A conservative Waco radio host chided GOP U.S. House challenger Bill Flores on Tuesday for trying to take back a comment to a Dallas TV show host indicating he did not oppose considering raising the Social Security retirement age as a way to shore up that program.

After his comments to the WFAA-TV host last week, but before the Dallas station aired its program, Flores said he was suffering from a headache.

He asked the station not to air his comments, including one where he said he was “not philosophically opposed” to bumping up the retirement age.

But after the comments and his explanation for them were widely reported, Flores said early this week he’d inadvertently slipped the word “not” into his sentence.

He also told WTAW News Talk 1620 Monday: “I have had over 120 public events. I have had dozens of interviews and I have always answered the question the same way every time except one, and I’ve always said that I am opposed to raising the retirement age for Social Security.”

KWTX News Talk 1230’s Shane Warner expressed disappointment with Flores’ retraction and dug up a clip that contradicts Flores’ statement that he’s been consistent in his opposition to raising retirement age — apart from the TV interview.

Warner posted his April interview of Flores on his blog Tuesday, in which the candidate said raising the retirement age has to be considered.

“I think almost everything has to be on the table,” said Flores, who at the time was competing in a GOP primary. “You’ve got to look at different retirement ages that are based on today’s life spans.”

Warner said he was rankled by Flores’ apparent abandonment of his earlier position.

“(H)ad Flores stuck to his guns and told voters that, ‘Yes, at some point, we’re going to have to look at some of these options,’ I would have been his biggest cheerleader — but he didn’t,” Warner wrote.

The Tribune-Herald asked a Flores aide to explain Flores’ claim that he’s consistently opposed hiking the retirement age in light of the News Talk 1230 clip.

Flores brushed aside the question in a statement.

“I am against raising the retirement age,” he said. “I have been consistent in saying we have to grow our economy and create more jobs to fill Social Security’s $16 trillion unfunded liability.”

Flores blamed “the bad policies of people like Chet Edwards” for the liability.

Edwards’ campaign spokeswoman, Megan Jacobs, said the April radio clip shows that Flores does, in fact, support raising the retirement age for the entitlement program.

“His ‘headache’ excuse didn’t hold water with voters then and it certainly doesn’t now,” she said. “Seniors and voters of all ages can see that Mr. Flores misled them last week when he claimed that he has ‘always’ been opposed to raising the Social Security retirement age.”

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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