouldn't see the light of day in committee, let alone the floor of the House of Representatives.

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5. Pennsylvania considering Electoral College split

Governor Tom Corbett and Pennsylvania Republicans are considering legislation to change the allocation of Pennsylvania's Presidential electors. Instead of awarding all 20 on a winner take all basis, the plan by Senate leader Dominic Pileggi would switch to the Congressional district model currently in use by Nebraska and Maine.

In Nebraska and Maine, the statewide popular vote for President only determines two Presidential electors, the two representing the states' Senators. The remaining votes are allocated according to the popular vote in each House district. Nebraska's second district breaking for Obama in 2008 did not shape the election, but if Pennsylvania follows this model, then the 2012 Electoral College scenarios change significantly. Here's how.

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6. Why Are Obama & Union Bosses Working to Destroy Companies & Jobs?

The question needs to be asked: Is it ignorance or malice? There was a time after the subprime mortgage meltdown when, if sound decisions on policy and financial initiatives had occurred, the American economy may not have been hobbled as badly, its credit rating might not have been downgraded, the recession might have been curtailed and so many Americans might not have been so negatively affected. However, rather than helping a recovery by letting the quasi-free market adjust, contract and expand again, at almost every turn, Barack Obama and the union appointees and crony capitalists within his administration are, whether out of malice or ignorance, seemingly doing everything they can to destroy an already fragile economy. It's really no longer a question of "if," but "why."

Please click here for the rest of the post.

NY-09 Goes Republican For the First Time Since 1922

NY-09 last saw Republicans hold it in 1922. The seat, last held by Anthony Weiner, flipped back to the GOP tonight in a stunning rebuke to Barack Obama.

In every special election in New York for the past few years, even in 2009/2010, the Democrats pointed their finger at each one and declare it spelled disaster for the GOP. Today, the Democrats will declare NY-09 has no bearing on anything under the sun.

Except, in NY-09 the Democrats attacked the Republican, Congressman-Elect Turner, on the Paul Ryan plan. They attacked him on social security and medicare. All things the Democrats did in the last New York congressional special election they did again this time. And they lost. They lost a district that went for Obama, Kerry, and Gore. They lost a district that has had a Democrat representing it for almost 90 years.

Obama lost New York Jewish voters. He lost them because of three things.

First, he lost them because of the economy. Even in this reliably Democrat district, the voters are upset about the economy. No amount of spin can change that polling.

Second, he lost them because for three years the Democrats have said Jewish voters love Obama and they really don't. As Ari Fleischer said jokingly on Twitter, "Obama calls for NY-9 to return to it's pre-1967 status. Last time an R held the seat was 1922." No doubt Obama will soon travel to Israel.

Third, and the one that will get little if any play in the mainstream media except frivolous debunking, the voters in NY-09 rejected David Weprin's vote in favor of gay marriage. Yes, yet again we see a reliably Democrat area rebel against Democrats pushing gay marriage. (below the fold for data on that)

I've long said these special elections in New York really are not meaningful at a national level. They've served to highlight the incompetence of the New York GOP more than the failures of the national GOP. But in this race, you had a highly competent Democratic Party and union organizers on the ground turning out the vote and they lost. And the most consistent reason through multiple polling is a very simple reason — even Democrats now hate Barack Obama's job performance.

I eagerly await the front page story in the New York Times about growing Democratic whispers of a primary campaign against Barack Obama. Oh, and yes, the GOP can now tell him to take a hike on his jobs legislation.

Here's some data being circulated on the gay marriage point many will try to ignore:

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) invested $75k in mailers in NY-9 late last week; Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein recorded robocalls yesterday on NOM's behalf; and NOM has been quoted in various publications regarding their strong influence in this race:
The National Organization for Marriage paid for 30,000 robocalls to Jewish homes supporting his opponent, Republican Bob Turner. And online, Weprin's vote for same-sex marriage has been portrayed as a vote against God – even though Weprin is himself an Orthodox Jew. http://www.cityhallnews.com/2011/09/anti-gay-marriage-forces-converge-on-ny-9/:
In a phone call going out to Latino households in New York's 9th congressional district, Democratic state senator Ruben Diaz slams Democratic candidate David Weprin and endorses Republican Bob Turner in Tuesday's special election. In the robo-call, sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage and recorded in Spanish, Diaz denounces Weprin for his vote for same-sex marriage in June of this year. http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/democratic-state-senator-robo-calling-republican-turner-ny-9_593114.html
Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein, founder of the Ohr Naava women's Torah center in Brooklyn, recorded an anti-Weprin robocall paid for by the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex nuptials. http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2011/09/your-ny-9-robocall-roundup-updated
The National Organization of Marriage has hit the NY-9 special election particularly hard, reminding voters that Weprin was a "yes" vote when the New York legislature voted to legalize same-sex marriage earlier this year. Anecdotal evidence suggests even some Democrats felt betrayed by that vote. http://hotair.com/archives/2011/09/12/clinton-cuomo-robo-calls-not-likely-to-rescue-weprin/
Marriage is an issue that is not going away," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "When you have voters who have been betrayed by their elected officials on an issue as important as marriage, the impact on the election cycle is a big one." http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/09/social-issues-could-decide-the-race-to-replace-weiner/#ixzz1Xq7Ii9kP
Democrats are already blaming New York Democratic nominee David Weprin's vote for same-sex marriage from when he was in the state Assembly for alienating Jewish voters. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/special-elections-reveal-a-fickle-electorate/2011/09/12/gIQAFbHNNK_blog.html

No Girls Were Harmed During the Production of This Executive Order

From Ben Domenech's most excellent Transom comes this, backing up what I think ends this as an issue for Perry:

The attacks on Perry's HPV vaccine actions five years ago have now taken up roughly 15 minutes in both the MSNBC debate and the CNN debate. Perry's message on this has been straightforward: that he made a mistake on the way he did the approach, that he'd approach it differently if he could do it over again, and that he listened to opponents and took his chiding from the legislature. He's defensive about the fact that he did add a parental opt-out (Santorum's assertion that all vaccines should be opt-in indicates that he has zero understanding of herd immunity), but that's the rule for all of Texas.

But here's the real reason this is a silly debate: the policy never went into effect. Not one girl was vaccinated under the policy. Not one shot was given. Demanding apologies from Perry for a policy that never went into effect gets tiresome after a while – particularly when Mitt Romney has never apologized for his namesake health care reforms, in effect in Massachusetts still today.

Now, you can still say that Perry shouldn't have done it, but the attacks diminish when, in fact, no one was affected by a policy then undone — compare that to Romneycare.

More so, Michele Bachmann today has crossed a line she should not have crossed in expanding the attack — going anti-vaccine. The "morning after pill" comparison last night has people riled up too. I missed that comment last night.

Bachmann claims the vaccine causes mental retardation, which is not only factually not true, but also puts her into a fringe category of anti-vaccine crusaders convinced of links to autism and other ills that again and again again major studies show are baseless.

In other words, in twelve hours, Michele Bachmann went from a serious win on an issue to, as of 11:23 a.m. this morning, crossing a line that loses her real credibility.

HPV and Why It Matters

UPDATE: I think it is worth pointing out that as I wake up today Michele Bachmann is overplaying her hand on this issue and it is probably going to go away. The mother-daughter story sounds sympathetic, but it will force the media to delve into the story more and I don't think the outcome will be favorable to the anti-gardasil side, thus rendering the issue moot.

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A lot of my friends and a lot of people here at RedState disagree with me. But I think the HPV issue is a serious issue for Rick Perry. It alone, I don't think, will undo Rick Perry's lead. But couple it with his immigration position and I think if not handled well, it causes Perry to slowly hemorrhage support over the primary season.

This morning I ran into Michele Bachmann as she was coming off set at CNN and told her flat out that she "kicked Perry's ass" in the HPV question. She did.

The issue is two fold.First, it is an issue of liberty. It is not the same as an MMR shot because those diseases are communicable in a way HPV is not. Having the state mandate a shot that only one demographic gets because of what that child may do sexually bothers a lot of conservative voters. Perry needs to do a better job explaining that the opt-out was the parent simply saying "no." He also needs to make clear again that he would have done it differently and also, if he can, point out that no one actually had the injection because of his executive order.

In fact, if Perry can show that no one had the injection because of his order I think the issue largely goes away.

Second, it is an issue of decision making. Perry conveys that he let emotion guide him in making the decision. That deeply bothers a lot of conservatives. The "I hate cancer" rhetoric does not help him and sounds a bit silly. We all hate a lot of things. Must we mobilize government for each of the things Rick Perry hates? Of course not, but his emotion in the answer does not help him.

Michele Bachmann played her hand well on the issue. The issue resonates with a voter demographic that likes Perry, but is not sold on him. If Perry doesn't handle it better, it keeps the deal from being sealed. And while you may think this group of people are irrelevant, with this many people in the field, the candidates need all the support they can get.

There is one other reason this issue matters. I was saying six months ago that this issue would be a problem for Perry in the primary. He flubbed his answer when he lost the crowd. That suggests he either was not prepared or could not be made to get prepared for the question (is it staff or is it him?) and also provides a clue that losing the crowd is kryptonite to him in debates.

The Headline Goes Here

No, that title is not a placeholder or an error. "What's your headline," so many people came up to me and asked last night after the CNN Tea Party Debate.

There are so many headlines about the debate. You all, I'm sure, want the quick and dirty scoop.

The short answer is Rick Perry won, but only by default. He had a stellar one hour and fifteen minutes until the full on conservative assault against his HPV decision and immigration decision began. Everyone took bites out of him, Huntsman choked on his bite, but Perry won because no one else did. This is the first debate this election cycle where Mitt Romney did not win.

But Perry's win was a win by default in the end because he has a potentially fatal problem. I'm not sure if it is the candidate or the staff. But I could have told you a month ago Perry was going to get attacked on the HPV issue and the immigration issue and he flubbed both responses. When the crowd went from cheering Perry to booing him, he lost his calm, even paced conversational tone. He stammered, talked fast, and had a funny disposition on his face.

He locked in his lead, I think. Neither the HPV or immigration issue are fatal when Mitt Romney is up there sounding like a Democrat in a tea party debate. Romney really hurt himself badly with those answers on social security, etc.

The other headline is Michele Bachmann, who largely sat out the first hour attacking Perry, went after Perry with reckless, wonderful, passionate relish during the second half of the debate. She played outraged mom and played it well. She proved she still has what it takes. The downside for Bachmann is that she proved it on an issue that is not consequential right now. Perry's HPV decision may disgust me and many of you — it was a horrible decision — but it's still an election about jobs, the economy, and who can beat Obama. Right now, 42% of Republicans think that's Rick Perry, not Mitt Romney and not Michele Bachmann. On top of that, the GOP critics can't find anyone who was a "victim" of the law because the law was so quickly undone.

That begs another headline: "GOP candidate give Perry more hell for an undone executive order than Romney got for still supporting Romneycare."

Another headline is somewhat self-serving. I really think this was the best debate of the season. The questions were on topics the GOP will use to pick its nominee. I think it helped to have a CNN "Tea Party" debate because the candidates knew who their audience was supposed to be. It really was a good and informative debate. This too raises another headline: "CNN Debate Highlights Just How Sucky John Harris's Politico Questions Were Last Week."

One more headline among the many — "Perry benefits from schedule." This, ultimately, is why Perry won't be badly damaged. By the time he started flubbing, many viewers had most likely moved on to the NFL and U.S. Open. He benefited. But his flubs leave open another headline: "The race is still open." Perry locked in his lead last night. But the lock in is not permanent and Perry left and opening for Romney and Bachmann to be resurgent.

He does, however, go into the third debate the undisputed front runner and will get yet another stab at getting those troublesome issues right — issues that will not hurt him in a general election, but could knock him out of a primary if he doesn't talk about them in a way that mitigates them.

Morning Briefing for September 13, 2011

RedState Morning Briefing

For September 13, 2011

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

1. The Headline Goes Here

2. Congress Should Support Israel's Right to All Land Ahead of UN Vote

3. Crickets Chirp As White House Spams & Sends Out Union Press Releases

———————————————————————-

1. The Headline Goes Here

No, that title is not a placeholder or an error. "What's your headline," so many people came up to me and asked last night after the CNN Tea Party Debate.

There are so many headlines about the debate. You all, I'm sure, want the quick and dirty scoop.

The short answer is Rick Perry won, but only be default. He had a stellar one hour and fifteen minutes until the full on conservative assault against his HPV decision and immigration decision began. Everyone took bites out of him, Huntsman choked on his bite, but Perry won because no one else did. This is the first debate this election cycle where Mitt Romney did not win.

But Perry's win was a win by default in the end because he has a potentially fatal problem. I'm not sure if it is the candidate or the staff. But I could have told you a month ago Perry was going to get attacked on the HPV issue and the immigration issue and he flubbed both responses. When the crowd went from cheering Perry to booing him, he lost his calm, even paced conversational tone. He stammered, talked fast, and had a funny disposition on his face.

He locked in his lead, I think. Neither the HPV or immigration issue are fatal when Mitt Romney is up there sounding like a Democrat in a tea party debate. Romney really hurt himself badly with those answers on social security, etc.

The other headline is Michele Bachmann, who largely sat out the first hour attacking Perry, went after Perry with reckless, wonderful, passionate relish during the second half of the debate. She played outraged mom and played it well. She proved she still has what it takes. The downside for Bachmann is that she proved it on an issue that is not consequential right now. Perry's HPV decision may disgust me and many of you — it was a horrible decision — but it's still an election about jobs, the economy, and who can beat Obama. Right now, 42% of Republicans think that's Rick Perry, not Mitt Romney and not Michele Bachmann. On top of that, the GOP critics can't find anyone who was a "victim" of the law because the law was so quickly undone.

That begs another headline: "GOP candidate give Perry more hell for an undone executive order than Romney got for still supporting Romneycare."

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Congress Should Support Israel's Right to All Land Ahead of UN Vote

The video shows the jubilant celebrations taking place in Gaza, while we were attacked on September 11. No, it wasn't just a few "extremists" who were celebrating; it was the average Joe Palestinian. Unfortunately, not only have we declined to treat them as an enemy, we have refused to cut off any foreign aid. Instead, the Bush and Obama administrations have diverted our diplomatic resources towards the insane 'peace process' and the inexorable goal of a Palestinian state.

Over the past few years, we have given over $600 million a year to this terrorist entity, which receives more per capita aid than any other people or nation. This includes, direct assistance, weapons, security training, infrastructure, and funds transferred through UNRWA. In July, Congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL) introduced the Palestinian Accountability Act (H.R. 2457), which seeks to cut off aid to the PA. Last week, he introduced a resolution expressing the support of Congress for Israel to annex Judea and Samaria, if the PA unilaterally declares statehood.

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3. Crickets Chirp As White House Spams & Sends Out Union Press Releases

Last week, many Americans watched President Obama stand in front of of his teleprompters and Congress and sell—no, demand—a still unwritten bill dubbed the American Jobs Act. While the President certainly gives an entertaining teleprompted speech, his demands were reminiscent of a third-world barter between a goat herder and a villager: In exchange for two goats (temporary tax cuts), you can give your daughter and her dowry (nearly another half a trillion dollars) to the goat herder so he can give them both to his union boss friends.

The very next day, Obama hit the campaign trail to demand that the House pass the unwritten bill even as employers and Wall Street shrugged at the unwritten plan.

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The #CNNTEAPARTY Debate

From 5pm to 7pm tonight I'll be on WSB providing a pre-game show for the CNN Tea Party Express debate. You can listen live at http://wsbradio.com and call in to discuss the debate at 1-800-WSB-TALK.

From 7pm to 8pm I'll be on John King USA for CNN's pre-debate coverage.

From 8pm to 10pm, we'll all be tuned to the debate and I'll be following #CNNTeaParty on Twitter. RedState will have a live chat during the debate.

From 10pm until sometime tomorrow after 9pm (with a bit of sleep), I'll be on CNN providing more coverage and then back on TV and radio tomorrow night at 7pm.

Consider this an open thread.

Punch Counter Punch

This morning, Mitt Romney surprised a lot of people by announcing Tim Pawlenty's endorsement of his campaign. One former Pawlenty staffer emailed me lamenting that they'd run against "Obameycare" and then this?

That's politics.

Pawlenty will be in Florida tonight for the CNN-Tea Party Express debate. And so will Governor Bobby Jindal. This afternoon the Perry campaign announced their counter punch to the Pawlenty news. Gov. Jindal is endorsing Perry.

LIVE FROM FLORIDA — No One Except Ron Paul

I'm in Tampa, FL for the CNN-Tea Party Express Republican Presidential Debate. The debate begins at 8pm on CNN. I'll be on WSB Radio from 5pm to 7pm doing a "pre-game" show and then, starting at 7pm, I'll be on CNN the rest of the night.

When the debate starts, Michele Bachmann intends to join Mitt Romney in defending social security against Rick Perry and his evil, awful "ponzi scheme" comment.

To be clear, none of the Republican Presidential candidates, except Ron Paul, wants to abolish social security. Not even Rick Perry who, though he wrote it was an affront to our constitutional system, made clear in both his book and on stage in California that he was not going to refight 70 years of American legislative progress, but would instead work to fix a broken system.

But Romney and Bachmann intend to keep going after Rick Perry for his "ponzi scheme" comment.

They might want to reconsider. Alex Tabarrok notes at Marginal Revolution that Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman called social security "the biggest ponzi scheme on earth. That was back in 1999.

In 1967, Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Samuelson also considered social security a ponzi scheme.

Oh, and they aren't the only one's to use the word "ponzi" to describe social security. So did Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman.

That doesn't even include Mitt Romney who called the social security system a "criminal enterprise."

When you have economists on the left and the right calling social security what it is, you might want to rethink your line of attack.