Simpson's 300 million tits tirade is drawing some high profile attention. Here's Krugman:
I always thought that the deficit commission was a bad idea; it has only looked worse over time, as the buzz is that Democrats are caving in to Republicans, leaning ever further toward an all-cuts, no taxes solution, including a sharp rise in the retirement age....
At this point, though...Obama is on the spot: he has to fire Simpson, or turn the whole thing into a combination of farce and tragedy — the farce being the nature of the co-chair, the tragedy being that Democrats are so afraid of Republicans that nothing, absolutely nothing, will get them sanctioned.
When you have a commission dedicated to the common good, and the co-chair dismisses Social Security as a “milk cow with 310 million tits,” you either have to get rid of him or admit that you’re completely, um, cowed by the right wing, that IOKIYAR rules completely.
And no, an apology won’t suffice. Simpson was completely in character here; it was perfectly consistent with everything else he’s said, and with his previous behavior. He has to go.
The reaction he's getting on Capitol Hill isn't any friendlier. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter DeFazio, via e-mail:
WASHINGTON, August 25 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) today urged President Barack Obama to dismiss a co-chairman of a White House advisory commission on budget deficits who compared Social Security to "a milk cow with 310 million tits."
Citing the “insulting” remarks by former Sen. Alan K. Simpson, Sanders and DeFazio asked the president to remove Simpson from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which is charged with making recommendations on federal budget deficits that could affect Social Security.
“While there are honest differences of opinion as to how best to tackle this growing problem, we should all be in agreement that everyone working in this area – especially someone in as important a position as the co-chair of your National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform – has a responsibility to be as serious, deliberate, and sober as the challenges we face,” they wrote in a letter to the president.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva adds, via e-mail:
Tucson, Ariz. – Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said today that recent remarks by National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform Co-Chair Alan Simpson suggest that he should consider recusing himself from his responsibilities. “It has become increasingly apparent that his disdain for Social Security is out of line with the majority of Americans,” Grijalva said. “His disregard for the integrity of the program, and for women in general, is unsettling. Americans have invested and earned their right to have a secure retirement, whether or not Sen. Simpson agrees.”
....
Responding to Sen. Simpson’s characterization, Grijalva pointed out that Social Security is vital for millions of women who continue to earn less over their lifetimes than men and are less often covered by private retirement plans. “Social Security belongs to every American who has worked hard, paid taxes, and earned a good retirement. Social Security does not contribute a penny to the federal deficit, and its benefits should not be cut in a misguided attempt to reduce that deficit. If Sen. Simpson truly feels the disgust at Social Security he indicates in this letter, he should consider recusing himself from the commission.”
The credibility of the entire enterprise--dubious with many observers from the git-go--has been even more damaged by Simpson showing, once again, his true colors on the process.