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This vote is indeed historic. This Congress will be remembered for its arrogance, corruption and stupidity. In the year of 2009, a Congress ignored the coming economic storm and impending bankruptcy of our entitlement programs and embarked on an ideological crusade to bring our nation as close to single-payer, government-run health care as possible. If this bill becomes law, future generations will rue this day and I will do everything in my power to work toward its repeal. This bill will ration care, cut Medicare, increase premiums, fund abortion and bury our children in debt. This process was not compromise....

IN OTHER WORDS ...December 23, 2009 Irritated at the bumps on the road to the Democrats' Thousand-Year Reich, liberals are now claiming that Republican Senator Tom Coburn requested a prayer for the death of Sen. Bob Byrd during the health care debate last Saturday night. Here is what Coburn actually said: "What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can't make the vote tonight. That's what they ought to pray." After reporting Coburn's remark, The Washington Post's Dana Milbank added: "It was difficult to escape the conclusion that Coburn was referring to the 92-year-old, wheelchair-bound Sen. Robert Byrd...

ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: Over the weekend, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn said “the American people ought to pray that somebody can’t make the vote” on health care. Well, it seems Coburn’s prayers may have been answered, although not in the way he had in mind. Since yesterday, there has been a single senator missing every vote the health care bill: James Inhofe, Coburn’s fellow Oklahoma Republican. Calls and emails to Inhofe’s press office have not been returned, but it appears that Inhofe has left town for the holiday. Sources say Inhofe has told his colleagues simply that he...

On December 20, 2009 Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said before Congress: "What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can't make the vote tonight. That's what they ought to pray. So that we can ... get the middle of America and the middle of the Senate a bill that can run through this country and actually do what we say we all want to do." Although no particular individual was named, it was an attempt to express disapproval for the overwhelmingly Democrat-supported H.R. 3590 Health Care Bill our Government wants to push through Congress before Christmas....

As the intense health care debate currently being waged on Capitol Hill winds down, the traditional collegiality of the Senate appears to be evaporating. Replacing it is a feeling of intense partisanship, which the Washington Post's Ezra Klein calls "heartlessly ferocious." A particularly heated exchange took place last night. As senators prepared for a major vote on health reform, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma called on Americans to pray that a Democratic colleague would be unable to make it to the floor so that the bill could not reach the needed 60-vote threshold. Coburn, a member of Washington's controversial...

n the wee hours of the morning, the U.S. Senate gathered to vote on cloture, the first of three motions, for the health care reform bill in order to move the process on to the next step. With all 60 Democratic caucus members finally aligned against the Republican filibuster, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) resorted to more sinister implications in his afternoon floor speech: “What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can’t make the vote tonight. That’s what they ought to pray.” The statement seemed to be a thinly veiled jab at ailing Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) who,...

True, if Republicans had played ball, they would have been in a position to eliminate the public option, demand deficit neutrality, and so forth … but they had Democratic centrists to do that work for them, and they won all those battles, to some extent at least, without having to vote for the final bill. Whereas winning the larger war, over the design of the legislation, was probably beyond their capabilities whatever negotiating strategy they took.

Democrats’ Health Bill Passes Key Senate Vote Republicans pledge to fight on despite losing early Monday WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats’ health care overhaul passed a key test in a party-line vote early Monday, in a dramatic defeat for Republicans that put the legislation on track for Christmas-week passage. In the run-up to the vote, the escalation in rhetoric was remarkable on both sides of an issue that has divided the two political parties for months. "This process is not legislation. This process is corruption," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., referring to the last-minute flurry of dealmaking that enabled Majority Leader...

Republican Senators hammered away tonight at the huge Medicaid deal for Nebraska that is seen as a trade off for Sen. Ben Nelson's (D - NE) vote for the Senate health care bill. With the addition of Mr. Nelson, the Democrats now have 60 votes to break a GOP filibuster on the Senate floor, end debate through cloture, and vote on the health care bill. On the floor of the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R - S.C.) railed on the "back room" deal done by Democrats to attain Nelson's golden vote. "It's sleazy, in my view," he said. Sen. Tom...

Coburn on the Senate floor says the American people ought to pray that someone can't make the vote tonight...The vote to cut off debate is late tonight or early tomorrow..(Video)

Rather funny melodrama. Durbin calls Coburn to the floor to explain himself.

I didn't know it until a couple minutes ago, but Senator Coburn is speaking now, likely to an empty chamber. At 1AM EST tomorrow - I think - a new procedural vote happens, and we'll see if the Democrats have their 60 votes.

SENATE DOCTORS BARRASSO AND COBURN TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE CALL ON DEMOCRAT GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE PLAN WASHINGTON – Dr. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK) will hold a press conference call today at 11:15 a.m. EST to discuss the Democrats’ reckless plan for government-run health care. Details of the press conference call are as follows: Friday, December 18, 2009 WHAT: Press Conference Call WHO: Dr. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK) WHEN: 11:15 a.m. EST CALL-IN: 1-888-946-8408 Pass Code: RNC Communications

We have criticized the American Cancer Society (ACS) for wading into the political fight over health care through its “advocacy affiliate,” the . In the clearest evidence yet that politics has replaced ACS’s core mission of fighting cancer, ACSCAN took part in a press conference this week to support “upcoming cloture votes on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”  In other words, ACSCAN wants the Reid bill backed by Barack Obama. Now comes Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), a practicing physician, with an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal that details just what ObamaCare might mean for cancer victims. He...

WASHINGTON -The liberals' longtime dream of a government-run health care system for all died Wednesday in the Senate, but Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont vowed it will return when the realization dawns that private insurance companies "are no longer needed." Sanders, an independent and socialist, said his approach is the only one "which eliminates the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste, administrative costs, bureaucracy and profiteering that is engendered by the private insurance companies." His remarks drew handshakes and even a hug or two from Democrats who had filed into the Senate to hear him. Sanders acknowledged the proposal...

Republicans have forced the Senate clerk to read aloud a 767-page amendment to healthcare reform legislation, paralyzing action on the chamber floor as Democrats approach a Christmas deadline. Senate aides estimated that it could take 8 to 10 hours to read the massive amendment offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) came under strong pressure from conservatives last week to do more to delay progress of the Democratic health bill. Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives called on McConnell to use every parliamentary tactic at his disposal to slow...

Today, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced an amendment to the healthcare bill currently being debated on the Senate Floor. When the motion to introduce the amendment as written was raised, Senator Tom Coburn objected. This forced the entire 767 page amendment to be read on the floor, a process so far estimated to take between 12 and 36 hours. As this process takes place, with the amendment being read by what I suppose is a series of clerks, it seems an ingenious stall tactic to me that Republicans could continue this process in liew of filibustering for as long as they...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday withdrew his single-payer healthcare amendment after Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) initiated a procedural maneuver to shipwreck the measure. Coburn earlier in the day forced the Senate clerk to read aloud Sanders’s 767-page amendment to the Senate healthcare bill in an effort to halt the healthcare debate.

Sen. Tom Coburn has just demanded that the Senate clerk read the single-payer amendment offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders -- and it's 767 pages. Typically, Senators offering amendments will ask for unanimous consent to avoid reading the entire meausure, but all it takes is one Senator to object to demand its reading, and Coburn objected to Sanders attempt to dispense with the reading of the amendment. To give you a sense of how this could delay things, it took the Senate clerk 18 minutes to get through the first 6 pages of the amendment, which were the table of contents....

How would you spend $787 billion in government money? Probably not like this. Unfortunately, the details of the stimulus package had many states' hands tied - their funds had to be allotted to certain types of projects, or they wouldn't get any of it. On those terms, these states did what any of us would do: they took the money and ran with it. Yes, any form of stimulus spending helps by creating jobs and injecting money into the economy... but some of these are pretty ridiculous. Senator Tom Coburn outlined the worst offenders in his report, "100 Stimulus Projects:...

We received this embed by email this morning. Coburn nails it… Video Link

The Republican party wonders why conservatives are so disappointed with it?Another glowing example of the problems confronting the Republican party occurred yesterday.  The Senate Republicans had the opportunity to force a full reading of the Senate's proposed health care bill so that every bit of the 2,200 pages would be made public by the reading, and so the people could become much better informed about its contents before it is passed...if it is passed.  It had the opportunity to really hold the Democrats' feet to the fire over this abominable excuse for legislation that is being crammed down the throats...

got this in an email....representative gooberment my butt....this is just more ammo for the We The People vs. Congress law suit.... The United States Senate regularly passes major legislation without even voting on it. That disturbing fact caught my attention when I first arrived in the Senate, and frankly, it still bothers me. The legislative process as it taught in eight grade civics class is logical, consistent, and most of all, transparent. The legislative process as it is practiced in the Senate today is nothing like that ideal. Every week, the Senate routinely passes legislation that is never voted on,...

Coburn Backs Off Threat to Read Health Care Bill in Senate The Oklahoma lawmaker says there's uncertainty about whether reading the bill during Thanksgiving week would be productive. WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. Tom Coburn is backing off his threat to require that the Senate read the 2,074-page health care bill because some GOP colleagues aren't supporting the effort. The Oklahoma lawmaker said there's uncertainty about whether reading the bill during Thanksgiving week would be productive. He also said that if the Republicans do decide to tie up the Senate for the dozens of hours it would take, six GOP colleagues...

Republican Sen. Tom Coburn is backing off his threat to require that the Senate read the 2,074-page health care bill because some GOP colleagues aren't supporting the effort. The Oklahoma lawmaker said there's uncertainty about whether reading the bill during Thanksgiving week would be productive. He also said that if the Republicans do decide to tie up the Senate for the dozens of hours it would take, six GOP colleagues have committed to pitching in on reading duty.

More than a month after a new fiscal year began Oct. 1, the House and Senate are still pressing to pass a group of bills to improve veterans’ benefits and health programs, rolling them together in “omnibus” legislative packets. The omnibus bills can then be shaped by final compromises between the two chambers and passed relatively quickly, often by voice vote, so lawmakers can move on to other business. Standing athwart those plans this month, however, is Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a family physician whose top goal as a lawmaker has been to slow the rising tide of debt caused,...

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. “That’s a possibility,” Coburn spokesman John...

Even as Republicans pummel President Barack Obama's health care proposals, some GOP leaders worry their party is being hurt by a Democratic counterattack: Where is your plan? Republican leaders chose not to draft their own comprehensive bill, focusing instead on attacking Democrats' plans as too costly and bureaucratic. Some prominent Republicans now fear they are getting tagged as the "party of no," and they want the GOP to offer more solutions to the nation's health care problems. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a potential GOP presidential contender in 2012, said it's time for Republicans "to pivot and say, in addition to...

VIDEO: On this episode of "The Senate Doctors Show," Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D., and Sen. John Barrasso, M.D., talk about the importance of reforming health care in a step-by-step manner to lower costs and expand access without raising your taxes or adding billions of dollars to the deficit. The Senate Doctors are joined by bloggers Ryan Grimm of the Huffington Post and David Weinberger of the Heritage Foundation.

I'm in an argument on a forum, and I'm sure somebody must have a good link to explain the GOP proposal. I can't google one up ...

video 23:23

Mccain's abstain "makes sense" to me, given that he's the de facto amnesty republican. But what's Vitter's excuse? He also had an amendment to defund ACORN, did he not? I say defeat them all in the primaries for their support of this criminal enterprise.

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 is time to water the tree of liberty” said the sign carried by a gun-toting protester milling outside President Obama’s town-hall meeting in New Hampshire two weeks ago. The Thomas Jefferson quote that inspired this message, of course, said nothing about water: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” That’s the beauty of a gun — you don’t have to spell out the “blood.” The protester was a nut. America has never had a shortage of them. But what’s Tom Coburn’s excuse? Coburn is a Republican senator from...

The current attempt to steamroller a drastic healthcare reform bill through Congress has created a rift between the Obama-Pelosi (OP) Democrats and what might be called the "blue-chip" (BC) faction---the moderate mainstream Democrats whose alliance, or at least acquiescence, is probably essential for the passage of any legislation. These two factions have very different ideas of what "healthcare reform" should mean. It is difficult to pin down exactly what BCs want. Caught in the crossfire between the Chicago-style strong-arming of the White House and the anger of the electorate, they have become evasive [1]. But it is likely that most...

Amid a national debate on constitutional rights, a national conservative group hosted a banquet in Tulsa to honor Sen. Tom Coburn for his defense of the 2nd Amendment. Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, spoke before a packed banquet hall Friday and praised Coburn for passing the only federal legislation this year to defend the people’s right to bear arms. “The people are becoming confrontational, “ Pratt said in reference to town hall meetings over proposed changes in health care. “Politics is confrontational.” “What is happening around the country and what is happening in Oklahoma gives me...

Local residents packed the Bartlesville Community Center on Thursday to attend a town hall meeting held by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn. Originally slated for the Community Room, large crowds forced the BCC to move the meeting into the larger Performing Arts auditorium. Coburn commented that his last town hall meeting netted about 150 visitors. Thursday’s meeting brought in excess of 1,000 citizens. Although attendees were passionate about their concerns, the crowd was sedate compared to national reports of town hall meetings gone bad. Audience members took turns asking questions or stating comments on topics including health care, social security and...

Dr Tom Coburn - anti-incumbent , term-limited -populist, citizen legislator, published Book- Breach of Trust - How Washington turns Outsiders into Insiders...our Paragon of Integrity and Courage, Lincoln of 21st Century, expert on healthcare , fiscal conservatism , yet progressive in his sentiments towards healing our nation ...NO EARMARKS AND PROTECTOR OF ALL NEWBORNS...NOT JUST THEIR FETAL EXISTANCE BUT THEIR FISCAL FUTURE..a divine Legacy...Dr COBURN FOR PRESIDENT 2012

"The health care system in America is broken. Costs are rising at an unacceptable rate -- more than doubling over the last 10 years, which is nearly four times the rate of wage growth. Too many patients feel trapped by healthcare decisions dictated by HMOs. Too many doctors are torn between practicing medicine and practicing insurance. And 47 million Americans worry what will happen to them or their children if they get sick." Who do you think said that? President Obama? Actually, those words were written by Republicans. They are part of the summary of the Patients' Choice Act, introduced...

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs passed a resolution by voice vote last week apologizing "on behalf of American people" to all Indian tribes for the mistreatment and violence by American citizens. Senate Joint Resolution 14, sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), states that its purpose is “to acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the Federal Government regarding Indian Tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States.” In Section 1A, No. 4 of the resolution states that the apology is on behalf of U.S. citizens for harm they...

August 10, 2009, 4:00 a.m. Ten Questions Politicians Won’t AnswerEvasive politicians, not concerned citizens, are dividing America over health-care reform. By Tom Coburn The past week’s debate about health care has shown that in Washington the only things more stubborn than facts are politicians who evade them. In spite of a torrent of independent analyses showing that the so-called health-care “reform� bills moving through Congress will dramatically increase the deficit and cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance, the politicians leading the effort have steadfastly refused to consider that their ideas and policies, rather than the character...

Sen. Tom Coburn, a fierce opponent of a public option for health care reform, has introduced an amendment requiring all lawmakers to enroll in the plan if it is included in a final bill that is passed. "So that we feel the same effects of that plan as every other American that ends up in it and the data shows that a 104 million Americans are going to end up in that plan, so what's good for us ought to be good for everybody else," the Oklahoma Republican and doctor said. While the amendment evokes the old goose and gander...

WASHINGTON — Sen. George Voinovich's comments about the U.S. Senate's southern caucus reverberated in Washington today. But publicly, one of the southerners Voinovich criticized declined to lash back this afternoon. And Voinovich's own campaign finance records show he has had no problem whistling Dixie. The story begins with a conversation the Ohio Republican had with editors from the Columbus Dispatch. When asked about the GOP's biggest problem, Voinovich told the Columbus newspaper: "We got too many Jim DeMints (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburns (R-Ok.). It's the southerners. They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr.' People hear them and say, 'These...

Today’s edition identifies millions of dollars in wasteful Washington spending Federal stimulus funds will ensure there will be a San Jose Jazz Festival in 2010 click here to read more California Lawyers for the Arts, a San Francisco film festival, and the Monterey Jazz Festival among the other recipients of stimulus funds in California click here to read more Small airports getting big payouts from stimulus program while safety violations at major national airports receiving little attention click here to read more The American Museum of Ceramic Art to receive a $50,000 grant from the federal economic stimulus recovery package...

only watched bits and pieces and so I'll just speak to the most interesting thing I noticed. Senator Tom Coburn questioned Judge Sotomayor repeatedly about the second amendment and Judge Sotomayor was very technical about exactly how far the right extended. Suffice to say, Judge Sotomayor doesn't see the 2nd amendment as an absolute right that no government can take away. Senator Coburn later asked Judge Sotomayor if there is a Constitutional right to defend one's self. Judge Sotomayor thought about this question and she answered that the particular question had never come before the court. In other words, one...

LIVE. ONLINE. THURSDAY. Tune in for a new, live, online show – “Senate Doctors” – broadcasting here every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00 p.m. Mountain time. The first show will air today, Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) – an orthopedic trauma surgeon and former President of the Wyoming Medical Society – and Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) – a family practice physician specializing in obstetrics – will be regular hosts, with guests making appearances. The show will focus on policy discussions, with constituents sharing their questions, stories, concerns, and comments about health care proposals being...

This afternoon, catch the very first broadcast of the twice-weekly "Senate Doctors" show, part of a growing GOP effort to increase outreach and inform Americans about alternatives to the agenda being put forth by President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party as the nation hurtles toward an intense debate over health care reform in America. The group is comprised of several Republican medical doctors currently serving in the U.S. Senate. From the Senate Doctors' press release: WASHINGTON – Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced today a new, live, online show – “Senate Doctors ” – broadcasting here every...

As you read the press clips, what we have heard is there was a coup. That, in fact, is not true. The Supreme Court of Honduras, under the direction of the Congress, asked the military to intercede because the President of Honduras had violated their own laws. Yet our State Department and our foreign policy sided with Hugo Chavez, Raoul Castro, and the former President. There is no question that improvements have been made in the past in Central and South America, but tonight we find ourselves supporting an anticonstitutional President of Honduras when, in fact, the Congress of Honduras...

GOP's Coburn likes plan to require birth certificates. BY BOB UNRUH Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says it's the responsibility of the states to make sure political candidates are eligible for the offices they seek, but he's in favor of both state and federal demands that future presidential candidates have a formal procedure to document their qualifications. The relatively strong statement from Coburn on the issue of the eligibility of a president came in a recent letter to a constituent who contacted WND. WND has reported on a federal plan in the U.S. House by Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., that would...