Roosevelt's grandson defends Social Security

On the 73rd anniversary of the signing of the Social Security act, the Democratic Party is calling today on the grandson of the president who launched the program to bash Republican John McCain over it.

"It's hard to remember now, but before Social Security, nearly half of America's seniors lived in poverty," James Roosevelt Jr., whose grandfather was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, says in a web ad released by the Democratic National Committee. "After a lifetime of playing by the rules and working hard, there was no guarantee of a secure retirement. My grandfather, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a majority of Americans thought that was wrong. They believed that lifting our seniors out of poverty is a reflection of our nation's core values."

The two-minute ad intersperses historic photos of camps of the unemployed during the Great Depression and of President Roosevelt with his grandson sitting at his desk. James Roosevelt, who lives in Cambridge and is CEO of Tufts Health Plan, is also co-chairman of the DNC rules committee that settled the dispute over delegates from Florida and Michigan in a way that cemented Barack Obama's victory against Hillary Clinton in the nomination fight.

"That's why my grandfather signed the Social Security act seventy three years ago today," James Roosevelt continues. "One of the great successes of the 20th Century, today Social Security lifts nearly 13 million seniors and 1.3 million children out of poverty."

He then tries to link McCain to the early opponents of Social Security and to tie him to President Bush's aborted attempts to privatize portions of it.

McCain has called for looking at private savings accounts to supplement Social Security. Obama, meanwhile, is proposing to shore up the program by levying additional payroll taxes on those earning more than $250,000 a year. Now the first $102,000 in income for a single taxpayer is taxed.

"Back in 1935, a small minority did not share those values. They opposed the creation of Social Security because they believed that government should not have a role in ensuring a retirement with dignity or helping seniors stay out of poverty. They said, 'You're on your own.' John McCain agrees with that old way of thinking. Like President Bush, he wants to privatize our Social Security, turning it into a gamble with our futures, and making 8.6 million American seniors vulnerable to poverty. John McCain has even said Social Security is 'a disgrace.'

"I couldn't disagree more," Roosevelt says. "Our Social Security isn't a disgrace; it's a compact, a trust between generations of Americans. It's a reflection of our values. On the 70th anniversary of Social Security, Americans stood together and said no to George Bush's attempt to privatize Social Security. On this anniversary, let's make sure John McCain hears the same message. Tell John McCain to keep his hands off of our Social Security."

UPDATE: The AFL-CIO also announced plans today to hit McCain on Social Security.

The union federation said it will send mailers to 50,000 retirees in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania -- swing voters in battleground states. It says it eventually will contact more than 1 million retirees.

"McCain's worth over $100 million," the mailer says. "He owns 10 houses, he flies around on a $12.6 million corporate jet, he walks around in $520 loafers. If John McCain lost his Social Security, he'd get by just fine. Would you?"