Republican Debate

"...pay attention to how little time or energy Gov. Perry spent assuring seniors they would have the money they earned and were promised — and how much time and energy he put into defending, not backing down from the phrase “Ponzi scheme.”...Maggie Gallagher.

I'm 60 years old. I know what he meant. I don't want my son and daughters paying to keep me...

It is a Ponzi scheme. What's the problem? Are we offended at finding it out?

It is a Ponzi scheme, a fraud. That said, I think Rick Perry calling himself a conservative is fraudulent as well.

I forget just how many workers were paying into a recipient when Social Security was first enaced (in 1935, I believe, with a 1% tax), but it was quite a few. The government is Charles Ponzi, seniors are "early ones in" who have some chance of getting paid, and my children and I are going to be no different than those saps in Boston waiting in line for a payout that is never going to come. The differnce is that I never signed up for this, and my oldest, who is 6, could not have done anything, either.

It's not just bad finances, it's bad morals.

That's a good observation. It is bad morals. The party that accuses us of rejecting the poor and the infirm is guilty of much worse.

And, Stephanie, I think what Rick Perry is will remain an open question a while longer. I'm willing to give governors a little wider latitude because I don't think state governments should be as constrained as the federal government. They are, after all, closer to their constituents. What scares me most is that you may be spot on: he may be just another cynical career politician.

OC, He has been in elected office for, what, 26 years? He knows how to communicate, and it can be style over substance. While I lament this condition, waiting for the perfect man or woman is going to take awhile. Thus far Jesus only came the one time, and He wasn't elected to anything.

Speaking of that debate......I'd like to share what bothered me most.

There was quite a bit of applause when Williams stated Texas had executed 234 inmates since Perry has been in office.

That rattled me. Bloodlust is so ugly.

I agree that such bloodlust is unhealthy, but I do like that a bunch of conservatives gave Mr Williams a very unexpected reaction.