Oklahoma's Tom Coburn, one of the Senate's leading pro-life champions and an eloquent, consistent advocate of responsible government, has endorsed John McCain for president. He even traveled with McCain to South Carolina which is holding its Republican primary on Saturday.McCain won Coburn's support because "he understands the real problems in Washington. It's not about being aligned with him 100 percent of the time. It's about whether he's going to act on the courage of his convictions.”
Coburn and McCain are natural allies on spending issues; McCain has long fought against "earmarked” projects in spending bills and has sought to exert more oversight on government programs. The two senators also agree on most foreign policy issues, Coburn said, including the war in Iraq.
They differed greatly on immigration. McCain last year fought for a bill that would have created a new path to citizenship for people here illegally. Coburn sided with those who said it would be the same as amnesty and undermine the rule of law. Coburn also disagreed with McCain on the Arizona senator's campaign finance overhaul that many conservatives contend violates free speech protections.
But Coburn said McCain's "character and truthfulness” would allow him to speak to the American people about the tough problems the nation needs to tackle.
In a statement in South Carolina, Coburn also praised McCain for being "an unwavering voice in Congress for the rights of the unborn.”
