James Coburn
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND —
Americans are filled with anxiety and fear as they consider their future with a $13.3 trillion debt set to become $20 trillion during the next nine years, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn said. Well-intentioned legislation through the years has abandoned the fundamentals of a limited federal government set forth by the U.S. Constitution, said Coburn, R-Muskogee.
“We did it by abandoning the principles that make a country great, slowly but incessantly,” Coburn said Wednesday before the Rotary Club of Edmond.
Coburn works to protect constitutional rights and the nation’s security, said Chris Burton, Rotary member. Coburn, 63, said he has seen an erosion of personal liberty during his lifetime.
Americans sacrificed to build their country, Coburn said. But today, decisions in Washington are often made according to what is politically convenient for House or Senate members to get re-elected and not what is best for the U.S., Coburn said. Short-term decisions making politicians look good abandon the principle of sacrifice, he said.
“Twenty-five years from now, everyone 50 and younger in this country is going to owe over $1 million towards the federal debt,” Coburn said.
Americans have not held politicians accountable for self-serving actions, Coburn said. Self-sacrifice of leadership should be a prerequisite for voters to consider when electing a representative, Coburn said.
“Service is about sacrifice. It ought to cost you something,” Coburn said. “You’re going to do it differently if it does. And you’re going to serve a limited amount of time.”
Coburn said his opponents often attack him for voting no repeatedly in Congress. However, Coburn challenges critics to read the U.S. Constitution to learn that 80 percent of its language is about what the government ‘shall not’ do.
“We need to be back embracing what built the most successful, powerful, prosperous, freest nation in the history of man,” Coburn said.
Coburn hedged when asked to predict if Republicans will become the majority party in Congress when voters go to the polls Nov. 2. The problem with Republicans is they have not given the public a reason to vote for them, Coburn said.
“If you win an election because you’re not the other guy, it doesn’t mean anything, because what you’re saying is you’re just not as bad as they are,” Coburn said. “That’s a pretty poor comparison.”
“ … If Republicans win and do not reform the Republican party, the Republican party is dead,” Coburn said. “It will no longer exist and I won’t be a part of it.”
Republicans in Congress must be willing to make difficult votes in order to protect opportunity and freedom, he said. Lawmakers are voting for bills they never would support only because earmarks are attached to bills, Coburn said.
According to the Pew Research Center, 53 percent of voters say they are more likely to vote for a candidate who “has a record of bringing government projects and money to your district.”
“I’m trying to get an earmark transparency bill through right now,” Coburn said. “I got it through committee and the five oldest, old-time politicians on the committee voted against it because they’re the big earmarkers. But I won it 17-5 and they’ll try to block it on the floor.”
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee passed the bipartisan “Earmark Transparency Act of 2010” in July. It is sponsored by Coburn along with Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
The bill will be considered by the Senate as a whole. If the Coburn legislation becomes law, people would be able to learn on a comprehensive Web site everything a senator or representative has voted for and the cost associated with it.
“Transparency will solve all that,” Coburn said.
jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114
