Remembering Alan Simpson, and a Life Well Lived -- in and out of Politics

on Mar 18, 2025

SAN DIEGO -- I've known this day was coming. The end of the road isn't far off when you live to be 93 years old.

But it still hurts to say goodbye to a friend, mentor and teacher who was often on my mind, always in my corner and occasionally on my voicemail.

I remember one message that I couldn't bring myself to delete:

"Ruben my boy, this is Al Simpson. I'm here in Cody, Wyoming. With lovely wife Ann, and she sends her love. I've been reading your columns. Good stuff. You have a wonderful way about you. You have the ability to tell people to go to hell, in such a way that they look forward to the trip! It's a gift. I know this gift. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and tell you I'm proud of you -- and to keep giving it to them. So long, pal."

Now you see why it hurts. Excuse me. There is something in my eye. Where were we? Ah yes, a send-off for a legendary political figure the likes of which the American people will not see again.

Alan K. Simpson died last week in Cody, Wyoming, as he struggled to recover from a broken hip. Though born in Denver, it was Wyoming -- with its Western independent streak -- that lived in his bones. He grew up in Cody, where he raised 10 kinds of hell as a teenager with other misfits who thought a good time meant firing rifles at mailboxes. After a run-in with the law, he seemed likely to wind up in what he would call "the clink." Instead, he got probation and spent two years in the U.S. Army, which set him straight. He earned college and law degrees from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

"I didn't graduate cum laude," he'd say with a wry smile. "I graduated 'Thank the lordy.'"

Having not gone to jail, Simpson went into a line of work that people will often embark upon before heading to jail: politics. After being elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives, he made his way to The Show: The U.S. Senate, where he served from 1979 to 1997. He served as GOP majority whip from 1985 to 1987.

Ironically, while Simpson was tasked with keeping Republican senators in line, Senate GOP leadership often had a devil of a time trying to keep him in line. He worked with Democrats to co-sponsor what became the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. He broke with his party to support abortion rights and oppose mandatory sentencing for juvenile offenders.

After leaving Washington, Simpson taught politics and media at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. That's where we met in 1999. I was pursuing a master's degree after logging my first decade in journalism. We were kindred spirits. He always had a kind word for me, and he offered sound career advice.

Over the next 15 years, we would see each other a few more times as he traveled the country giving speeches or when he invited me to speak at the University of Wyoming.

In 2010, Simpson served as co-chair, with Erskine Bowles, of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Appointed by Obama, the Commission was tasked with shaving off $4 trillion from the national debt through tax hikes and spending cuts. Easy peasy. Their plan never made it past the front door in Congress.

On a personal level, here's what you need to know. Like me, my friend hit the jackpot. While in college when he "thought beer was food," he met a stunning young woman who was out of his league -- and somehow convinced her to marry him.

Simpson beat out other suitors in the process, including some who he described as handsome fellas who "looked like Tony Curtis." But the lanky college athlete won the heart of "LWA" -- his lovely wife Ann, to whom he was married for 70 years and with whom he had three children -- because, she would tell him: "You were fun."

Boy, was he. Covering politics, I still use a Simpsonism to describe those who behave like the "south end of a horse headed north."

Working on debt reduction, he made enemies by the day. At one point, Ann teased him: "Congratulations, Al. You finally achieved your life's goal. Everyone hates you."

Well, not everyone. As you can tell, I was quite fond of the man.

Nice going, Al. Yours was a life well lived. Thanks for looking out. While you're up there, keep giving it to them. So long, pal.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.