The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore, who will be speaking at the 2007 Conservative Leadership Conference this October, has penned a must-read column in the American Spectator on Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn.
As Moore notes, Coburn is unique in the Senate for a lot of reasons - his crusade against pork-barrel spending heading the list - but also because of his innate, Reaganesque ability to unite the social conservative and libertarian wings of the GOP. Plus the fact that he doesn’t just vote like a limited-government conservative, but is LEADING in the fight against the Left.
Too many Republicans in Congress today are just phoning it in. They vote “right,” but that’s about the extent of it. They’re not rocking any boats or hollering “To the ramparts!” In other words, the GOP has a lot of Indians, but few chiefs. While Coburn may not be in an official leadership position in the Senate (yet), he is, in the eyes of many, the GOP tribe’s Medicine Man - which is convenient, since he’s also an obstetrician.
Politically incorrect Native-American analogies aside, Coborn may be the only conservative “rock star” in Congress today. His anti-earmark efforts have resulted in both his national name ID, as well as his legions, growing by leaps and bounds.
The Wall Street Journal has referred to him as “Coburn the Barbarian,” while his pork-addicted colleagues, both Democrat and Republican alike, are pulling their hair out over his efforts. “Coburn has made himself a royal pain in the ass around here,” fumed one Senate Democrat to Moore, “and we’re all getting sick of his holier than thou attitude.”
I’ll assuming said Democrat will also object to another of Dr. Coburn’s new crusades - to “means test” a taxpayer-funded program “that provides college tuition assistance to D.C. residents” of up to $50,000.
“When the Senate bill to renew the program through 2012 comes up this fall,” reports the Washington Post today, “Coburn plans to introduce two amendments seeking to halt participation of families with annual incomes of more than $1 million,” as well as change the program so that participants can use the “college tuition assistance” - a “voucher” by another name - at either a public OR private college.
Why should ANY family making a million or more - regardless of race, creed or color - get taxpayer-funded college tuition assistance? How could ANYONE vote for that, even Democrats? But they will.
In any event, it sounds to me like the Doctor is just what the doctor ordered for the sick and ailing Republican Party.
Seriously, folks, if you don’t know much about Sen. Tom Coburn yet, do yourself, our movement and the country a huge favor and read Steve Moore’s column on him. The man needs and deserves our support.
Posted on August 24th, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National
I just finished reading Bob Novak’s “The Prince of Darkness.” I expected Novak’s chapters on the Reagan presidency to be uplifting, but I found them to be somewhat discouraging. President Reagan came into office as a taxcutter who wanted to be tough with the Soviets. According to Novak, President Reagan was constantly being sniped at by people who were supposed to be on his side, including Republican congressional leaders (Howard Baker, Bob Dole, Bob Michel) and his own staff and cabinet (Jim Baker, Al Haig). These people got scared because of the budget deficits, started wringing their hands and pushing for tax increases, etc., or they privately tried to undermine Reagan’s foreign policy with their own accommodationist ideas. According to Novak, the same thing happened in the mid and late 1990s, with Newt Gingrich talking a good game but sometimes being too accommodating to President Clinton’s priorities when he should have been more confrontational.
I’m hopeful that Senator Coburn is part of a new generation of Republicans who will continue to walk the talk as they rise in the party leadership. However, Novak’s chronicles of the Reagan and Gingrich eras give credence to the saying that “The cream rises til it turns sour.”