Billionaire George Soros is sponsoring the organization America Coming Together in its effort to unseat congressional Republicans, columnist Robert Novak reports. ACT has been passing out leaflets on the Staten Island ferry, Mr. Novak charges, and elsewhere in the metropolitan area. Operatives are also going door-to-door and are planning phone-bank activity in the coming weeks in an effort to pressure Rep. Vito Fossella, a Republican of Staten Island, into opposing President’s Bush Social Security proposal. Fat chance of that, Mr. Soros.

ACT may be behind the recent news reports detailing Mr. Fossella’s dining expenses, which, instead of inciting outrage at the costs, is provoking laughter in the borough at a blatant attempt to smear a very popular Island politician. Mr. Fossella is not being accused of any illegality, and that he has documented even charges as low as $12 at a local diner only proves his thoroughness in accounting for every campaign dollar.

The Democrats are trying to turn the Social Security issue into a weapon to win seats in the House of Representatives. What they may not realize is that Staten Islanders are not only politically savvy but have long memories. They haven’t forgotten what the Democrats were saying during the Clinton administration. Senator Reid, a Democrat of Nevada, said: “Most of us have no problem with taking a small amount of the Social Security proceeds and putting it into the private sector.” President Clinton was saying that Social Security was in a “fiscal crisis” and other Democrats were urging that action be taken to fix Social Security before it went bankrupt. Now that Mr. Bush is doing exactly that, the crisis has mysteriously disappeared.

Why, I wonder, have the Democrats opted once again for the divide and conquer modus operandi? If it’s not pitting the poor against the rich, the blacks against the whites, it’s now the older Americans and the younger.

I spoke to a savvy S.I. senior citizen, Joan Callahan, a retired professor, at a dinner last week for a new bipartisan organization, Citizens Organized for Political Empowerment. “What are these seniors afraid of? It’s not going to affect anyone over 55 and besides it’s completely voluntary,” she said.

Those legislators fighting against any changes to the Social Security system omit those two points. They also whine that the program pays for other services besides the retirement benefits and these are in danger of being reduced. While it’s true that the supplemental Social Security payments apply to individuals of all ages, one has to wonder about the efficacy of this bureaucratic add-on.

There’s a methadone clinic near my house and I’ve watched the same individuals go for treatment for more than 25 years. These men have been receiving SSI payments and probably will until death. They’ve never paid much into the system and yet they’re guaranteed payments as long as they’re drug-dependent. I seriously doubt that FDR drafted this program to sponsor addictions. He also proposed voluntary accounts as a proponent of Social Security, just as Mr. Bush has.

What’s happened to the Democratic Party? It is on the wrong side of everything that mainstream America is for. In fact, it is even against what urban Americans are endorsing. This party is against school vouchers, for gay marriage, against private accounts as part of Social Security. Statistics show that blacks have a lower life span than whites and yet Democrats are suggesting raising the retirement age. The Bush suggestion is for ownership of the SS private accounts that can be passed on to beneficiaries. How can anyone argue with the fairness of this proposal?

Perhaps most telling of how low the Democrats have sunk out of pure partisanship instead of legitimate debate is how they blocked the weekend vote for a Save Terry Schiavo bill. It would have provided for an extension of the woman’s life since her feeding tube was removed by order of a Florida judge who should be removed from the bench.

Terry Schiavo is not brain dead. Look at the videos posted on www.terrisfight.org and see Terry open her eyes when commanded. You will realize that while she may be brain damaged, she is not a vegetable. My sister-in-law was left in a vegetative state by an operation blunder and I know the difference. You can see people like Terry being wheeled around by loving family all over the city. Terry can breathe on her own. A feeding tube is not extraordinary but basic care. Yet the House Democrats are determined to see her die by starvation.

George Soros could not have picked a more unsuitably named organization to sponsor. America Coming Apart would be more descriptive of its mission statement.