"A Milk Cow With 310 Million Tits"

So. President Obama—because he loves bipartisanship so, so much—selected former Republican Senator Alan Simpson to co-chair his National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. And Simpson—because he is a conservative and conservatives hate Social Security so, so much—has continually stated that substantial reforms to Social Security are the key to fixing the deficit.

Well, he is wrong. And in April of this year, Ashley B. Carson, the director of OWL, the Older Women's League, wrote a column saying he is wrong—and additionally calling him out on his use of ageist and sexist rhetoric.

Someone evidently forwarded Carson's column to Simpson recently, and he decided to email Carson (pdf) to let her know what he thought of her piece (emphasis mine):

Dear Ms. Carson,

Someone was good enough to forward me your column of "Enough with the Pink Panthers Bit" of April 27, 2010.

Some of what you say is true. Much is not – but that's nothing new about public life for me! I have news for you too, my friend. There may be no group called the Pink Panthers working to protect Social Security but I sure as hell am! I've spent many years in public life trying to stabilize that system while people like you babble into the vapors about "disgusting attempts at ageism and sexism" and all the rest of that crap.

Now hold on tight, because you won't like what I'm sending you. You may obviously be aware that the Social Security system is "in trouble." If you don't agree with that, then there is no need to read any further. But I wish to share with you the presentation by Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration on May 12, 2010 to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. If you think the statistics on poverty for seniors are alarming – then you need to read this little pamphlet to know what is really alarming.

If we can't get a handle on this system and make it sustainable and assure long term solvency, and make some changes that are "minor" at the present time and will become "major" as each year passes, then take a look at the chart on Page 6 which I hope you are able to discern if you are any good at reading graphs – or anything that might challenge your biases and prejudices.

Anyway, have a look at it and if you should choose, you might communicate with me. If you have some better suggestions about how to stabilize Social Security instead of just babbling into the vapors, let me know. And yes, I've made some plenty smart cracks about people on Social Security who milk it to the last degree. You know 'em too. It's the same with any system in America. We've reached a point now where it's like a milk cow with 310 million tits! Call when you get honest work!

Al

I have but two questions:

1. Is there anyone in the Obama administration who doesn't have nothing but undiluted contempt for activists, who doesn't take any opportunity offered them to crow about their own super-exceptional dedication to the betterment of the US while condescendingly demeaning as woefully ignorant anyone who deigns to criticize, or even disagree with, their strategies?

2. Is Obama going to ask for Simpson's resignation, or is the president totally okay with someone he personally appointed not only referring to Social Security (or the US government in its entirety?) as "a milk cow with 310 million tits" and telling a prominent women's rights activist that her concerns about his ageist and sexist rhetoric are "crap"?

Sign the petition calling for Simpson's removal here.

[H/T to Spudsy, who got it from HuffPo. Related Reading: Get a Life.]