From the Family Research Council:Of the nearly 890 Senate bills passed this session, you may be surprised to learn that there has been debate on only 50 of them. The others were approved by "unanimous consent" with little or no discussion. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is one of the many conservatives frustrated by the leadership's disregard for transparency. Repeatedly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has decided to ramrod legislation through the chamber without allowing any discourse between leaders. He attempted this--unsuccessfully--with a massive $11 billion spending bill last week. Mockingly called the "Coburn Omnibus" because it contained several programs and expenditures that the Oklahoma Senator opposed, Reid's bundle of fiscally irresponsible projects failed.
Unable to exact revenge on Coburn in the omnibus, liberals are now attacking the senator for his charitable work. The Ethics panel has launched an investigation on Coburn, who, as an obstetrician, delivers babies for free. As a member of Congress, Coburn can't receive payment for his work at Muskogee Regional Medical Center because of a "potential conflict of interest." Since Muskogee is now a private facility, the Ethics panel says it has new concerns. Coburn's office came out swinging. "...[P]arents don't choose to receive his services at a particular hospital because Dr. Coburn has somehow endorsed [it]... Has Sen. Leahy provided an improper endorsement to Warner Brothers for appearing in Batman?"
Is Sen. Reid foolish enough to publicly oppose volunteerism? He and his liberal attack dogs seem bent on tearing down the generous work of a citizen legislator. No doubt this would have been a non-issue if instead of delivering babies, Sen. Coburn had offered to abort them.
