Social Security back in campaign spotlight

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democrats renewed a traditional election-year battle over Social Security on Friday, launching a campaign to warn seniors that Republican proposals would undermine the popular retirement program.

Democrats said Republican plans to let seniors invest some of their Social Security funds in the stock market would threaten retirees' financial security.

"The Republicans advocating these changes are not friends of senior citizens," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said ahead of Saturday's 75th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt's signing of the Social Security law.

Democrats plan events around the country to celebrate the anniversary and highlight Republican candidates who have called for some form of privatization of Social Security.

Republicans said the attacks were designed to put the focus on something other than President Barack Obama's economic failures as Democrats struggle to keep their majorities in Congress ahead of the November 2 elections.

"Democrats in Washington are desperate to shift attention away from their reckless spending record and failure to create jobs," said Brian Walsh of the Republican Senate campaign committee.

A report last week said Social Security would exhaust its reserves in 2037, but lawmakers have been unable to find ways to boost the program, battling over proposals to cut benefits, hike taxes or raise the retirement age.

Republican President George W. Bush's push to add personal retirement accounts failed in 2005 in the face of heavy Democratic and public opposition. Democrats said it would be more foolish now after the upheavals and mood swings on Wall Street in recent years.

The issue has been particularly prominent in Nevada's senate race. Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid has attacked Republican opponent Sharron Angle, a favorite of conservative Tea Party groups, for saying Social Security should be phased out for "something privatized."

After taking heavy fire on the issue, Angle released a television ad this week attacking Reid for raiding the Social Security trust fund "for his own pet projects" and saying she would like to save the program.

Democrats have made Social Security a top issue for years, and at times have had success painting Republicans as a threat to the popular program, particularly in the 1980s.

A poll released earlier this week by NBC and the Wall Street Journal found Democrats had an advantage of 4 percentage points over Republicans when voters were asked which party would do the better job on Social Security -- the smallest lead listed in the poll since 1994.

Senior citizens traditionally are the most active voters, and their participation could be crucial in a low turnout mid-term election that does not feature a presidential contest to attract less interested voters.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)