BUSH’S “KILLER AP”

The term “killer ap” is geek-speak for a computer application that blows the doors off any competition. By letting anyone or any company write software programs for Windows rather than keep Windows proprietary to Microsoft, Bill Gates made his product the killer ap that left Apple light years behind. Excel did the same thing for spreadsheet applications.

So when Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, whispers in Karl Rove’s and George Bush’s ears this week at the convention, let’s hope they recognize a political killer ap when they hear one.

Before I go any farther, I want to ask you a favor. Although we now have an “Email this article to a friend” feature, please keep this to yourself as a To The Point member. When the president publicly advocates what I’m about to tell you, then you can send this to friends and tell them you heard it first on TTP.

So here it is, Bush’s killer ap for the 2004 campaign: The elimination of income taxes on Social Security benefits.

I’ll never forget how my mother blew her stack in fuming outrage when she found out she had to file with the IRS and fork over to them part of her Social Security. I’m sure you know folks receiving Social Security who feel the same way. Bush loves tax cuts period, the revenue loss to the federales would not be gargantuan, but it would guarantee him a gargantuan increase in support from senior citizens voters. It’s a total win-win.

It’s also a perfect opportunity to skewer Kerry, who of course voted for Clinton’s 1993 increase of taxes on 85% of Social Security benefits from the previous 50% — raising taxes thereby on nine million seniors.

Bush’s proposal will be not to reduce taxes on Social Security benefits back to pre-Clinton levels – but to wipe them out completely, so that no Social Security recipient pays any taxes at all on their benefits. It’s the killer ap, folks, leaving Hanoi John so far in the dust no one will see where he is. Cross your fingers that GW is paying rapt attention when Grover hands him his re-election on a platter.