Today’s the day of Democrats calling for firings, I guess. On top of Tom Perriello wanting Tim Geithner to step down, Elaine Marshall, the Senate candidate who is close to even in polls against Republican incumbent Richard Burr in North Carolina, announced in a speech today that Alan Simpson should resign as co-chair of the deficit commission.

“Alan Simpson’s remarks were disrespectful to women and to social security recipients. He should resign or the President should fire him,” Marshall said, speaking at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte.

“The fact that he thinks this way shows that he can’t do his job with an open mind. We should be doing everything in our power to strengthen and protect Social Security, not attacking the recipients who depend on it.”

Simpson sent a series of derisive emails to critics, not only filled with name-calling and attacks but reflecting a staggeringly ignorant view of Social Security. He apologized for the name-calling, but most of the groups calling for his resignation didn’t let up. As Marshall says, the emails show that Simpson “can’t do his job with an open mind.” This has been true for a long time now, as Simpson has an unbroken 30-year record of advocating benefit cuts. He shouldn’t come within 1,000 feet of any decision over retirement security, given his predisposition.

That Marshall would make this statement in the midst of trying to win a Senate race in a Southern state shows how Simpson really crossed the line here, damaging not just his reputation but the credibility of the cat food commission entirely.

For the record, FDL has a petition out escalating the dispute and calling for the President to disband the commission altogether.

UPDATE: Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) called on Simpson to be fired as well. His full release is available here.