Social Security System Quotes
18 years later, his son—George W. Bush—made the “nutty idea” one of the main planks in his Presidential legislative program. After the younger Bush traveled the country selling his reform ideas, the public came down on the side of his father and rejected the President’s “nutty idea.”
The lead paragraph of the story by staff writer Leon Anderson reported that “Senator Goldwater said here today he favors turning Social Security into a voluntary program.” Ever since the New Deal initiated Social Security, with major Republican opposition, Republicans had been split on whether to support it or try and end it by privatizing the program that is the most liked program of the American population. George W. Bush, tried to make the privatization of Social Security the centerpiece of his legislative program, but the people rose up in protest and it was defeated easily.
Both of these programs have been amongst the most popular programs in American History. Yet for Republican conservatives at the beginning of the 21st century, these were programs that they wanted to either terminate of alter in such severe manners that they would not be anything like the original programs. When these programs were passed by Congress, most Republicans were opposed to the legislation but enough were supportive to have bipartisan support. However, by 2000, most liberal Republicans had been driven out of the party, and it was the Democrats who kept the programs alive and in force despite the Republican assaults. The Democrats had public opinion on their side on these battles and even most registered Republicans opposed President George W. Bush’s major attempt to privatize Social Security.
