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Sen. Tom Coburn became the latest Republican lawmaker to link President Barack Obama to potential grounds for impeachment during a town hall Wednesday. The Oklahoma Republican – who also said Obama was a "personal friend" – responded to a question from a constituent by asserting that the president's policies were approaching a legal standard for impeachment. Without using specifics, Coburn cited "intended violation of the law" by Obama's administration, as well as general incompetence of some of his appointees. "I don't have the legal background to know if that rises to high crimes and misdemeanors – but I think they're...

A pair of tea party groups is teaming up to pressure key Republicans to support an effort to defund Obamacare. Tea Party Patriots and the grassroots group For America are launching online ads against a dozen GOP senators who either oppose the effort or haven’t announced a position. Along with the ads, leaders of the groups will embark on a six-state, five-day “Exempt America” tour (the idea being that the American people should be exempt from Obamacare) that will bring them to the home states of several of these senators. Update 12:01 p.m.: The conservative group Heritage Action is also...

Republicans are virtually unanimous about one thing: They want to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). But what would they replace it with? Actually, there is a serious GOP proposal. It's called the Patients' Choice Act, sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). This is essentially the health reform plan that John McCain proposed when he ran for president in 2008. The GOP proposal is actually more "progressive" than ObamaCare. And, unlike the Democratic approach, it solves problems rather than creating new ones. Yet Republican politicians almost never mention it. How does it work?...

Shutting down the federal government would not stop the Obama administration from implementing its signature healthcare law, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said Tuesday. Coburn has been sharply critical of the effort to force a government shutdown over ObamaCare funding. He released a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report Tuesday that said such a move would not actually stop the administration from implementing the healthcare law."The memo reveals that if government were shut down, funding for Obamacare would still continue," Coburn's office said in a summary. "In other words, shutting down the federal government does not shut down Obamacare." The CRS report...

If there is anyone here who really believes the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, is a good idea, please feel free to raise your hand in the comments. This monstrous piece of legislation is despised by conservatives, and rightfully so. It was forced down our throats and we have been told we need to learn to like the new normal it is producing. That hasn't sat well with many members of the GOP, thus the many efforts to repeal Obamacare. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) recognizes that the efforts to disable or repeal Obamacare are useless. In fact, he...

Sarah Kliff: What do you think of the effort underway to defund Obamacare? Tom Coburn: I don’t think it’s achievable. A good portion of the health-care law is mandatory spending and repealing that would require two-thirds of the House and 67 votes in the Senate. I don’t see that happening. SK: An argument I’ve heard from some of your colleagues in the Senate is that, if you oppose Obamacare, then the only thing you can do is cut off the law’s funding. TC: How many people are going to close down the government over ‘I want to get rid of...

The Talk Shows June 23th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Mike Lee, R-Utah; Gabriel Gomez, Republican nominee for Senate in Massachusetts.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Reps. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., and Mike Rogers, R-Mich.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.THIS WEEK (ABC): Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency; Reps. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas; Mike Kelly, R-Pa.; and Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky.,...

Democrats are practically pleading with President Obama to sharpen his message. After successfully raising taxes on every working American at the beginning of the year, the progressive movement has suffered one debilitating blow after another. In March, many in the media laughed when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) declared conservatives were winning. But the rallying cry of collective action that rang throughout Obama’s second inaugural address now seems like more empty rhetoric, not an emerging reality. Still buzzed from their victory over Mitt Romney, Team Obama held the misguided belief they could convince Americans (not collectivists to begin with) that they...

Coburn: Constituents link IRS audits to Mitt Romney donations By Daniel Strauss - 05/23/13 09:33 AM ET Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said Thursday his constituents have suggested they were audited by the Internal Revenue Service because they donated to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. Coburn made the charge during an interview on MSNBC. [Watch video] "What I would tell you, is our whistleblower side is lit up," Coburn said Thursday on the news channel. "And I got a phone call yesterday and one of the things I want to know is, everybody that contributed to Romney, I want to know...

There is no better steward of American taxpayer dollars than Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. When Hurricane Sandy struck last year, he fought to eliminate non-emergency items from a supplemental disaster relief bill that included millions for road construction in states not affected by the hurricane. So when a monster tornado struck his home state yesterday the liberal press immediately tried to brand Coburn as a hypocrite for accepting federal funds. The Huffington Post reported: "Coburn spokesman John Hart on Monday evening confirmed that the senator will seek to ensure that any additional funding for tornado disaster relief in Oklahoma be...

Coburn is sticking to his fiscally conservative principles, even after a twister killed at least 24 of his constituents On Tuesday morning, emergency responders began dealing with the aftermath of a tornado that killed at least 24 people in Moore, Okla., and injured at least 140 more. The White House has announced that "the administration and FEMA stand ready to provide all available assistance in response to the severe weather." However, one of the state's two Republican senators, Tom Coburn, wants to put a stipulation on that offer: No federal aid without corresponding federal budget cuts.

By the end of Tom Coburn's Morning Joe appearance today, a panel member could be heard, off-camera, whistling in astonishment. Not surprising, since the plain-talking Republican Senator from Oklahoma had just unloaded on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Coburn called Reid "dishonest" in his dealings with him, saying that Reid was "not truthful" and had "not kept his word." For good measure, Coburn added that Reid had been a "failure" as Majority Leader. View the video here.

Democratic leaders are wooing staunchly pro-gun candidates to run in pivotal Senate races at the same time they are discussing a strategy for bringing gun control legislation back up for debate. The two-pronged effort has prompted Republicans to accuse the Senate Democratic leadership of hypocrisy, but Democrats say it is simply smart politics. The question is whether two of the Democrats’ most promising potential candidates in Montana and South Dakota will pay a price for the leadership’s political maneuverings in Washington. Or will recruiting candidates who do not support President Obama’s gun control agenda have any effect on Democratic fundraising...

Most of you will already know that I am a supporter of Senator Tom Coburn. That doesn't mean I support everything decision he has made during his time in Congress, but I do support his efforts to do the right thing for his constituents, those of us who live in the great state of Oklahoma. He first came to Congress in 1994 and promised to term limit himself in that body. He kept that promise. He was elected to the United States Senate in 2004 and promised to limit himself to two terms. He has already announced that he will...

The Republican plan to block debate on Senate Bill 649, which requires background checks on almost all gun purchases and transfers, failed spectacularly Thursday morning when sixteen Republican Senators joined almost all of the Democrats to vote in favor opening debate on the bill. Among those voting to defeat the filibuster were 9 Democrats with “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association, and 12 A-rated Republicans (out of 16 Republican “ayes”). Two Democrats, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), joined the majority of Republican Senators who tried to prevent debate, much less a vote, on the bill....

(CNN) – A key player in negotiations over potential gun control legislation said on Tuesday a planned GOP filibuster of the bill won’t occur if Democrats allow Republicans to bring amendments up for a vote. Sen. Tom Coburn, speaking on CNN’s “Erin Burnett Outfront,” said a filibuster that’s been promised by more than a dozen fellow Republicans would prevent Americans from seeing where their elected officials stand on the issue. “It’s not going to be filibustered,” Coburn said, adding that the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs to offer "an open amendment process" in order for Republicans to agree to...

A little known pro-gun lobby that’s well to the right of the National Rifle Association has complicated efforts to reach a solution on gun control legislation, top Democrats have said in recent days. The Gun Owners of America has been around for decades, operating mostly in obscurity, dwarfed by the lobbying and fundraising prowess of the NRA. The group’s big gripe is that the NRA is too squishy and willing to compromise, and its recent efforts to scuttle gun control legislation appear to be scaring away Republicans amenable to background checks. The results have frustrated Democrats trying to strike a...

On Tuesday, NBC News alleged that the NRA would not fight a federal universal background check bill provided that the UBC bill omits language that calls for a national gun registry. Kaise Hunt, a political reporter for NBC News wrote: Senators negotiating a bill mandating background checks for all gun buyers are privately expecting the National Rifle Association not to fight the measure — provided the legislation does not require private gun sellers to maintain records of the checks, NBC News has learned. If that requirement is met and key Republican negotiator Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma signs on, the...

Gun talks hit a snag in Senate over universal background checks By Alexander Bolton - 03/05/13 The centerpiece of President Obama’s gun violence agenda is in peril amid a deadlock among Senate negotiators over how to implement and enforce a proposal requiring background checks for private gun sales. With time running out for talks, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) remains optimistic about reaching an agreement. But gun control proponents have grown skeptical about whether Schumer’s main Republican counterpart, Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.), is acting in good faith. Schumer argues — and gun control groups agree — that records must be kept...

Republicans, and many Democrats, are upset by the prospect of so-called sequestration cuts to the nation's defense budget. Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is so alarmed that the day before the Senate took up what became the "fiscal cliff" agreement, he called a key Republican lawmaker, Sen. Lindsey Graham, to express deep concern that the cuts might go into effect. As it turned out, Congress put them off for two months. Sequestration would force the government to reduce discretionary spending by about $1.2 trillion over the next decade. Roughly half of that, or $600 billion, would come from defense --...