WATERLOO - In an effort to educate people and mobilize opposition to President Bush's Social Security plans, Iowans United to Protect Social Security will hold a town hall meeting Thursday on the proposed changes.

The meeting will take place at 10 a.m. at the Waterloo Center for the Arts, with similar meetings today in Iowa City and Thursday in Mason City.

The group, comprised partly of the Iowa Citizen Action Network, originally invited Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, as well as Republican Congressmen Jim Nussle, Jim Leach, and Tom Latham, to the meetings to clarify their stances on Bush's plans to reform Social Security.

"These are people who have not specifically stated their position on the matter," Betty Ahrens, co-executive director of ICAN, said. A press release by the group put it more strongly, requesting the politicians to "take a firm stand, one way or the other, on President Bush's proposal to slash middle-class benefits and privatize Social Security."

But the goal of the meetings changed when it became apparent that none of the politicians could attend. Spokespeople for Nussle, Grassley, and Leach said the lawmakers were booked for other events far before they were asked to appear at the town hall meetings.

They also elaborated on the politicians' positions regarding Social Security. While Grassley is probably one of the most ardent supporters of Bush's reform, Nussle and Leach take more moderate approaches. In an e-mail to the Courier, Nussle's spokesman Tom Wolfe said Nussle "believes all proposed solutions, including President Bush's, deserve consideration. He has not come to any conclusion."

"Even if the politicians aren't there, we really want to get the information into the hands of their constituents and we want the constituents to go out to events, write letters, and make phone calls," Lisa Davis-Cook, co-executive director of ICAN, said, "We want to urge the constituents to take a stand."

And if the politicians happen to change their minds and show up? "We'll have empty chairs for them," Ahrens said.

Contact Cyrus Moussavi at (319) 291-1418 or cmoussavi@yahoo.com