OK, Sheep, Get With the Herd!

All together now, you sheep, who fill your snouts so willingly at the trough of Bushian propoganda:

There is a problem and we need to gut social security.

Have a look at what your handlers will be drumming into your malleable little heads, courtesy of Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post:

The word of the day at the White House yesterday was "problem" -- as in, the Social Security problem.

If you only heard a sound bite or two from President Bush's brief comments after a meeting with the Social Security Trustees yesterday, you really missed the bruising lack of subtlety with which he -- and then his spokesman -- pounded away at this one message.

"We had a good discussion about the problems that face the Social Security system," Bush told the press, "and there is a recognition among the experts that we have a problem. And the problem is America is getting older and that there are fewer people to pay into the system to support a baby boomer generation which is about to retire.

"Therefore, the question is, does this country have the will to address the problem. I think it must. I think we have a responsibility to solve problems before they become acute. . . . [W]e must be willing to address this problem. . . . [T]he time is ready for us to solve this problem. . . . I think what's really important in the discussions is to understand the size of the problem. . . . What's important, Steve, is before we begin any discussion is to understand the scope of the problem. And that's why these trustees are vital in helping educate the American people, and Congress, as to the size of the problem. And I will not prejudge any solution. I think it's very important for the first step to be a common understanding of the size of the problem. . . .

"We have got a member of what was called the Moynihan Commission with us. They studied this problem in detail. They made some suggestions about how to move forward in solving the problem. Much of my thinking has been colored by the work of the late Senator Moynihan and the other members of the commission who took a lot of time to take a look at this problem, and who came up with some creative suggestions."

And, Bush said in closing: "We will not raise payroll taxes to solve this problem."

A couple hours later, press secretary Scott McClellan took to the podium for his press briefing. And in case anyone missed it: "We all need to agree that this is a real problem," he said. Over and over again.

It's like I wrote in my Tuesday column: An essential part of the Bush campaign to add private accounts to Social Security is getting the public to believe that there is in fact an imminent crisis.

That's step one; step two is to getting people to believe private accounts will help; step three is to getting people to believe that borrowing another $2 trillion or so right now to pay for them is a good idea.

And in pretty much all of today's coverage, as the White House surely hoped, the existence of some sort of amorphous, alarming Social Security problem was taken as a given. Step one seemingly accomplished.

See how it works, sheepies? You ate it up during the election. Now you will be obedient little sheep nodding earnestly as you walk to your slaughter. "Bahhhhhh we have a prahhhhhhblem! Bahhhhhhhhrow a couple of trillion dahhhhhhhlers! Cut my benefits! Raise my age of retahhhhhhhhrment! Enrich the brokers with lots of fees! The federal government is bahhhhhhhd and we need to cripple and kill it forever. Bahhhhhhhh, we sure do have a prahhhhhhhhhblem." There's a good little robot!

Now, why don't you automata go ahead and see what the truth is. Need more? Here, have some. Isn't that amazing? There is no problem! You're being lied to again to further their ultra-ideological agenda which is entirely antithetical to your interests. Go figure.

Bless you, Paul Krugman. And all of you friends who are not sheep, why don't you share this with your congressheep. If you act like sheep, they will treat you like sheep.