Stick around long enough in Washington, and everything does happen. The party of Abraham Lincoln eventually rallied against the Civil Rights Act. The individual mandate eventually became a left-wing idea. Democrats eventually argued for a cut in payroll taxes, depriving Social Security of its much needed revenue stream. Today we see another headscratcher: The Republican National Committee puts out a press release slamming President Obama for not embracing the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission, the same commission that raises taxes by $1 trillion, and which House Republican leaders unanimously opposed just a year ago.
The president’s “National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform,” chaired by Democrat Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, held its first official meeting this morning at the White House. Speaking about the endeavor, Obama pointed to the challenges financial crisis and economic downturn thrust on the government and the necessities of the stimulus [...]
Back in the days when I first arrived in Washington, Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming was one of my favorite people to seek out. That was pretty much the case with just about every other reporter in town, too. Simpson was always good for a salty quote; more importantly, he had a way of looking [...]
