Mass. Democrats criticize Perry, Romney on Social Security

By Shira Schoenberg, Globe Staff

With Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry scheduled to visit Boston this evening, the Massachusetts Democratic Party is hitting back at Perry – and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney – for their stances on Social Security.

Social Security has recently become a defining issue in the presidential campaign. It is a vital issue for the elderly, a major voting bloc, and Republicans must walk a fine line between vowing to reform the system, and avoiding scaring seniors. Romney has recently tried to portray himself as more moderate than Perry, who has called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.”

But on a conference call with reporters this morning, Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh and General Counsel James Roosevelt, a former associate commissioner of Social Security and the president and chief executive of Tufts Health Plan, disagreed with that characterization.

“His attempt to portray himself as a defender of the system doesn’t match reality,” Walsh said of Romney.

Perry has called Social Security a failure, a “monstrous lie,” and a Ponzi scheme, and has advocated giving control back to the states. In a USA Today op-ed this week, however, Perry did seem to soften his stance, saying he would not change the program for current retirees but simply wanted to reform the program going forward.

Unsurprisingly, Roosevelt -- a grandson of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the president who signed Social Security into law in 1935 -- criticized Perry for those views. “Perry’s extreme out of touch opinions on Social Security are just wrong, out of the Republican mainstream, let alone the general American mainstream,” Roosevelt said.

But the Democrats also turned on Romney, who has disagreed with Perry’s “Ponzi scheme” characterization and said he is the candidate who wants to fix Social Security, not abolish it.

“Our own governor Mitt Romney, who is trying to distinguish himself from Perry, has in the past supported [President George W.] Bush’s attempt to privatize Social Security, which is just as dangerous as Perry’s rhetoric,” Walsh said.

Bush was a proponent of allowing individuals to put some of their Social Security money into private accounts – something Romney has said should be an option for younger workers. Romney has also said he would be open to raising the retirement age and to changing the way benefits are calculated for wealthier Americans by tying them to the consumer price index.

Roosevelt said those receiving Social Security benefits would get hurt if their benefits were tied to Wall Street. He accused Romney of “trying to reinvent himself as a supporter of Social Security” in an attempt to defeat Perry.