Burying Social Security in the backyard

The Republicans want no less, and if you want proof, read the now-infamous Wehner memo, leaked in the past 24 hours:

WASHINGTON - The success of President Bush’s push to remake Social Security depends on convincing the public that the system is “heading for an iceberg,” according to a White House strategy note that makes the case for cutting benefits promised for the future.

Calling the effort “one of the most important conservative undertakings of modern times,” Peter Wehner, the deputy to White House political director Karl Rove, says in the e-mail message that a battle over Social Security is winnable for the first time in six decades and could transform the political landscape.

“We have it within our grasp to move away from dependency on government and toward giving greater power and responsibility to individuals,” said Wehner, the director of White House Strategic Initiatives. He called the Democratic Party the “party of obstruction and opposition. It is the Party of the Past.”

But the administration must "establish an important premise: the current system is heading toward an iceberg," Wehner’s e-mail said.

We have to read this as a window into how Republicans will frame this argument. They want to destroy Social Security, so they have to prove it doesn't work (hence the "headed for an iceberg" part. Social Security is not only in decent shape for the next 42 years (and would be for far more if Bush hadn't made a mess of this economy), it's well-liked by everyone. People like getting their checks. They like having a safety net after they retire. So Republicans have the daunting task of changing their minds.

Furthermore, their goal will be to determine that any deviation from White House policies is "obstructionist." I think that's a pretty weak place to be.

Our frames are simple: We have a responsibility to protect our seniors, and all Americans who need a guarantee that they will be taken care of when they retire. Proposing a system that borrows $2 trillion dollars (off-book, mind you) makes our economy and nation weak. We want to keep it strong, and Social Security is a strong system that has worked for hundreds of millions of Americans for 60 years.

Republicans have to get rid of Social Security because it represents a threat to their worldview: that big government programs don't work. Well, wrong. They can. As long as we don't destroy them in the name of "reform."