Lee Fisher, Ohio’s Democratic candidate for Senate, is back on the trail with a similar message, this time for elderly voters: Rob Portman is coming to get you and your social security. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, the Democratic candidate for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat, met with about 20 fixed-income senior citizens who live in the West End’s City West housing development to warn them that if his opponent, Rob Portman, and the Republican Party takes over Congress this fall, the Social Security will be in danger.
One woman asked: What is the best solution?
“Elect me,” Fisher said.
His opponent, former Cincinnati congressman Rob Portman, Fisher said, “believes we should privatize Social Security. That’s a fancy way of saying that your Social Security should be invested in the stock market.”
“I guess he thinks you could make a lot of money investing your Social Security in the stock market,” Fisher said. “Well, I suppose you could make a lot of money in the stock market on Thursday. Then you could lose it all on Friday.”
Does Portman support full privatization of Social Security? Not if his votes are any guide. In fact, the closest you could get to accusing Portman of believing in this system is his co-sponsorship of the Women’s Caucus policy agenda, which included the following bills:
HR1102—Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act—provide for pension reform (Portman/Cardin)
HR2102—Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 1999—allow deducting long-term care insurance premiums and a credit for individuals with long term care needs. (N. Johnson/Thurman)
Portman wasn’t alone in cosponsoring this, though. A few Democrats did so as well, including Nancy Pelosi, Sheila Jackson Lee and Rosa DeLauro. In fact, twice as many Democrats sponsored this agenda as Republicans!
I guess this is why Fisher claims to be “running against Washington.” Next I suppose he’ll run against reality.