AARP and JD Hayworth at Odds on Social Security

The Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons (AARP), the nation's largest, nonpartisan advocacy group for seniors, is taking the unusual step of specifically refuting a number of misleading ads put out by some congressional campaigners. Evidently, our very own AZ-5 congressional district is to receive one of these mailings.

No word yet on who will be chastized for misleading comments about the AARP position. But the good money is on Hayworth getting the AARP smackdown. [Update: it is, indeed, Hayworth. See update at bottom of this post.]

My reason for saying this? Check out the issue positions on Social Security for the three AZ-5 candidates. On every single question, AARP and Harry Mitchell agree. Hayworth, in contrast, has specifically chosen to NOT respond one way or the other, so he can't be pinned down on these issues.

Of course, it'd be electoral suicide for Hayworth to give a simple yes/no response on these questions. He is desperate to downplay his real position on Social Security. If seniors, who are the most active voters, get a whiff of where Hayworth really stands on these issues, his support among them will evaporate.

It's quite evident that Hayworth doesn't really have any solutions that he can comfortably talk about, either. Take a look at his response on whether or not to privatize Social Security - a deal-killer for many retired folks:

Question: Will you support or oppose a balanced Social Security plan to continue the program's guaranteed benefits for future generations? Will you support or oppose using Social Security taxes to fund private accounts?

Candidate Response: J.D. Hayworth, Republican

As a member of the Social Security Subcommittee, I am at the center of efforts to save and strengthen this vital program. We have our work cut out for us. The annual report of the Social Security Trustees concludes that by 2040 Social Security will not be able to meet its obligations—it will essentially be insolvent. The Trustees also make clear that without reforming the program, the only way to stave off impending bankruptcy is to either reduce benefits for recipients or increase taxes on workers. My bottom line is that we must do more to protect the system without resorting to tax increases, benefit cuts, increasing the retirement age, or privatizing the system. Working together, we can find a solution.

Note here three things about Hayworth's response:

1. Hayworth specifically omits checking "Supports" or "Opposes", which Mitchell and Severin have no problem doing. He maintains plausible deniability on where he stands on privatization.

2. Hayworth's prose response specifically avoids mentioning any possible solutions to address Social Security. Despite having been in office for 12 years, and serving on the Social Security Subcommittee, Hayworth cagily avoids mentioning anything smacking of his position, here.

3. Note how Hayworth tries his best to avoid any of the controversial solutions that have been proposed: tax increases, benefit cuts, increasing the retirement age, or privatizing the system. Trying to have his cake and eat it, too, Hayworth basically is coming right out and saying that either he has no solution, whatsoever, or that he has one, but he's simply not going to tell AARP what it is.

Let's be blunt for a moment: no one in Arizona that has followed Hayworth's career believes for a second that JD Hayworth supports the AARP position on Social Security. He's just unwilling to be open about where he really stands on it, because he knows that doing so will lose him a lot of support among seniors who disagree profoundly with his position.

This is a critical issue that's been around for a while. It's still in play, too, as George Bush has come out again, calling for privatization. Having JD Hayworth in Congress to rubber-stamp Bush's effort to privatize Social Security is reason enough for many seniors to vote for Harry Mitchell.

Harry Mitchell is open and straightforward about supporting the AARP position on preserving Social Security:

We need to stop Congress' continual raid of the Social Security Trust Fund. Social Security taxes should not pay for anything other than Social Security benefits. We need to deal with this problem, devote Social Security surpluses to Social Security and keep the trust fund intact. It's time that we simply say "hands off the Social Security surplus."

We can ensure a dignified retirement for Arizona workers by ending the Bush/Hayworth raid on Social Security, stopping reckless privatization plans, expanding retirement savings incentives and enacting real pension reform.

JD Hayworth, in the other hand, is trying to play hide-and-seek on Social Security and hopes Arizona's seniors don't notice until it's too late.

Update: This article by "3 on Your Side" says that it is, in fact, Hayworth that received a smackdown by the nonpartisan AARP for distorting their position.

As for AARP, it tells 3 On Your Side that the ad Congressman Hayworth is running is misleading.

The organization even sent a memo stating, "The ad mischaracterizes the position taken in the AARP’s voter's guide."

We can therefore expect to be receiving a letter from AARP apprising us all of Hayworth's attempt to mislead the voters on the AARP's position on Social Security.