At a press conference in support of Al Weed, Francis Fife criticized a recent mailing by Congressman Virgil Goode for diverting attention from the real source of the problem of social security with comments about the costs of same-sex civil unions and new immigrants.

Fife said, "Stopping the drain of profligate Republican spending can save Social Security but focusing on the pin prick of these other issues diverts attention from the real changes that need to be made."

The mailing proclaims that Liberal Al Weed supports: "decreasing the cost of living allowance" for Social Security, "allowing amnesty of illegal aliens making them eligible for Social Security benefits," and "extending Social Security benefits for homosexual partners."

Fife responds, "Virgil Goode's support for record deficit spending threatens the future of Social Security far more than immigration and same-sex civil unions which Goode highlights in his mailing. The idea of slightly reducing COLA's is one of several possible measures to reduce the projected Social Security shortfall. None of the measures to curb Social Security outflows would even need to be discussed if the congress could balance the budget and stop borrowing from the Social Security trust fund."

The mailing, authorized and paid for by Goode for Congress, says, "Congressman Goode believes that Social Security should be for American citizens and not illegal aliens." After the press conference, Delegate Mitch Van Yahres noted the many undocumented immigrants who "pay into Social Security with no hope of benefits."

In a separate statement, Al Weed calls the mail piece "the last acts of a desperate man, someone who knows that change is coming, and that in a matter of hours he will be out of a job."

"These claims about my wanting to reduce COLAs as a priority of my legislative program," says Weed, "are ridiculous and insulting. Have I mentioned it? Yes. Have I listed it on an online survey as something I would be in favor of learning more about? Yes. Virgil Goode has destroyed the sanctity of social security with a tax-cut-and-spend mentality that has turned the largest surplus in American history into the largest deficit. Congressman Goode did that, with the help of this President who he follows like a lost child. They are the ones who have jeopardized your benefits, and that is what makes this mailing so atrocious."

Weed adds, "If our government continues to run record deficits, and spend money we don't have, your social security will be at risk. If we are going to continue to run record deficits, we will HAVE to consider reducing COLAs as a way to preserve the system of social security overall.

For more, see Who Shares Our Values?/Virgil Goode's Mailing on Social Security.