For months, Jesse Kelly has staked out extreme positions on the issues, and Social Security has been no exception.  But now that he has won his primary, Kelly has changed his position to try and fool Southern Arizona.

Kelly’s answers on Social Security read like a multiple-choice exam: Privatize it, Phase it out, Eliminate it… and now… Protect it. If Jesse Kelly went to Congress, which would it be?

Privatize It and Phase It Out. In July 2010, asked by KUAT’s Bill Buckmaster about privatizing Social Security, he said, “You must! … Right now, you have to take steps to reform it, to privatize it, to phase it out.” (http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2010/7/30/1648-gop-candidates-in-congressional-district-8/, approximately 46 minutes into the debate.)

Eliminate It. In December 2009, when Kelly was asked about Social Security, he told the Tucson Weekly, “I would love to eliminate the program.” (“Jesse Kelly on War, Health Care Reform, Federal Spending and the Rosemont Mine”, Tucson Weekly, 12/02/2009.)

Protect It? Kelly’s new National Republican Campaign Committee handlers are trying to get their extremist nominee to backtrack from his previous position. This weekend, his spokesman told Bloomberg News that Kelly wants to “protect” Social Security. Kelly repeated this latest position on Jon Justice’s radio show this morning. However, he still has no plan for how current retirees benefits will be met if younger workers stop fully paying into the system.

But the words and statements Kelly repeated for months and months speak louder than his spokesman’s attempt to give him an extreme makeover.

And Kelly himself still refers to Social Security as a scam. The day after he won the Republican nomination, he described Social Security as “this massive Ponzi scheme run by the federal government.” (KMSB, FOX-11, 8/25/10. Watch the clip here: http://www.fox11az.com/news/local/Giffords-and-Kelly-already-at-odds-101596693.html.)

“They say elephants never forget, but no one of any party is going to forget Kelly’s repeated calls to eliminate and phase out Social Security. Some words are too inflammatory to be forgotten, especially when repeated so often,” said Rodd McLeod, campaign manager of Giffords for Congress.

Gabrielle Giffords is a third generation Southern Arizonan and the only person in Congress with an active duty military spouse. Gabrielle is not like other politicians. She takes an independent view on the issues and was rated Arizona’s most moderate member of Congress by the National Journal in 2009. She’s voted against a Congressional pay raise every time one has come up, and she doesn’t make earmark requests for campaign contributors. Most importantly, Gabrielle stands up for Southern Arizona by working across the aisle to secure the border, protect our military and veterans and creates jobs by investing in solar energy.

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