WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama “walked away” from his bipartisan U.S. deficit-cutting commission’s plan “because he knew he’d be torn to bits,” said former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, who was co-chairman of the panel.
Obama is “terrified” of the deficit issue, Simpson said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend. “He didn’t deal with it” in his annual State of the Union address to Congress on Jan. 24.
Jamie Smith, a White House spokeswoman, declined to comment.
Simpson also said the Republican presidential candidates are “almost like robots” in their steadfast aversion to any taxes as a way to help shrink the country’s $1.3 trillion deficit.
He saved his sharpest criticism for Newt Gingrich, who served as House speaker during the end of Simpson’s 18 years in office.
“He caused us more pain,” Simpson, 80, said. “He was Newt first, Republicans second, country third.”
Simpson headed Obama’s commission along with Erskine Bowles, a White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton. The $3.9 trillion, 10-year Simpson-Bowles plan included about $2.2 trillion in spending cuts, $673 billion in reduced interest payments and $1 trillion in tax increases.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers rejected it because of its mix of taxes and cuts in entitlement programs.
Simpson called it a “bizarre exercise” for Republicans in Congress to sign activist Grover Norquist’s no-tax-increase pledge.
The Republican presidential candidates “should have a little mark on the inside, ‘Grover Norquist Owns Me’ ” he said, calling Norquist “the most powerful man in the United States of America right now.”
A budgetary time bomb is set to go off at the end of this year when Bush-era tax cuts will expire, slashing the paychecks of all taxpayers. At the same time, $1 trillion in automatic cuts in government spending will begin taking effect in January.
The spending reductions were designed to be so draconian that they would force a budget-cutting “supercommittee” to agree on a plan for reducing the government’s trillion-dollar deficits. Like a succession of budget-reducing groups before it, the panel deadlocked last year over proposed tax increases and cuts to politically sensitive programs such as Medicare.
Simpson predicted Congress would find a way to continue avoiding the issue and the automatic cuts, known in Washington as a “sequester.”
“If it gets bad enough and howling goes on from the special interest groups,” he said, Congress “may even pass a law to get rid of the sequester.”
On immigration, Simpson said all four Republican presidential candidates seem anti-immigrant, calling it a “trigger point” issue in Florida, which holds its primary Jan. 31. At Thursday’s debate, Gingrich and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney traded insults about immigration.
“If you have 11 million or 12 million or 13 million people in the United States that are here illegally, you going to go hunt for them?” Simpson asked. “I don’t want to be part of a country” that does that.
Republicans standing steadfast in no tax increase. They are then accused ob being someone else’s “property”. Nice way of inserting a racist tone in this “article”.
What race are you accusing Mr. Simpson and Ms. Bycowicz of discriminating against or being antagonistic towards? The “congress critter” race? While this conjures up an image for a great political cartoon with Norquist as the plantation owner and all the republican senators as his scrawny dirty slaves, it is patently ridiculous. When a man such as Alan Simpson says Norquist is the most powerful man in America then we should pay attention. I personally think the idea of electing representatives who are beholden to big money special interests is worthy of close examination. I will NEVER vote for one, nor for an ALEC member for the same reason.
The left frequently accuse the right of being racist. This article is used to continue this lie through subtle innuendo. This is my observation. You seem a little sensitive about my comment. Feeling guilty?
No.
Sen. Simpson, Mr. Bowles, Pres. Obama: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Alan Simpson’s a RINO, always has been.
Why? Because he questions the sanity of people who can’t make their mortgage payments, keep buying a new car each year, and refuse to even CONSIDER getting a second job? That’s how Brother Norquist suggests the Rs run the country.
Ya the defficit left to us By Ex-Presicent Bush is enough to scare the pants off of anyone. The Defficit now being made by Govnor LaPage is just as bad. President Obama is a great man. One of the best President’s we have ever had!
ACTIONS–NOT
MORE WORDS ARE NEEDED, TO END THIS ILLEGAL ALIEN OCCUPATION.
It’s
really loathsome the way Liberal Progressives and the left oriented press twist
the facts about the illegal immigration occupation. For every class of person
who slips past the border fence illegally or just lies to the immigration and
customs agent at airline terminals, fully aware that they are not going home to
their foreign home. These are not IMMIGRANTS; these are illegal immigrants or
aliens who are disrespectful to America’s laws. On entry they are not initially
placed in any category, that is until their visa period runs out; they are not
here unlawfully. However those who climb fences, or mislead agents with
fraudulent documents are illegal. Yet so far the United States Citizenship
& Immigration Services (USCIS) have been redundant in not making over-stays
or border entry an illegal act–thanks to a Congress that have abused our
enforcement laws for years; it is still a simple civil matter.
Entry
without permission should be a felony, as it is in Mexico or any other foreign
country. So entry is not a criminal conviction, but stealing an innocent
victims ID is, so those persons have committed a felony. So how can Obama with
presidential discretion release the majority of illegal aliens back into
mainstream America? To get work and exist here, they must have a verifiable
Social Security number for taxes. Cannot American taxpayers see that we are being
played as idiots? It’s a felony when you steal somebody’s SSN, gain a job, and
build a credit profile in some other individual’s name? There are two ways of
collecting on public entitlements and that is through forged or stolen personal
identification.
How do you think illegal aliens can acquire welfare entitlements, other than
smuggling in a fetus by a pregnant mother and then demanding instant
recognition for the baby as a U.S. citizen? Once inside the U.S jurisdiction
Americans weighed down with huge debts from wars, the stimulus package and
other controversial financial accounting are forced by unfunded court mandates to
support the Mother and baby through k-12 education. U.S. citizens or lawful
residents cannot escape it? Certain influences within the judiciary said you
must give sustenance to every impoverished person, who gains illegal entrance
to this country. Americans have no say in their future, as it’s already been
ordained by the wealthy elites in both political parties. Both GOP and Dems are
equally to blame, for this nation being on the edge of financial ruin. We have
only one measure to express ourselves and escape from the greedy hands of those
perpetually in power and that is through the TEA PARTY movement. Is Mitt
Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum true measures of a TEA PARTY advocate? Ron
Paul is the nearest we that has been accepted, but all the political obstacles
are there to crush this man’s chance of passing the final furlong to the
presidency?
We have already seen the judicial torture that the stand-alone states have
taken upon themselves, to fiscally survive under the unwavering costs illegal
aliens have taken upon Arizona. Billions of dollars to support foreign
nationals in this frontier border state of drug smugglers, people smugglers,
kidnapping, home invasion robbery and homicides that are prevailing. But
President Obama will do nothing about it; he has removed the small deployment
of National Guard troops and even previously, they were only there to observe.
No guns allowed? Americans are now
barred from even entering certain regions, as drug cartels have forcibly
commandeered this side of the border. Why military Special Op’s not gone in and
wiped them out?
The Border Patrol has limited resources to
curtail this impossible invasion, but our government have unlimited dollars to
invest in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even Israel has a better border wall than we
have, that could easily separate us from the violence and carnage happening south
of the border. But now it’s beginning to spill over, with the prior criminal
alien murderers who killed a lone rancher on his own land. Arizona Governor Jan
Brewer offered President Obama a tour of the border, but he was not interested.
Why was this man reluctant to go and see the daily nightmare scene, with the
continence coming and going of different perpetrators and even terrorist groups
from the Middle East? Even today the border remains a wide open expanse, with
some areas only fenced with a few strands rusty barbed wire.
The Liberals, Unions and even the major churches still think America should
absorb every foreign visitor or every illegal migrant, even though these
entities would pay nothing towards their monetary support? Under their foolish direction this land could
be overrun with even more abject poverty than what we have now. Then again,
ObamaCare will treat anybody with the compliments of US taxpayers. We will all
be forced by law to pay our fair-share of taxes into his massive healthcare
pool in future years. Not only have to accept paying for our own low income,
homeless people, but the absconders from other lands? We will become the United
Nations of PPO’s, HMO’s that will bankrupt this nation? We are already sliding into a giant mire, but
we can at least take release some of the intense pressure by the example of
Mitt Romney statement; that we can still exercise a citizen’s right in
demanding the ‘Legal Workforce Act’ or Mandatory E-Verify (H.R. 2885).
This
is true unadulterated immigration enforcement, by driving illegal aliens into
self-deportation. The US Government has nothing to do, but audit business or
listen to informants or whistle-blowers that have a front row seat, well aware of
companies not complying with E-Verify? Once a few business owners see the
inside of a prison cell or get fined millions of dollars the word will emanate
around the country. These tough sanctions for violating the law will be determined
to be an absolute deterrent if they hire illegal labor. The second urgent bill
is the “Citizenship Birthright Amendment bill (H.R.140),
which will derail the persistence of any illegal alien, of any national gaining
immediate citizen for their baby and thereby unable to collect welfare
benefits, that only citizens should have the approval.
Outside
of the radical manipulation of the Liberal press, read THE TRUE FACTUAL daily
news columns at “American Patrol” Site.
Britain
has finally wizened up to the poorly enforced immigration that has been
fermenting for years? Same should by for America, as an the UK, the
Immigration Minister Damian Green said, “those wishing to live in Britain will
have to show “genuine serious usefulness to British society” and
prove they are not totally dependent on benefits.” Dump all the Governors, Judges, Mayors and other elected official that
are not pro-sovereignty and support illegal immigration.
Only the American people have the unique power of the vote, to descend on any
given political representative and insist they co-sponsor these laws? If you
think for one minute that either party without your pressing by voters that
politicians are going to support either of these laws without you harassing
them; nothing will happen, ever? One thing’s for sure that paying out over $113
billion dollars a year in pandering to 22 million plus illegal aliens is not
going away and the cold facts is the dollar amount is not going to fade? The public assistance programs are going to
accelerate under this administrations Socialist dependency? It’s just going to
grow as well as the overpopulation of this nation. Are we to face shortages of
everything in our future? Learn the absolute truths at NumbersUSA. The
E-Verify program must be succeeding as 4 Democrats have now co-sponsored this
bill and you too should contact your federal or local lawmaker’s at 202-224-3121
and demand it.
REMEMBER NON-CITIZENS DO VOTE IN ALL
ELECTIONS AND WILL AGAIN IN 2012, WHILE DEMOCRATS LOOK THE OTHER WAY.
http://brittanicus-enoughisenough.blogspot.com/
California
and especially the Sanctuary county of Los Angeles is in serious financial
trouble, like many other cities throughout America. Most citizens-legal
residents have no idea or just too busy trying to locate a job, to realize that
illegal alien families are robbing their state treasuries blind. Not millions,
but billions are being soaked up by welfare programs, instituted by the
Democrats in Sacramento and elsewhere across this nation.
Being silent on this
issue?
The truth is being kept locked up
mostly by the Liberal news media. No bank, Mortgage Company wants to be
associated with this mess, which even now is unresolved? The foreclosure mess
was implemented by the illegal alien occupation in the form of NINA loans, were
poor foreign nationals were able to purchase homes without any financial credit
profile; no credit, no secured buying power. Although the problem was
additionally magnified, it was government and its political hacks that
threatened banks, if they didn’t loan to low income persons. (Google “NINA”
loans and add term fraud”); you will be amazed of the many reports on this
subject, that the politicians do not want you to see?
Can you even comprehend lending money
to people with no income? Not even a decent well paying job, receiving $200.000
to $500.000 loans to buy homes and at the same time, living with illegal
parents living foothold infants collecting food stamps? This happened
throughout America and amazingly renting out the property and placing other
illegal alien families, pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars and even
having the impudence to default on the mortgages. You know what happened when
“You know what” hit the fan and the whole home-ownership system collapsed. The
original mortgage owners disappeared no even bothering to pay the electricity,
gas, trash and other bill, vanishing as they did with copious amounts of cash
to their countries of origin. Billions of dollars vanished leaving county
governments intimidating banks, to clean up swimming pools, trash and damaged
properties. Hundreds of lawful
scroungers with cash brought these homes and took advantage of this crazy
fiasco and that why the real truth is being concealed. Then you will be
wondering why your taxes are skyrocketing as the real betrayer’s of this
massive scam escaped prosecution.
Lord (and the BDN) preserve us from cut-and-paste tomes that gobump in the night … (more like thud).
Fiscal reponsibility is not the dominion of one party over the other, but the duty of Anericans to each other.
Signing Norquist’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge (atr.org) appears to be a violation of the Code of Ethics for Government Service. Rule 6 admonishes lawmakers to “Make no private promises of any kind binding upon the duties of office…” Read about the Code at Pages 20 and 436 of the House and Senate Ethics Manuals, respectively, at http://www.ethics.house.gov and http://www.ethics.senate.gov . Call on Congress to enforce the Code of Ethics for Government Service.
With the exception of blaming the President for the failure of the bipartisan committee, Simpson has some excellent points, remarkabable (and unusual) for a Republican.