The Best of Alan Simpson from the Catfood Commission

Now that the Tan Man has ordered $4 trillion in cuts by tomorrow for a debt ceiling bill,we can all rest easy because of the known rationality of the GOP. Dana Milbank has an excellent article on the Default Caucus--there really is such a thing--and why it's impossible to negotiate with these people. Dana quotes management science professors of how it's a mistake to empower marginal people unless they finally agree to a solution, otherwise you further endanger everybody. Good advice. Steve Benen recalls today at the Washington Monthly Juan Cole's phrase about tire irons and anthrax as a phrase used in 2009 about what Democrats would face with the new GOP. The original line was it's like saying to your wife,"Would you like to eat Italian tonight?" And she replies,"No, tire irons and anthrax." There is not a lot of room to compromise in such a situation.

The Left is back in high outrage over what President Obama offered Boehner for the "Grand Bargain". Paul Krugman is now going bipolar backing away from praising Obama's backbone to expressing horror at the cuts offered in Medicare and Medicaid. The Dailykos reminded its readers that President Obama really did campaign on reforming the entitlement programs and that he really did want a Grand Bargain and this was not a rope-a-dope maneuver. But where the Grand Bargain fell down was on tax revenues. Last night it was actually reported that Boehner had agreed to end the Bush tax cuts. This doesn't seem to be so. Another demand from the GOP was Obama eliminate the individual mandate from his health reform bill. He refused to do it. Others complain that the President should not have dissed Harry Reid by omitting him from the negotiations.

One consoling note was an internet poll by the Washington Post asking who's to blame for the failure of the negotiations. Number 1 by far was little Ricky Cantor--my wife got this right; and Number 2 was John Boehner. I guess there really is a public perception that Boehner can't control his Caucus and fears being toppled. The best line from Boehner was that he has the same responsibilities as the President. Cool, maybe he can go after Al Qaeda while he's at it.

The Karl Rove machine and Red State have started a campaign to go after Democrats for wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare again. Remember this was the success of Crosshairs USA during the 2010 campaign--coveniently forgetting that the House and Senate Republicans as a bloc have voted to literally eliminate Medicare. Red State also is targeting the young about Obama eliminating Social Security and Medicare for them.neglecting to mention that Paul Ryan's plan leave them high and dry.

Obama is experiencing his summer droop in the polls. Romney ties him in one and squeezes out a one-point victory in another. But remember Walter Mondale was winning by a landslide at this point in the Reagan administration. But there are other numbers of concern. Party identification among whites have shifted dramatically since 2008. Republicans have gained among poorer whites ,younger whites and among the elderly. Right now they have a 50-39% edge. Among all other groups, Democrats remain strong. A bit of poerspective--Democrats have not won a majority of white voters for several elections but this gap is worrisome for 2012. After that it won't mean as much.

So now for our guest tonight--Former Senator Alan Simpson, former co-chairman of the deficit-reduction commission, who was blasted during his tenure there for his comments on Social Security. Belinda Luscombe of Time interviewed him for this coming issue. As always, he is pithy and makes the current GOP look like a bunch of loons.

On the debt ceiling vote,"We were never globally connected like we are now. You can't play games."

Could the U.S. become the next Greece: Recalling Erskine Bowles statement,"We're the healthiest horse in the glue factor."

On Social Security: "Nobody's trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor old seniors. We're trying to make the damn system solvent! (Note: Reagan raised the FICA tax and cut a deal that actually made Social Security solvent to 2036 and then it would pay 80% of benefits.)

On Defense? : " We found enough fat in the Defense Department to send a truck of potato chips to tghe obese. Take one example, Tricare, a health care plan for 2.2 million military retirees, separate from the VA. The premium is $470 a year and there is no co-pay and the cost is $53 billion a year.

Medicare? "It doesn't matter if you call it "Obamacare" or "Elvis Presley care" or "I don't care care". It cannot sustain itself in its present form. You've got to reduce providers' and physicians' compensation, start charging co-pays and affluence-testing beneficiaries. You've got to make hospitals keep one set of books, not three."

On Grover Norquist's no-tax pledge: He wouldn't sign it. (Note: Why is anyone listening to Grover after his involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Rent Casino Jack to see his role.) "The revenue coming into the U.S. is 15% of GDP, which is the lowest since the Korean War. In the past 20 years, it has been 19% to 20%. If you can't move that a half-inch, then you're never going to get anywhere."

What's fascinating is that this debt ceiling issue is totally a man-made catastrophe. As Dana Milbank wrote, there really are politicians who actually want the United States to default--something these alleged conservatve constitutionalists don't understand is unconstitutional. If there is a default, make no mistake we get Instant Depression--not recession. It will be 2008 on steroids. Kiss all your savings, 501s and anything else you have-goodby. The dollar will no longer be the world's reserve currency so we will be sitting ducks for skyhigh interest rates. We will all have to consult our Latin American friends like Argentina about how to survive such a situation. My conservative friends with their military pensions will be wounded to discover they will have disappeared. Government contractors will not get paid and all their employees will be terminated. And since we all receive government benefits in various ways like home mortgage deductions, literally everyone will be seriously hurt. Over half of seniors depend on social security alone. This would be the ultimate death panel.

Now what great lesson would we have learned from the Default Caucus? Would we insist on smaller government. In a time of open social conflict, we would expect the government to act to embark on massive projects to save the country. It is beyond any imagination to see Jim DeMint being hailed as a hero. Of course, these conditions could usher in a fascist state totally controlled by the surviving corporations and whose order is maintained by an army, which would have to go back to a draft.

While some Republicans have publicly said they made a political mistake in picking a p;olitical fight over the debt ceiling--something that has never, ever been done before--and some even express a desire to call for a voice vote on the floor of the Congress, it looks like the hostage-taking will continue. Tomorrow John Boehner will try to recoup the political momentum and demand the President accept another unacceptable deal and the game will go on.

I'm still at the position that the President should invoke the 14th amendment for the world to see and risk impeachment by moving forward. The Republicans would never had done this if they didn't hate the idea of Barack Obama as President. So why not make it explicit?