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Social Security Debate
Explanation of Terms


The "Fainthearted Faction" and the "Conscience Caucus" are phrases we've coined to track the two most important groups in the coming legislative fight over Social Security.

The "Fainthearted Faction" designates those Democrats who either favor President Bush's private-accounts-based Social Security phase-out plan or, in far more cases, appear open to voting for it. In so many words, the Faction includes all those Democrats who the president has some hope of getting on his side.

The "Conscience Caucus", meanwhile, is the parallel group on the other side: those Republicans who either oppose the president's plan or appear open to doing so.