Posted on 11/07/2009 8:29:28 AM PST by ocr1
Oklahoma’s Tom Coburn is an old-school conservative, and an old-school Senator. How traditional can Dr. Coburn get? Politico reports that Coburn wants to read Harry Reid’s ObamaCare bill before he casts a vote on it — and to make sure he has the time to do it, Coburn plans to force the bill to be read in its entirety on the Senate floor:
Sen. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma Republican who developed a close friendship with President Obama when they served together in the Senate, is threatening to have the entire health care bill read on the Senate floor.
Senior Senate Democratic aides had heard Coburn was considering having potentially thousands of pages read aloud in effort to stall passage. “If he did this it would be even outrageous for a guy who’s become known as Dr. No around here,” one of them told POLITICO.
Coburn’s office confirmed that he is indeed thinking about having the bill read.
This could create even more problems for Harry Reid in getting the bill out the door. Unlike in the House, Reid hasn’t been able to do a jam-down on his version of ObamaCare. While a few Democrats still hold out hope for action on the bill by Christmas, some are now setting a target of the State of the Union address at the end of January as more realistic.
If Coburn and other Republicans force floor readings of the bill, that may drift into March or April. If Coburn insists on a floor reading every time the bill gets amended, it may be summertime before they can get around to it. The Senate has other business to conduct, which would interrupt floor readings that would take at least several straight days of floor time to complete for a bill that will run into the thousands of pages. And all it takes is one Senator to withhold the unanimous consent necessary to dispense with floor readings.
In effect, it would allow Coburn to have the bill filibuster itself.
Publicity stunt? Sure. But Coburn’s action would give people plenty of time to find the ridiculous aspects of a bill that would quasi-nationalize 1/6th of the American economy — its reach, its taxes, its mandates, and its intrusion onto the personal choices and freedoms of Americans. The more people have seen these bills, the less they have liked them. That’s why Pelosi’s trying to jam down her bill this weekend, and why Reid can’t afford to let anyone read his bill, let alone the Senate clerk doing it aloud.
This would be legendary.
This is why HArry ‘the undertaker’ Reid hired an oral speed reader.
Just called his DC office in support of his plan to read the bill on the floor of the senate. I encourage everyone to do this even if you don’t live in Dr. Coburn’s home state. I live in Louisiana and I called.
They should get someone in from SEIU or Soros TIDES foundation to do it. They were the authors.
Coburn-An American Hero
God bless Tom Coburn. He is not a stinking RINO like Juan McCain, Graham-nesty or Newt.
:)
Just called his DC office supporting such a move. Had to leave a voice mail, but that’s okay. Tom Coburn is one of America’s finest.
What a Patriot and defender of liberty and freedom Dr. Coburn is!
Here’s the phone no. for his DC office so everyone can call and thank him for his efforts: 202-224-5754
Please God....let this happen. Our country deserves better than this administration is giving it. i hope Mr. Coburn can get this done...that way we can ALL tune in and hear it word for word ourselves. Believe me...our tape will be going strong that day!!!!
LOVE THIS.
But I have this nagging fear, what can the Dems do to stop this? They don’t even follow their own rules it seems.
I just sent an email!!!
Just called and left a message for him. Told him he has the support of the people and God bless him for doing such a thing in an effort to stop this fiasco this administration is trying to force upon the good people of the United States.
They follow their shadow rules, as in, they make it up as they go along....
Not familiar with all the procedures, but would they also need a speed stenographer to take down all that? LOL.
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