recently, alan simpson sat down to tell us why. >> alan simpson is a wyoming truth teller. if you look in the dictionary, says saysinty 0-- it flinty and it has his picture. >> alan simpson and erskine bowles reported back from their commission one year ago. >> if we continue to say we can get this done without touching medicare, medicaid, social security, defense, just give them the course/. there is a tipping -point come- -- give them the horse lash. it will come from the market that says this is a dysfunctional political system in the united states. the guy who gets hurt the most is the one they all talk about and moan about, the little guy. >> as members of congress continue to deliberate, he looks further afield at other countries grappling with similar issues. this was before the debt crisis began to affect france. >> if they do not recognize the importance of just doing a plan, why is it that the markets germany or england or france. we do not have a plan. >> alan simpson spent 18 years in the senate, a time when things were done differently. he says he despairs of a

but alan simpson is a flinty, wyoming -- >> alan simpson is a flinty, wyoming, true tower. >> it has been 18 months since president obama asked alan simpson and errors involved to come up with a plan for cutting america's debt -- and erskine bowles to come up with a plan for cutting america's thdebt. >> if we continue to hear politicians say we can get this done without touching social security, medicare, defense -- just give them the horselaugh. there is a tipping public coming, not from politicians, economists, wizards, and thus and bankers -- investment bankers. it will come from the market. bam, but will go the interest rate, the inflation. the guy who gets first -- up will go the interest rate, the inflation. the guy who gets hurt first will be the little guy. >> congress continues deliberate without much sign of consensus. our interview was conducted before europe's debt crisis began to affect france. >> are the healthiest horse -- we are the healthiest horse in the glue factory now. germany and france have a plan. it may not be worth a --, but it is a plan. we don't have a pla

alan simpson, here's what he said about mr. grover norquist. >> former. >> if this guy is the most powerful guy in america, elect him president. he's got them. he can't murder you, he can't burn your house. the only thing he can do for you is beat you for re-election. if that means for to you than your country and extremity, you shouldn't be in congress. >> what say you? >> alan simpson is old enough to have been in congress and voted for the '82 budget deal which was supposed to give $3 of spending cuts for every dollar of tax increase. spending increased more rapidly after that deal. tax increases real, spending cuts weren't. eight years later having learned nothing in 1982, he did it again. $2 promised of spending cuts for every dollar of tax increase. tax increase was real. spending cuts weren't. the rest of the modern republican party watched alan simpson vote in '82 and '90 for a budget deal which led to tax increases and spending increases. no spending restraint at all. and learned, don't do that. alan simpson is old eno

alan simpson the former senator from wyoming told them that. he said you need a credible deal that the bond markets will respect, that the american people will respect. that's really what all this is about. it's getting people in a tough political environment to make tough decisions in a politically polarized environment to make a deal and make some tough decisions and difficult for them politically. >> woodruff: is there any tangible evidence of progress? >> there is no tangible evidence of proceed progress but we can't read too much into that because the committee has been very, very good at holding its card close to its chest. >> reporter: the leaks were tactical. those were the kinds of leaks that members of congress make in a negotiation when they want to lay their position out or they want to immunize themselves, you know, being reasonable when the other side maybe isn't being reasonable. if this ultimately heads for failure and the super committee has to fold its cards and go home they've made the leak now to show each side we made a cre

>> alan simpson: ( snorts ) >> kroft: simpson gleefully accepts that he is one of norquist's republicanairman of the national commission on fiscal responsibility, which recommended that some tax increases would be necessary to solve the nation's debt problem. simpson has no use for norquist. >> simpson: he may well be the most powerful man in america today. so if that's what he wants, he's got it. you know, he's a megalomaniac, egomaniac, whatever you want to call him. if that's his goal, he's damn near there. he ought to run for president, because that will be his platform-- "no taxes, under any situation, even if your country goes to hell." >> kroft: simpson also wants to know where norquist and americans for tax reform, with its multimillion-dollar budget, gets its money. >> simpson: when you get this powerful, and he is, then it's, "where do you get your scratch, grover?" is it two people? is it ten million people? the american people demand to know where you get your money, grover, babe. >> kroft: but under federal law, "grover, babe," as simpson calls him, and americans for tax re

ladies and gentlemen, senator alan simpson.pplause] our next guest, robert gibbs, has been an adviser and strategist for president obama says the early days his senate race. he has served as president obama's press secretary. he began his political career through an internship with former congressman glenn brown of alabama. he went on a specialized campaign serving as communications director for the democratic senatorial campaign committee and for individual senate campaigns including those of fritz hollings and senator obama in 2004. he joined the cadet obama's senate campaign as sennott -- as communications director and served until becoming senior strategist for communications during the general election. members of the media have often noted his quick wit -- quick wit and candid style. having spent many years as a close adviser to the president, robert gibbs is able to offer an insider's perspective on current issues. ladies and gentleman, please welcome robert gibbs. [applause] karl rove as precedent of karl rove and -- ka

been mentioned prominently throughout the week here in washington, and in profiles done of you, alan simpson, who we've been talking about, head of the simpson/bowles commission, he was interviewed in a profile about you, for "60 minutes" and this is what he said. >> he may well be the most powerful man in america today. so if that's what he wants, he's got it. you know, he's a megalomaniac, ego maniac, whatever you want to call him, if that's his goal. he's down there. he ought to run for president, because that would be his platform, no taxes under any situation, even if your country goes to hell. >> what do you say to that? >> well, look, the tax issue is a very important issue. it's odd some people have tried to personalize it. but, the american people have had their taxes raised in the past. in 1982 the democrats said, jeerks if you let us raise taxes, we'll cut spending $3 for every dollar of tax increase. taxes were raised, spending didn't go down. spending went up. same thing happened in 1990. although george bush, or george herbert walker bush was promised $2 in phony spending cuts

>> hailing from a family that was heavily involved in law and politics, it's no surprise that alan simpson has held distinguished positions in both fields. a third generation lawyer. simpson earned his law degree from the university of wyoming, after serving overseas in the army, he practiced law in wyoming briefly as assistant attorney general and ten years as city attorney in his home town of cody. following in the foot steps of this hour two served as a governor and senator. simpson served in the wyoming house of representatives for 13 years, holding the he was0s majority whip, majority floor leader, and speaker pro tem. the was then elected for three terms in the u.s. senate and was named by his peers to the position of assistant major leader for ten years. he served as the direct you or the institute of politics at harvard university roz john f. kennedy school of government before returning to his mall matter, the university of wyoming, as a visiting lecturer in the political science department. his class, wyoming's political identity, it's history and politics, is one of the most pop

former senator alan simpson, co-chair on president obama's super committee. how to move forward after the super failure. >> you are hereby pardoned. >> and speaking of turkeys, one of the most important presidential responsibilities and a time-honored tradition at the white house. >>> and good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. it was the key moment of the debate, newt gingrich taking a hard left on immigration policy and getting slammed for supporting amnesty. >> i don't see how the party that says it's the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here for a quarter century, and i'm prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane and enforcing the law without giving them citizenship, but by finding a way to create legality. >> amnesty is a magnet. when we have had in the past programs that have said that people who have come here legal are going to get to stay here legally for the rest of their life, that's going to encourage more to come here illegally. >> chief washington corresponden

grover norquist has been called the most powerful man in america by alan simpson. he joins me now. thank you, mr. norquist, for coming on the show. >> sure, delighted to be with you. >> your tax pledge was singled out by the president yesterday. you've deferred speculation that you may, in fact, control the universe saying the real power behind your pledge lies with the american public. that said, recent polls from cnn, bloomberg, the washington post and gallup find that 7 in 10 americans oppose hiring taxes. >> well, the taxpayer protection pledge is signed -- it's a written commitment by a candidate for office, house or senate. also at the governor level and state legislature level. two, they're voters, if you elect them, they won't raise your taxes, they will not do anything to raise net tax revenue. you can have a tax reform, but not a tax increase. it's a public commitment to voters. and i think it's a good idea that people keep their public commitments. if somebody wants their taxes raised, then you should vote for the candidate who's in favor of tax increases, not for the ca

alan simpson, you know, i have to ask. here and now the supercommittee has failed, who knows, maybe the simpson hbowles plan will -- i spoke with a response to the response about the failure of the supercommittee. >> if you put 12 other members of congress, i don't think you would have gotten that agreement either. it might take another election before we get this thing resolved. >> another election. so alan simpson, do you agree with him, that by failing to act meaningfully on the debt, our elected officials have essentially punted the ball back to the voter? >> oerh, yeah, and this next ye is going to be chaos. the contagion, politics, the year, the president sitting out, democrats, republicans, goofies from the right and left, this next year is going to be really something but i think in the final, final, final point, that those people who don't step forward and be courageous and honest about what to do, and they all know what to do, we specifically set it out. if they don't come forward courageously, the guys who chicke

this, of course, was the panel that was convened, it was set up by praums, alan simpson, former senator of wyoming republican, erskine bowles, a democrat. it did call for tax increases. it did call for cutting benefits to social security and medicare. it did call for sweeping tax reform. is there a prospect of some revival of simpson/bowles now? >> yes. i believe this is a contrarian view, but we have a good chance of actually getting the big package, big deficit reduction in 2012 for two reasons -- three reasons, really. first, the knives that i mentioned that were over our heads, the bush tax cuts expire in 2013. sequestration goes into effect in 2013. now that seems a year and a month away. but as we get closer and closer and closer, the pressure on both parties to come together in the middle, provided we don't remove one of those knives, like taking defense off the table, is going to be stronger and stronger. second, the republican primaries will end right now the republican primary the candidates and then their senate and congressional supporters to the right. you know, all of them

first of all, let me say, alan simpson is one of my favorite people. erskine bowles i've known for a long, long time. i think collectively, the four of them have done great work for the american people. we have used their suggestions. i was a member of the biden group. we studied their proposals and we are still looking at them. we are talking to the gang of six. we are taking all of their suggestions seriously. we're working on those things and we're trying to find, as speaker boehner said, common ground. we're going through a process. we know what the time line is. and we're on target to meet our goal of getting to where we need to be on time. and so just because we don't rush out of the gate with something, i've told people, my favorite fable growing up was the turtle and the hare. we're steady and on target. >> the clock is ticking. and i'm sure you know that one of the things erskine bowles said is he's afraid you'll fail. what are the chances of that, congressman? >> there's always a chance to fail. but with every chance to fail is a chance to su

former senator alan simpson warneded the super committee that washington needs to wake up. >> if you spend more than you earn you lose your butt. if you spend a buck and borrow 42 cents of it you got to be stupid. >> reporter: today's failure triggers budget cuts in 2013. a range of domestic programs from education to agriculture with smaller cuts to medicare. but the defense department faces a steep $550 billion cut that alarms defense secretary leon panetta. >> it's a ship without sailors. it's a brigade without bullets. it's an air wing without enough trained pilots. >> reporter: tonight republicans are drafting legislation to prevent those cuts to the defense department and pushing back against the president's veto threat. john mccain saying tonight he recommends the president have a conversation with secretary panetta to learn about the effects on the defense department. brian? >> so, kelly, let's step back. net-net, where does this all stand, this entire mess, as we speak tonight? >> reporter: it gives us a story line for the 2012 election year, brian. they do have time to find

you heard the warnings from alan simpson and bowles and alice rivlin and everybody else yesterday. what are the chances your committee will go big and come up with a bigger deal phased in down the road when the economy is stronger, but a big enough deal to, you know, impress markets, to try to set the economy on a better path, and to, of course, avoid the sequestration, the automatic cuts? >> and i yeah, for all the reasons you just mentioned and because we've seen examples of how you can go big, you can be bold and do it all by being balanced in your approach, we should follow the guidance offine bowles, former senator alan simpson, pete dmen chirks former senator and former budget director alice rivlin and go big and be bold and do it in a balanced way so that everybody in america knows they have a little skin in the game. everyone is putting little in to get a little out. >> what about the possibility of entitlements? a balanced approach would mean taxes, entitlements, defense cuts, and that would mean you'd have to be going up against your base, the democratic caucus, in this l

alan simpson. so we're -- we want to get our jobs bill done. the supercommittee is working hard to get their jobs done. it's hard to do with grover norquist leading the charge for the republicans. >> senator reid. >> sir you said earlier in the year that social security should -- doesn't contribute to the deficit and so in the deficit reduction area, entitlements are fair game but not social security. do you support the plan, the proposal that the democrats advanced to slow the growth of colas? >> any question you have about what has gone on in the super committee, talk to the 12 members there. i'm not negotiating this deal, they're doing it. >> senator what are your expectations of the supercommittee with the deadline looming? >> my expectation, what i shouth would have been really good for the world and the country would be to do the grand bargain, the big deal. it started with boehner and the president some time ago, the speaker and the president, months and months ago. but my friend, john boehner, wants this grand bargain without any sacrif

. >> reporter: former republican senator alan simpson co-chaired a bipartisan commission with bowles that identified more than $4 trillion worth of debt reduction. despite months of closed more door meetings this supercommittee of six democrats and six republicans is struggling to identify just $1.2 trillion in savings. the issues dividing them are medicare and taxes. the panelists today agreed the only way to meaningfully reduce the nation's $14 trillion debt is to restructure ballooning health programs-- particularly medicare-- and to overhaul the nation's tax code to boost competition and raise revenue. former republican senator pete domenici had harsh words for members who only want to do one or the other. >> they are both complicit in letting america destroy itself because we don't want to make tough decisions. >> reporter: the committee's job is made tougher by the hundreds of trade groups and corporations seeking meetings and airing ads in an attempt to protect their piece of the budget. yarp is fighting for proposed cuts to medicare. >> we are 50 million seniors who earned ou

as alan simpson promised, in addition to all the accusations, waving the bible talking about exorcisms -- >> that was a moment. [laughter] >> but he did not go away with the hearing. if followed you for quite some time. there were security issues, practically emotional torture to the extent that even friends of yours were forced to move from oklahoma. little packages of what you described as a fecal matter were sent in the mail to you. there were constant security issues for you for quite a bit of time and even to the present. >> it is a testament to my friends and colleagues that i was able to continue. there was pressure at the university of oklahoma for me to be fired. it was coming from officials, legislators, state legislators. when that did not work, there were threats to the existence of the law school and the funding of the law school. that was an effort for my colleagues to turn against me. one of the women who was on the faculty then -- i believe she is here. shirley was with me on the team and came with me from oklahoma to help out in any way that she could. she ultimately d

senator alan simpson is here to tell us why he says enough is enough, and no one quite says it like alan's coming up. bill: that's true. yeah. everything that comes out of his mouth is another quote you can put on the mantle. jenna: that's right. bill: thank you. see you in ten minutes. eric holder facing calls to resign over fast and furious. what will the ag say in return? this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. where they grow america's favorite wpotoes. idaho, everyone knows idaho potatoes taste great. but did you know they'reood for you too? they're high in vitamins and potassium. and idaho potatoes are now certified to carry the heart checkmark from the american heart assoction for foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol. so they're good for my family, and for yours. heart smart idaho potatoes. always look for th

that was former senator alan simpson talking to us yesterday about what to do about the debt crisis, at each side should do and he was talking about congresswoman cynthia lummis of wyoming and she is our guest. senator simpson said we should invite you on, congresswoman. we made good on that. we want to learn more about you. what do you think of that endorsement by senator simpson? >> i've known senator simpson since the 1970s. it's wonderful to have him, in agreement with where we need to go. you know, the best plan out there was paul ryan's budget. it would have him it understand the debt, deficit and done it without raising taxes. the next best plan is connie mack's plan that would completely cut the deficit in seven years if we freeze spending and drop it 1% a year. neither of those is acceptable to the democrats. meanwhile, our debt is just going up and up and up. it will pass gdp next week. so, we absolutely have to get to the a place where we can go truly big. we need to cowboy up and get to the point where we have a plan that is so big and comprehensive and inclusive that no o

megyn: is alan simpson right?aarp's position not to reform social security or medicare threatening the financial future of our country? we'll have a fair and balanced debate on that in 30 minutes right here. >>> back now to our breaking news. the be man accused of shooting at the white house making his first court appearance. authorities say oscar ortega hernandez fired an assault rifle at the white house friday night. secret service service says two bullets hit the a window in the president's residence. he was arrested in a pennsylvania hotel. there are lots of questions about motive. wendell goler has more live at the white house. wendell? >> reporter: megyn, oscar ortega hernandez is having a initial appearance before judge cynthia eddie at the u.s. district court in pittsburghburg. he will be informed of the charges against him. will be offer attorney if he doesn't have one. almost certainly won't be offered bail. he was picked up yesterday in indiana, pennsylvania, 30 miles from pittsburgh after a hotel clerk

my best guess is that the probability is very low that they will. >> alan simpson, if $1.2 trillion isot enough, my guess is that you two wonder if they will even get to that at this stage. is that a fair characterization? >> first, i want to reflect on that thing before the last panel started. the work fiscal looks like -- right down there. all these great things were said and i found that fascinating. we do not use charts. we do not use powerpoint. we speak all over the country together. this is a magnificent man. if you spend more than you earn, you lose your butt. if you spend a buck and spend -- and or 40 cents of it, you worst to bed. doing that today and tomorrow and the next day, you have got to be dull. and that is where we are. why is it not moving? what is happening? the $4 trillion is an absolute -- we thought it would be something they could swallow. we thought we could restore the solvency of social security without balancing the budget on the backs of poor old singers. stick your finger down the throat the next time you hear that baby. we protect social security for its