Republicans Make Inaction a Virtue

The New York Times yesterday published an article about the Tomnibus, a $10 billion collection of 35 Coburn-blocked measures put together by Harry Reed. All the measures had broad support in the Senate, and all had been blocked by Dr. No, Tom Coburn. The Tomnibus included the Mothers Act and the Protect Our Children Act. There are items to commemorate “The Star-Spangled Banner” and to try to curb pornography, cut drug use and help victims of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Coburn is a Republican Senator from Oklahoma.

Mr. Coburn, a 60-year-old family practitioner, blazed a career as a thorn in the side of both parties after arriving in the House as part of the Republican revolutionary class of 1994. He was a top anti-abortion crusader who conducted regular workshops for young staff members on sexually transmitted diseases, complete with graphic slideshows. He continued to deliver babies while he was in the House, but after moving to the Senate in 2004, he found himself in a long-running battle with ethics officials over whether he could moonlight.

In the Senate, Mr. Coburn has continued down his singular path, driving Democrats and some Republicans to distraction with his prolific use of the “hold” — the ability of a single senator to object to moving ahead on a measure without a debate. He currently has holds on nearly 80 bills, the most of any senator.

CBS News reports more recently:

Coburn (R-Okla.) prevailed in blocking a massive package of generally non-controversial bills that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid brought to the floor, angering Democrats and some Republicans while raising Coburn's status as a cult hero to fiscal conservatives. The vote was 52-40 on a procedural motion that required 60 votes......

Republicans stuck together in blocking this bill not because they oppose all of the programs, but because they have decided to block everything small and large this week until they get votes on stalled energy legislation.

Comment: Too bad they didn't block the bills giving the Bush administration the green light to go to war in Iraq, or to bug Americans without warrants, or to deregulate the financial industries that got us into the credit crisis we now suffer. Too bad they didn't block the confirmation of "Brownie" before he got the job he screwed up so badly in Hurricane Kartina, or the confirmation of other Bush administration hacks too numerous to name. But now they block legislation in favor of motherhood and against pornography! JAD