From a Bloomberg overview of what we might call Simpson-Bowles-ism comes this typically blunt, salty, hilarious assessment by former Sen. Alan Simpson of the sequester:
“I’ve never seen anything like it in 81 years of life. They’ve dug their own snare!” He was referring to Congress and the $1.2 trillion sequestration cuts that were then about to bite. “They put it there because they knew they’d never be stupid enough to let that happen. Well, every day that goes by proves that they are. So that’s the difference right there. It doesn’t matter whether we go over the cliff or under the cliff. These guys have put their nuts in a vise.”
A vise…
…and now, they’re leaning on the bar that tightens it.
As a friend of mine, older and wiser (which makes him VERY old, if not necessarily wise) puts it, “You can’t fix stupid.”
Shows Simpson’s insularity.
None of these nihilists will lose their regular tables at the finest Capitol Hill steakhouses over this. The establishment media will still kowtow to them. Their constituents, oblivious and nihilist alike, will keep electing them. It’s a couple hundred million other folks whose (figurative) nuts are in the vise.
Nail on head
Exactly. The Beltway establishment isn’t going to suffer. It’s the ordinary American that always gets hit.
To quote Paul Krugman from Eric’s earlier post:
“why do people keep treating Alan Simpson as a wise man?”
yea
Really Simpson ? This guy had always been on the cutting edge of well using his word”stupid !” And he along with the Clinton Democrat helped get the sequester hysteria rolling. Now he wants off the hook. There surely more studied people to go. But ya know they are quotable or funny,