I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but here goes.
I was listening to SiriusXM's POTUS channel this morning, and the host had an interview with Sen. Alan Simpson. In a way, it was almost like listening to my grandpa (not necessarily a bad thing). Straight answers, round criticism of Republicans and the Norquist bunch for their disingenuous tax positions, and what I believe to be some honest criticism of the approach of our party to the nation's debt.
They don't have a podcast, so I can't provide a link. But I will summarize the parts of the conversation I find interesting (and skipping the parts I didn't, such as his praise for the Ryan plan and Dems crucifying Medicare reforms).
1) The fact that Grover Norquist and his happy band are saying that reducing tax expenditures are some sort of tax hike is symptomatic of the obsession of tax cuts currently in the GOP. No sane person can say that they are the same thing. The problem with any kind of reform is that you have these interest groups, like Norquist and AARP who damn near make any real changes impossible. You can't touch Medicare at all. You can't cut tax expenditures. Tax expenditures were never considered a tax increase.
2) Simpson and Biden are BFF (Best Friends Forever, for the non-1337 among us). Simpson literally couldn't stop gushing about how him and the Veep are on the same wavelength on trying to get the deficit under control. Shared sacrifice through cuts, through revenue increases, and Medicare reform.
3) The Gang of Six (or Eight, apparently) were on the right track. They were the only ones serious about getting a balanced approach through the Congress without playing too much politics. We're in this mess because everyone has to pander to their base and they can't just do the right thing and tell their base and constituents that we just can't keep kicking this can- no, 55 gallon drum- down the road.
4) Obama really did put everything on the table. EVERYTHING. Including "ObamaCare". His problem though, is that he doesn't know when to just commit. You have people out there like the Gang of Six (Eight) who put a plan out there. Harry Reid. John Boehner. Dick Durbin in the Gang of Six took a big risk, but that's what politicians need to do. Don't play it safe, make the hard choices. "Ready, Aim, Fire." With the President, its "Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim,..." Sometime, you have to say, "Fire." Here's my plan.
5) Depending on who the put on the Super Congress, you'll know whether Reid and Boehner are setting it up for success or failure. If Reid is serious, he'll put the some of the Gang of Eight on his side. If you don't see anyone from the Gang of Eight, its political, we won't get a solution. You'll be able to know right away from the first picks if this is serious or just more politics as usual.
NOTE: The above is my summary of what Sen Alan Simpson said on the program.
Like I mentioned above, this was kind of like talking with my grandpa. Someone who didn't beat around the bush, said what he was thinking and thought was right, and that was that. The host even brought up, "Well, its easy for you because you don't have to think about re-election". I think Simpson's answer was "Well, I did this when I was elected too." I don't know enough about him to call BS.
I can see a bit of truth to what he's saying; I don't agree with all of it. But the politicking and playing to the base on both sides isn't going to get us solutions. Good policy is good politics. Make good policy that focuses on creating jobs, address the shortfalls as we can, and GOVERN. Quit the perpetual campaign. It hasn't served us well so far, has it?
9:12 AM PT: Given Joan's diary that popped up on the FP, we can safely say that the commission won't produce anything remotely "shared"- if at all.
Looks like austerity. Can you feel it??