After Calling Social Security An ‘Absolute Disgrace,’ McCain Says Safety Nets Are ‘What America Is All About’

In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity last night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) claimed it was a "far-left liberal view that you need to take money from one group of Americans and give it to another." Yet in the same breath, McCain praised the social safety net system, in particular Social Security:

McCAIN: Now, of course we have an obligation to take care of citizens in our society who can't care for themselves. That's why we have those programs, those Safety Net Programs. But you know, the Safety Net Program, a lot of Americans pay in to Social Security, they pay in to a number of those programs. So the point is, yes, a society and government takes care of citizens who need our help. That's what America is all about.

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McCain has claimed that Social Security is "broken" and has campaigned alongside President Bush to privatize the system. In July, he went a step further and said Social Security is an "absolute disgrace":

Americans have got to understand that we are paying present day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers…and that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace.

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In August, in honor of the 73rd anniversary of the Social Security Act, the New Mexico Democratic Party attempted to sing "Happy 73rd Birthday to Social Security" outside of a McCain campaign office, "only to have the birthday cake thrown in the trash by the campaign."

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/29/mccain-social-security-hannity/