A man, no plan...

From Podhoretz at The Corner on the Bush Social Security Privatization mess:

It went wrong at the get-go, I think. The president tried a clever gambit that didn't work. He said Washington politicians needed to reform Social Security but then charged others to come up with proposals and bring them to the table. He didn't want to put a plan forward to be mauled, attacked and left for dead.

I told one of my Republican friends the other day, in rebuttal to his "Democrats have no new ideas" line that Republicans seem sorely lacking in new ideas as well. He looked stunned, and oddly enough rebutted with a personal defense of his own plans rather than the GOP's.

But it's true. There is nothing new coming from the Republican side of the fence, just old business they are trying to ram home (repeal of estate taxes, flag burning, PBS bashing, hating gays, etc.) while they have claims to power. And I think lucky for Democrats, they've picked some things that just do not resonate with the public. And their one big thing that did have some resonance (the Iraq war) has faded and is becoming a key issue for Democrats now.

And of course, just because something is new doesn't make it better. But Republicans have no new plans, and they know it. They are just hoping that people will fall for their blaming the Democrats even though Republicans have the majority.