Bush rallying support in the West

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.— Prodding Congress to start revising Social Security, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney pitched their ideas for change to the constituents of key Republican lawmakers in the West on Monday.

Cheney visited the hometown of Rep. Bill Thomas, the GOP lawmaker in charge of writing a House bill, and called Social Security a "financial train wreck" destined for insolvency if it is not overhauled.

Both Cheney and Thomas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, reiterated the warning that with millions of baby boomers nearing retirement, Social Security will begin paying out more in benefits than it receives in contributions by 2018.

Bush, meanwhile, appeared in Tucson, Ariz., with Sen. John McCain, repeating his mantra that the existing level of Social Security benefits will still be sent to retirees and those soon to retire. "This United States government will keep our promise to people retired or near retirement," Bush said.

McCain, R-Ariz., accused Democrats of not working toward a bipartisan solution. "We must do this together," he said, his voice growing louder with each word. "We know how much money is coming in. We know how much money is going out. Does anybody believe we should wait — we should wait until there's no money that we have to cut off people's Social Security checks?"

Democrats are spending the two-week Easter break in their districts, trying to rally grassroots opposition to Bush's proposed changes.

They are holding town hall meetings, press conferences and working with opposition groups to organize counter-events at stops along Bush's Social Security road tour.

"We're not going to let him define the debate," said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"We're going to challenge him at every step," he said, adding that Democrats want the public to understand that future benefits will have to be cut under Bush's plan and that his proposed borrowing to fix Social Security's solvency problems will expand the federal deficit, which already is at record levels.

A few hundred protesters greeted Bush at the convention center in Tucson. Many held signs with anti-war messages. But some — such as "Social Security: Not Securities" and "Bush: Don't Gamble with Our Future" — focused on the issue of the day.