Coburn: No Presidential Run For Me

Senator Tom Coburn says "Thanks, but no thanks" to those urging him to seek the Republican presidential nomination.

His remarks came in a Wednesday morning C-SPAN interview.

Coburn said he doesn't believe he possesses the "skill set" necessary to be president.

He said he had considered the possibility, but decided against it.

Share |

Lankford Intros Taxpayers Right To Know Act

Congressman James Lankford introduced H.R. 3609, the Taxpayers Right to Know Act, in the House today to provide the American people with a better understanding of how their tax dollars are spent.

Congressman Dan Boren is an original cosponsor of the legislation, and Senator Tom Coburn is the lead sponsor in the Senate.

A GAO report released in March 2011 found “overlap and fragmentation among government programs or activities can be harbingers of unnecessary duplication.” The Taxpayers Right to Know Act addresses this waste in government by requiring each federal agency to produce an annual report that identifies every program with a description of the program and its costs, expenditures for services, beneficiaries of services and number of staff. This information would be posted online, along with recommendations from each agency to improve their efficiency. By eliminating overlap, duplicative programs and services and fraudulent payments, GAO estimates billions of dollars could be saved annually.

Share |

Coburn, Barrasso Lead Health Care Debate

From NewsFifty Oklahoma ~ Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee came up with a heckuva plan back in July: Have the only two doctors in the Senate — conveniently both Republicans — offer a live question-and-answer show twice a week to address concerns about health care.

And so Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John Barrasso of Wyoming have taken to the film recording studio in the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. to respond to questions from e-mail, YouTube, Twitter and Capitol Hill tourists walking on the street.

Read the entire story at http://newsfifty.com/OK/.

Share |

Coburn Offers Political Hands-on Civics Lesson

From Politico ~ Political scientists are getting a hands-on civics lesson from Sen. Tom Coburn, (R-Okla.), as they've launched a lobbying campaign to oppose the senator's amendment that would ban funding for the National Science Foundation's political science program.

Coburn, who could offer his amendment to the Commerce-Justice-Science bill as early as Thursday, argues that social sciences simply don't measure up to physical sciences as targets for federal money.

"At a time when America faces a $12 trillion debt and few Americans have much confidence or esteem for politicians or the government, Congress has an obligation to ensure that millions of taxpayer dollars intended for scientific research are not being wasted on politics," Coburn said in a statement e-mailed to POLITICO. "Political science would be better left to pundits and voters themselves and federal research dollars would be best left to scientists."

The scholars have a different view of the program, which has existed since 1965.
"It would be a huge disservice to the sciences as he sees it not to include funding for the contributions that can come from the complete sciences as they are," said Michael Brintnall, executive director of the American Political Science Association.

Brintnall sent a message to 1,200 political science departments Wednesday urging faculty to call their senators.

The NSF says it spends about $8 million annually to support political science research.

Among past NSF-funded research Coburn sees as unnecessary uses of government money: a study of whip counts and party leadership.

If the amendment is offered, the professors will have a chance to put their vote-counting theories to the test.

Share |

Coburn Says He'll Testify In Ensign Scandal

Senator Tom Coburn says he will testify before the Senate Ethics Committee in its investigation into Senator John Ensign, the Nevada Republican embroiled in a scandal involving an affair with his campaign treasurer.

Coburn has said he counseled Ensign as a friend and spiritual adviser but did not act as a go-between in arranging a payment in the scandal.

Share |

Kathy Taylor: Decisions, Decisions

The Kathy Taylor guessing game is in full swing.

The outgoing mayor of Tulsa, it is rumored, will (1) certainly run for the U. S. Senate against incumbent Republican Tom Coburn, (2) likely run for attorney general given that it's an open seat race, or (3) consider running for state school superintendent for the same reason.

All this speculation, of course, has insiders in both political parties scratching their heads.

Many presumed that when Taylor reversed course and announced she would not seek reelection as mayor after first saying she would, she would take on troubled 1st District Republican Congressman John Sullivan. But one insider swears up and down that Taylor personally told Sullivan she wouldn't run against him and has ruled that race out.

Several Democrats claim Taylor has her eye firmly on Coburn's Senate seat. One, asked if he thinks the liberal Taylor has a chance against the conservative Coburn, said no, but added, "If you've got a million of your own dollars to spend...." His point is well-taken. Taylor and her wealthy husband have wads of cash she could use to propel a campaign and even in these days of gazillion-dollar campaigns, a million is a lot of cash.

Some GOP conservatives salivate at the thought of Taylor being the Democratic nominee against Coburn.

"He'd flatten her," said one diehard GOP activist and party leader in Tulsa. "She'd do okay here probably, but around the state, she'd be toast."

He bases his analysis on the belief that Taylor's membership in New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" group, and her other liberal tendencies, would result in a "Guns, God and Gays" backlash against her in most parts of the state.

Others aren't so certain about that, but one Democrat in southern Oklahoma said her bigger problem will be name identification: "Who the hell is Kathy Taylor?" he asked, after admitting he voted for Coburn. Told she could spend her own money to rectify her lack of statewide name ID, he said, "She'll need every penny of it."

"It'll just be another Inhofe-Rice race," said an Oklahoma City political observer of a possible Coburn-Taylor faceoff. "In that kind of race around here, the conservative always wins."

Share |

Coburn: Angry Voters Feel 'Sense of betrayal'

Senator Tom Coburn In The Wall Street Journal ~ I spoke with thousands of voters at town-hall meetings this summer. What I gathered from them is that it's not just the proposed overhaul of health care that has them upset. Many also expressed a sense of betrayal.

In spite of their hope for change, it still appears that the government in Washington is run for its own benefit and the benefit of special interests—not for the benefit of the American people. The folks I met with also don't trust politicians in Washington to address mounting long-term challenges to our economy.

It's not just the attendees of town-halls meetings in Oklahoma. Voters across the country are telling Washington what's on their mind, if only more people inside the Beltway would listen. A Rasmussen poll released last month showed that 40% of voters said that cutting the deficit in half by 2012 should be President Barack Obama's top priority. Only 21% said health-care reform should be his No. 1 priority.

Read all of Coburn's column at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204731804574384622002177100.html.

Share |

ORA Honors Coffee, Ellis, Chesnut

The Oklahoma Rifle Association has presented annual awards to two legislators and a national magazine editor.

Honored at the ORA's Annual Banquet Saturday night were Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee (right), Senator Jerry Ellis (left), and Mark Chesnut (below), editor of the National Rifle Association's official journal, America's First Freedom.

Coffee and Ellis were honored for their support of the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms.

Chesnut, who grew up in Tuttle and attended OSU, was presented the annual Mike McCarville Media Award for his efforts on behalf of the 2nd Amendment. He lives in Jenks with his wife and four children. He previously edited Gun Digest, Bassin' and Crappie World magazines.

Guest speaker at the banquet was Senator Tom Coburn, who said the 2nd Amendment is the one that guarantees all the others.

Share |

Coburn: Anger Due To Loss Of Confidence

Senator Tom Coburn says the angry tone of the healthcare debate is the result of people losing confidence in government.

Coburn says the government has earned that loss of confidence.

Coburn calls health care a symptom of the debate over an uncontrolled federal government. He says unchecked spending by Congress has raised the question of whether lawmakers are legitimately thinking about the American people and their long-term best interests.

Coburn's comments came on Meet the Press.

Share |

Coburn, Inhofe Vote For Concealed Carry Proposal

Senators Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe today voted in favor of a proposed federal law that would allow holders of concealed carry licenses to carry firearms in every state, but the measure failed by two votes despite winning a plurality. Sixty votes were needed; 58 senators voted for it.

Oklahoma now honors concealed carry permits from all states that have them and 31 states have honored Oklahoma's concealed carry laws.

Share |

Coburn Reports $595,000 Raised In 2nd Quarter

Senator Tom Coburn collected almost $595,000 in about 90 days for his reelection campaign, his new Federal Election Commission finance report shows.

Coburn started the 2nd quarter with $57,000 in his campaign account and ended it with $623,451 in cash on hand.

Share |

Sotomayor's Answers Don't Satisfy Coburn

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor assured Senator Tom Coburn today she has an open mind on whether states must recognize an individual right to own firearms, but it's unlikely her answer will ease opposition to her from defenders of the Second Amendment.

Sotomayor's comment came as Coburn pushed her on the Second Amendment. Sotomayor said she understands the importance of the individual right recognized last year by the Supreme Court's Heller vs. D. C. decision striking down strict handgun regulations in the District of Columbia.

Chris Casteel of The Oklahoman reported that Coburn suggested that Sotomayor's upbringing in the Bronx might give her a different perspective on gun ownership than from people in Oklahoma. And he said "Second Amendment rights may hang in the balance'' since the Supreme Court could consider the question of whether the individual right recognized in the federal district case applies to all states.

"I can assure your constituents that I have a completely open mind on this question,'' said Sotomayor, a judge on the federal appeals court that includes New York.

Coburn, R-Muskogee, who also asked Sotomayor again about abortion and foreign law as the Judiciary Committee continued its confirmation hearings today, ended his allotted time by saying he was still undecided about how he was going to vote on her nomination.

Share |

Coburn Echoes NRA's Sotomayor Criticism

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has questioned Sonia Sotomayor’s fitness to serve on the Supreme Court, a troubling sign for the nominee in what has so far been a smooth confirmation hearing.

The NRA is considered one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington and holds sway with Democrats from conservative states, who could side with Republicans in opposing the nominee.

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, blasted Sotomayor for ruling that the Second Amendment’s protection of gun rights does not apply to state and local governments and for being “evasive” when asked about whether gun ownership is a fundamental right.

“As the Senate considers the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Americans are watching to see if this nominee would lend her support to those who’ve declared war on the rights of America’s 80 million gun owners,” LaPierra wrote in a statement posted on the group’s website Wednesday. “After the first day of confirmation hearings, gun owners have good reason to worry.”

Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, referred to the NRA's statement during Wednesday's question-and-answer session.

Sotomayor ruled in Maloney v. Cuomo (aka Maloney v. Rice) that the Second Amendment only applies to federal law. In U.S. v. Sanchez-Villar, Sotomayor concluded that the right to possess a gun is not fundamental.

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn (R) repeatedly asked Sotomayor whether she believed citizens have a right to defend themselves, a line of inquiry the nominee dodged.

“I don’t know if that legal question has ever been presented,” Sotomayor said.

Coburn kept pressing: “I wasn’t asking about the legal question, I’m asking about your personal opinion.”

Sotomayor: “That is sort of an abstract question with no particular meaning to me outside —"

Coburn grew impatient, cutting her off: “I think that’s what American people want to hear, Your Honor.”

Read more at http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/nra-growing-more-alarmed-over-sotomayor-2009-07-15.html.

Share |

Noted Quote: Coburn Admonishes Sotomayor

“Judge Sotomayor, you must prove to the Senate that you will adhere to the proper role of a judge.” ~ Senator Tom Coburn, during today's confirmation hearing.

Share |

Coburn Confronted Ensign Over Affair

From www.politico.com ~ Sen. Tom Coburn knew more than a year ago that his Republican colleague John Ensign was having an affair with a staffer – and he reportedly urged Ensign to end the relationship and pay a substantial sum of money to the staffer and her husband.

Doug Hampton – the husband of Ensign’s mistress – told Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston in a television interview Wednesday that Coburn and others had urged Ensign to give the couple “millions of dollars” so that they could pay off their mortgage and move away from Ensign’s hometown of Las Vegas.

Asked about that allegation Wednesday, Coburn’s office confirmed that the he knew about Ensign’s affair and had urged him to end it.

“Dr. Coburn did everything he could to encourage Sen. Ensign to end his affair and to persuade Sen. Ensign to repair the damage he had caused to his own marriage and the Hampton’s marriage,” Coburn’s office said in a remarkable public rebuke of his friend and fellow Christian conservative. “Had Sen. Ensign followed Dr. Coburn’s advice, this episode would have ended, and been made public, long ago.”

Sources familiar with the facts say that Hampton and Coburn confronted Ensign in February 2008 at a Christian fellowship home on Capitol Hill where Ensign, Coburn and several other lawmakers live.

A source familiar with the incident said that any discussion between Coburn and Ensign about a payment to the couple was “an expression of restitution and not in any way ‘hush money.”

Coburn spokesman John Hart wouldn't confirm or deny whether his boss spoke with Ensign about payments but said Coburn "categorically denies" Hampton's claim that he urged Ensign to pay millions to the couple.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24706.html#ixzz0Kmf3e6Of&C.

Share |

Study: Boren Backs Obama At 81% Level

Democratic Congressman Dan Boren backed President Barack Obama 81 percent of the time in the president's first six months in office, according to a new study that said Obama is on pace for the most successful presidential year in recent history in terms of congressional support. The study is reported in today's The Oklahoman.

Republican Rep. Mary Fallin had the second-highest score in the Oklahoma congressional delegation in presidential support this year. She backed Obama's position 50 percent of the time.

The scores were compiled by Congressional Quarterly, whose publications cover Capitol Hill and national politics.

But the measurements of presidential support were based on relatively few votes.

According to CQ, the president took a position on only 26 votes cast by the House and 37 cast by the Senate.

One notable issue on which Fallin backed the president and broke from the majority of her party was on the bill allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco.

Among Oklahoma Republicans, Congressman Frank Lucas had the lowest presidential support score, at 27 percent. The others: Senator Tom Coburn, 33 percent; Congressman Tom Cole, 38 percent; Senator Jim Inhofe and Congressman John Sullivan, both 43 percent.

Share |

Coburn, White House Spar Over Projects

WASHINGTON/from www.tulsaworld.com ~ U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn issued his own report Tuesday questioning billions in specific stimulus projects, complete with a photo of actors Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment in the decade-old film “The Sixth Sense.”

Instead of dead people, the Oklahoma Republican’s report has Osment’s character seeing stimulus checks.

Without Coburn’s Hollywood flair, the Obama administration questioned the senator’s claims.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Coburn’s “report appears to be, in many, many cases, just flat out wrong.’’

“This president has taken historic steps to ensure that there is adequate transparency and that this money is spent the way it’s intended to be used,’’ Gibbs said.

“There are projects within the report that haven’t been funded — have been canceled based on our own looking into this.’’

Coburn, who voted against the massive $787 billion stimulus package earlier this year, included two Oklahoma projects in his report on 100 of what he said are the worst examples of waste in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Read the entire report at www.tulsaworld.com.

Share |

Coburn Wants To Outlaw Tobacco Products

Senator Tom Coburn is calling for a ban on all tobacco products.

Read the story at http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/republican-senator-seeks-to-outlaw-tobacco-2009-06-05.html.

Share |

Coburn Says He'll Seek Reelection

Senator Tom Coburn announced today he will seek reelection.

The one-term senator and former congressman surprised few with his announcement. There had been speculation he would not run again, but most insiders believed he would seek a second term.

David Arnett at Tulsa Today, who attended Coburn's announcement, has an insightful report.

Coburn, Muskogee physician known as "Dr. No" for his steadfast opposition to the free-spending practices of Congress, left the U. S. House after three terms and said previously he would serve no more than two terms in the Senate.

In his announcement today, Coburn said he first made the decision to run for public office — back in 1994, when he won a House seat — because he was "alarmed by Washington's desire to impose collectivism and socialism on the public, particularly in the area of health care.

"Today, we face the same challenge. Many in Washington are claiming that all problems can be solved with more spending and less individual freedom. Those ideas have never worked and they never will. While I’m confident the wisdom of the American people will prevail, we won’t win without a fight.”

Share |

Coburn Announcment Expected Today

Senator Tom Coburn will announce today if he'll seek reelection, and most expect he will do so.

Coburn, elected to the Senate in 2004, will make his announcement at the Tulsa Press Club.

Coburn, a Muskogee physician who served six years in the U. S. House before voluntarily stepping down, has said he'll serve no more than two terms in the Senate.

Share |