Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn may force their colleagues to make an up-or-down public decision on proposals such as tucking $2 million for a public park in San Francisco into the nation's massive military spending bill. Last Dec. 20, this bit of pork was passed by Congress without debate and without a vote in the final version of the Defense Appropriations Act.McCain and Coburn last Wednesday proposed a revolutionary change in the way Congress has done more and more of its business over the past two decades. They announced their intention to "challenge" future earmarks as a...

When Oklahomans elected Dr. Tom Coburn to the United States Senate they knew that they were sending a man to Washington who would not dance the D.C. two-step. But Beltway types have underestimated the determination of this man not to go along to get along. Very soon, that will change. According to Senate aides, Dr. Coburn has notified his colleagues that he intends to challenge every earmark—or pork project—on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Coburn, who has been a champion in the fight against wasteful federal spending, believes that the congressional earmarking process is the genesis of the current...

Dear XXXXXX: Thank you for writing to urge me to vote and support Judge Alito in his nomination to the Supreme Court and that Alito receive a fair and speedy hearing. I am sorry for the delay in my response. I value your input which is why I take the time to read each letter I receive from my constituents. I have carefully studied Judge Alito's experience as a lawyer, judge, and his understanding of constitutional law. After a thorough review and participating in an extensive five-day hearing, I have decided to vote in support of his nomination both in...

The following is Sen. Tom Coburn's (R.-Okla.) opening statement at the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Alito, welcome. I know you're tired of this and I'll try to be as brief as possible. One of the advantages of going last is to be able to hear what everybody else has said. And as I've listened today, we've talked about the unfortunate, the frail. The quotes have been "fair shake for those that are underprivileged." We've heard "values, strong, free and fair, progressive judiciary." We've heard "the vulnerable, the more vulnerable, the weak, those who suffer."...

Human Events is expected to name their 2005 Man of the Year some time next week and I thought we would take a look at some of the possible contenders who helped shape the past year.2005 was very much a nascent turning point for the conservative movement and with 2008 seemingly getting closer everyday we must finsih what was started in 2005.Almost all of the candidates for Man Of the Year were part of the beginning stages of a revitalized conservative movement that was begun in 05 but will have to be finished in later years. Henry Hyde After thirty...

Dr. Coburn, I Presume Monday, December 12, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST [snip] Dr. Coburn, who delivered about 65 babies a year while he served in the House during the 1990s, wanted to continue serving his patients after he won a Senate seat last year. He noted that the House Ethics Committee had allowed him to earn just enough money as a physician to cover his medical malpractice premiums and other expenses. [snip] The most curious "no" vote came from Barbara Boxer of California. [snip] She is the proud author of a new political novel called "A Time to Run." [snip]...

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Allen took a Conservative Stand on October 20th A telling vote was taken on Capitol Hill last Thursday. At issue - a massive spending bill before the Senate. Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn (R) placed an amendment before the Senate wanting to kill a few earmarked items (aka pork-barrel projects) in an effort to help fund the rebuilding in the Katrina aftermath. Sounds fiscally responsible to me - it's what my wife and I do with our own checkbook, we make tough decisions between what we NEED and what we want. You too, eh? If only Congress...

What Congress did is disgusting.You heard what the Senate did to Tom Coburn's attempt to impose some sanity on spending.How do they live with themselves?Years ago, interviewing economist Walter Williams for a show ABC News called "Greed," I was perplexed when Williams said, "a thief is more moral than a congressman; when a thief steals your money, he doesn't demand you thank him."That was silly hyperbole, I thought, but watching Congress spend, I see that I was naive and Williams was right.When the Democrats held power, I confronted Sen. Robert Byrd about wasting our money on "Robert Byrd Highway"-type projects...

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a clash of generations and political philosophy, 37-year Senate veteran Ted Stevens of Alaska told a freshman colleague that he would resign and "be taken out of here on a stretcher" if the Senate killed funding for two Alaskan bridges. "It is an offense, a threat to every person in my state," the 81-year-old Stevens said of the proposal by fellow Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to eliminate some $450 million in federal funds for Alaskan bridges and shift $75 million to a Louisiana bridge damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The dispute temporarily brought the Senate to...

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn says he needs to hear more from Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. before he's ready to decide whether to vote for his confirmation. Coburn is a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He says Roberts ducked a couple of his questions Friday during a 45-minute meeting. He says Roberts wasn't comfortable talking about how his Catholic faith influences his life and work. Coburn says he plans to ask the questions Roberts wouldn't answer again at their next meeting. He says he thinks it's inappropriate to ask a judge how he would rule in...

Dr. Coburn's Statement on Nomination of John Roberts to U.S. Supreme Court (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) today released the following statement regarding President Bush’s nomination of John Roberts to the United States Supreme Court. “It is imperative that the next Supreme Court justice help restore the Constitutional balance of power between the branches of government and leave legislating to Congress and the states,” Dr. Coburn said. ”Judge Roberts is entitled to a thorough, fair and civil confirmation process. I look forward to the opportunity to interview Judge Roberts and I support the right of Senators...

Dr. Coburn Holds Hearing Exposing Vast Waste from Improper Payments Says GAO has found only “the tip of the iceberg” (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, today held a hearing on improper payments in the federal government. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study estimated that improper federal payments, which mostly consist of overpayments, consume at least four cents of every federal tax dollar. “At a time when our nation is fighting a war, facing mounting deficits and struggling to shore up Medicare...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- US Senator Tom Coburn has introduced a bill that would require parents be notified before contraceptive drugs and prescription devices are distributed to minor children by certain public health clinics. The Oklahoma Republican and practicing physician says he disagrees with the federal policy that allows children to make reproductive decisions without their parent's knowledge. He says the policy contributes to a growing problem of sexually transmitted diseases and unintended teen pregnancies and abortions by discouraging parental involvement. A companion bill was introduced in the House by Representatives by Missouri Republican Todd Akin.

Doctor's Role Benefits Coburn By J. Steven Hart After reading "A senator first; Coburn has plenty to do as lawmaker" (Our Views, April 26), it seems the newspaper's argument comes down to this: Being a U.S. senator is a 24/7 job and seeing patients is a terrible distraction to other important senatorial activities like foreign travel, public forums, speechmaking and talk show appearances. The Oklahoman, however, makes several curious assumptions about life inside the Beltway that undercut its claims. Having spent nearly 30 years in Washington since leaving Edmond, I qualify as an expert on this topic. First, the newspaper...

Dr. Tom Coburn, a U.S. senator from Oklahoma for less than four months, last week was up to old tricks he started playing in the House a decade ago. He was making colleagues' lives miserable by exposing wasteful, unnecessary spending that is supposed to stay hidden. The Senate establishment, like its House counterpart, has retaliated by bringing ethics charges against the obstetrician-senator for going home to Muskogee, Okla., to deliver babies. In a legislative body where members spend much of their time off the Senate floor begging for money, it is worthy of Kafka that the only pending ethical proceeding...

Senate's Dr. Pain April 28, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Dr. Tom Coburn, a U.S. senator from Oklahoma for less than four months, last week was up to old tricks he started playing in the House a decade ago. He was making colleagues' lives miserable by exposing wasteful, unnecessary spending that is supposed to stay hidden. The Senate establishment, like its House counterpart, has retaliated by bringing ethics charges against the obstetrician-senator for going home to Muskogee, Okla., to deliver babies. In a legislative body whose members spend much of their time off the Senate floor begging for money, it is worthy...

Dr. Tom Coburn, a U.S. senator from Oklahoma for less than four months, last week was up to old tricks he started playing in the House a decade ago. He was making colleagues' lives miserable by exposing wasteful, unnecessary spending that is supposed to stay hidden. The Senate establishment, like its House counterpart, has retaliated by bringing ethics charges against the obstetrician-senator for going home to Muskogee, Okla., to deliver babies. In a legislative body where members spend much of their time off the Senate floor begging for money, it is worthy of Kafka that the only pending ethical proceeding...

On KFAQ 1170 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Coburn said there would be things coming out about the Terri Schiavo case that would, "shake some people up". He said he could not reveal that info. just yet. That is a direct quote from him. I just wanted to let my fellow Freepers who prayed for Terri daily to have a heads-up.

For years, Republican Tom Coburn juggled his duties as a House member and a family physician back in Oklahoma, where he delivered dozens of babies annually. But since winning a Senate seat last fall, Coburn has clashed with Senate ethics committee members over whether he could continue to do double duty as a lawmaker and an obstetrician. Now, Coburn says, the ethics committee has ruled that his private practice constitutes a potential conflict of interest with his work in Washington, and it has given him until Sept. 30 to close his office in Muskogee, Okla. An outraged Coburn is vowing...

Hey go here: http://www.surveysaintlouis.com/marchmadness/sweet16.php and support the real conservative Tom Coburn over Bill Frist. That site is doing a cool ncaa-style bracket tournament about the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Go support the hardcore conservatives!!!