President Obama's proposed budget did not win him any favors with some progressives, stirring Democratic infighting in Congress over the his concessions on Social Security cuts.
"I think the best thing for him to do is to walk it back,” Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, told msnbc host Alex Witt of the proposed chained-CPI measure in the budget, which would in effect lower social security payments. “He will endure some criticism, but you know what. It would be far better for him to take a few days of hits—being accused of having walked it back—than for him to stand for a proposition that would reduce the cost of living increases for our seniors, veterans, and many, many others.”
Progressive groups and members from his own party have come down on the president for giving in too much, and even Republicans are saying they are not satisfied with the proposal, saying the cuts aren't large enough.
A longtime supporter of the president, Ellison expressed his concerns of inflicting hardship on seniors, adding that even if the chained-CPI measure in the budget was as far as President Obama was willing to go, it would still be too far. Ellison, who is also a member of the Financial Services Committee, issued a statement to the president in which he called the budget “unpopular, unwise and unworkable.”
The White House has not responded to the statement, he said.