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Romney stays with Social Security attack on Perry

Posted Sep 21, 2011 by William March

Updated Sep 21, 2011 at 12:05 PM

In advance of the Presidency 5 weekend in Florida, Mitt Romney is making it clear he doesn’t intend to let up his attacks on Rick Perry on Social Security—in a news release today, he poses “6 Questions” about Perry’s previous stateements that the program may be unconstitutional and should be handled by the states.

That means Florida Republicans probably can expect to hear Romney bring up the subject in Thursday night’s Fox News debate during the Presidency 5 state Republican convention in Orlando, and in Romney’s speeches to the convention-goers. The convention will also include a high-profile straw poll.

In his book, “Fed Up,” and elsewhere, Perry questioned whether the program is constitutional, and suggested the federal government doesn’t have the legal authority to administer a pension program. He has suggested that if there is such a program, it should be handled by the states.

Perry no longer makes those assertions in public comments on the issue, saying Social Security and other entitlements should be reformed, but he also hasn’t disavowed them. Instead, he emphasizes that for those nearing retirement age or now receiving benefits, he would favor no changes in the program.

In his news release, Romney focuses on the administrative difficulty of running such a program at the state level, or transferring the current program to states—even though Perry hasn’t explicitly proposed that in his campaign. Romney questions what would happen to the existing Social Security trust fund surplus; how would a state-run program handle those who move across state lines, and whether all states would institute such a program.

Romney adds criticism of Perry from Florida Republican elected officials who back Romney—U.S. Reps. Connie Mack and Tom Rooney and state Sens. Anitere Flores and John Thrasher.

For good measure, he calls Perry a “career politician.”

Perry’s campaign responded with a news release quoting spokesman Ray Sullivan, lumping Romney with Democrats and liberals and accusing him of “trying to scare seniors.”

“Mitt Romney’s own book compared Social Security to a criminal enterprise,” he said. “Mr. Romney has been running for president full time for nearly five years, and has failed to issue a specific plan on Social Security. Rick Perry and other conservatives are courageous enough to be honest about federal spending and entitlements, whether Mr. Romney and the liberals like it or not.”

In fact, Romney’s book said congress members running Social Security were the criminal enterprise, not the program itself, but Perry has signalled he’s willing to hurl the ultimate attack at Romney in response, comparing him to a Democrat.