Believe me, I retch every time I hear Tom Coburn's name.
But, if just one Democrat had this kind of balls, think of just how much bad legislation could be stopped dead in it's tracks.
"We don't have the votes"? You don't need the votes, just one ass-clown with the guts to do it. When Chris Dodd tried to put a hold on FISA, Hairy Reed (I know) ignored him. He should have tried this stunt.
Even this guy's party is against him, and he doesn't care. Dems, take note.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11974.htmlLive from the Capitol, it’s Saturday night with Tom Coburn — but the feisty senator from Oklahoma is promising that there will be precious few laughs.
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“I’m going to push every procedural tactic that’s available. Every one,” Coburn said. For strategic reasons, he wouldn’t elaborate. “I’m not about to talk about them. ... I’ve got some they haven’t seen in a few years.”
If he follows through on his threat, the gears of the Senate could grind to a halt, said Bob Dove, who worked as a Senate parliamentarian from 1966 until 2001. “It’s child’s play,” said Dove, who’s now an attorney with Patton Boggs and a professor of political science at George Washington University. “If he has good parliamentary advice, he can tie the Senate up in knots. Absolute knots.”
For example, said Dove, everything in the Senate is amendable, and amendments must be read unless there is unanimous consent to skip them. “I’ve seen people send the U.S. Code to the desk as an amendment. And then the amendment will be read,” Dove said, adding that the parliamentary possibilities are “just endless.”
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