Printable Version
August 11, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
Rick O'Donnell to Colorado Seniors:Sorry, Grandma
Colorado Congressional Candidate Past Statements Dampen Seniors’ Ability to Celebrate Upcoming Anniversary of Social Security
For
Immediate Release
Contact: David Blank (202) 637-5275
August
11,
2006
dblank@retiredamericans.org
Washington, D.C.— The upcoming 71st
anniversary of Social Security (August 14)
would never take place if Colorado
congressional candidate Rick O’Donnell had
his way, a leading advocate for seniors said
today.
Edward F. Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, is warning the 82,000 Social Security recipients in Colorado’s 7th district that, despite recent efforts to recant his past writings, O’Donnell poses a grave threat to the economic security of current and future retirees.
Writing in a journal alongside former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1995, O’Donnell said:
"As we bury the rest of the welfare state in preparation for the 21st century, it is time to slay the largest government 'entitlement' program of all, Social Security. There is an even more important moral question raised by the government's role as chief provider in old age. It sends the un-American message that it is not your responsibility to take care of yourself." [Denver Post, 7/28/06]
“Now that O’Donnell is running for Congress, he is having the political equivalent of a deathbed conversion. He is attempting to mask his true feelings in seemingly benign buzzwords, saying that he supports ‘private accounts’ for retirees. This insults the intelligence of Colorado seniors who see right through his smoke and mirrors,” Coyle said.
With both President Bush and senior Republicans in the U.S. House pledging to put Social Security “reform” high on their 2007 agenda, Coyle said it is more important than ever for Colorado workers and retirees to have a member of Congress who will fight for them. O’Donnell’s opponent in November, Ed Perlmutter, opposes privatization of Social Security.
Colorado’s 7th Congressional
District contains 4,000 members of the Alliance
for Retired Americans.