Posted on 09/26/2013 4:51:12 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Alternate headline: “RINO surprised to discover he’s a RINO.” No, no, kidding. It’s a testament to how much goodwill Coburn has earned with grassroots righties that he remains a minor player in the RINO/true conservative squabble over defunding despite having been one of the first big-name Republicans to publicly criticize Cruz’s tactics. Or maybe I’m wrong and he’s simply being ignored because a more attractive target for right-wing wrath has inserted himself into this. Coburn gets a pass vis-a-vis McCain, I think, not just because of differences in their record but because Coburn takes no obvious personal pleasure in rebuking the wacko birds. When he tells you it’s too bad that Cruz is doomed to fail, you believe him. Not so Maverick. In fact, there’s an odd symmetry between Coburn as low-key opponent of trying to defund and Mike Lee as a (comparatively) low-key supporter. Both of them are being overshadowed on their respective sides by guys who are lightning rods for criticism. The left (and Peter King) will come away from this declaring Ted Cruz some kind of terrorist but Lee will sail on undamaged.
I think Coburn’s right, though, that confusion about what’s possible here risks disappointment and demotivation next year. Tactically, things have reached the point where even some grassroots conservatives who are following this closely aren’t sure what’s going on. Here’s something one of Orrin Hatch’s staffers posted yesterday:
Callers into our office very confused after that 100-0 cloture vote
— Antonia Ferrier (@ahrferrier) September 25, 2013
The confusion over cloture is understandable, but it comes on top of the earlier confusion about Cruz wanting to filibuster the House bill that actually defunds ObamaCare and on top of the broader uncertainty about which side would suffer more from a shutdown over defunding and how badly. Ironically, I think the more convoluted the tactical debate becomes, the easier it is to simply choose a side between the RINOs and true conservatives and start hammering the other as sellouts/grandstanders. Democrats insist that Cruz’s filibuster will achieve nothing; Coburn, whatever his feelings about ObamaCare, agrees with them on at least that much. If he’s not willing to risk a months-long shutdown in a quixotic bid to pressure the other party into defunding the biggest “accomplishment” of the Obama presidency, then he’s kinda sorta “with” the Democrats, isn’t he? QED.
Update: If Tom Coburn’s the new president of the RINOs, Rick Perry must be his VP.
It’s going to be Suicide by Voter.
If you fund it, you own it.
RINOcare.
I usually don’t read stuff if it’s written by Allahpundit. He just plain bugs me.
The Daily Caller had an article which quoted Cruz. It pointed out that the strategy is to threaten (and make good on the threat) to keep ANY vote from happening until Reid promises they will get a chance to vote on the House’s CR with the Obamacare-defunding measure intact. The point of putting the vote on indefinite hold is to make Reid realize he gets NOTHING unless he allows the House’s CR to stand. It will rest firmly on Reid, who knows exactly what it will take to get the government funded, except Obamacare.
Yes you are dum bass!
The first flurry of activity that even comes close to Conservatism in Washington, D. C., and you pick it apart.
Yep, you’re a RINO dip stick.
Actually Mr. Coburn, yes! NEWSFLASH!!!! Yes, you ARE a RINO
But hey, Tom, if that's who you want to vote with that's who you are going to side with!
My Gawd, if we had fought WWII like this, the East Coast would today be speaking German and the West Coast would be speaking Japanese!
Does he know what giving aid and comfort to the enemy mean?
That’s exactly right, Mr. Coburn.
Those WDC cocktail parties, country club parties and lobbyist parties can be very inviting, huh, tommie?
It’s already history!
Yes
I say the sooner the GOP-e party implodes, the sooner America can start the slow climb back into greatness, with conservatives leading the way! I how I wish this would have started in 2008 but most mainstream Republicans drank the kool aid from the RINOs running against Fred Thompson.
Coburn lied about Newt during the election and I remember well how Fox News used his interviews to attack Newt. I smelled a rat then. He furthermore may disagree with Cruz but he attacked him in such a manner that there is no way to attribute anything except self servicing ill motives.
Dr. Coburn, you became officially a RINO early in 2008 when you embraced John McPain before it was necessary to do so. Ever since then, you have moved steadily left. I wouldn’t vote for you in a primary if I were an OK voters. But as I understand it, you are not running again in 2016.
It is interesting the Coburn and King and others of the same stripe don’t realize that their opportunity for leadership has passed. There is a mass of us that have lost patience with any tactic that sniffs of compromise. We want political war.
Man up Senator. Lead, follow or get out of the way.
Coburn, with his “good friend of Obama” schtick has given cover to Obama and made him seem reasonable to low-info types. Coburn has been a useful idiot to portray Obama as reaching beyond the aisle and seem reasonable. Gee, if he is buddies with such an “arch-conservative” as Coburn, he can’t be all bad. Coburn has been a perfect tool for Obama and his gang.
Coburn has strangely given Obama a pass for all his lying and corruption and thug tactics. The perfect useful idiot. Not a Rino but a Dupe with a capital D. Coburn has continually trashed other conservatives and Fox News at key moments and seems a regular for establishment cesspools like Morning Joe, Msnbc etc.
No, but it's all these folks know.
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