Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is not my favorite Senator. Actually, he’s one of my least favorite, since he’s wrong about just about everything.
But he’s right about how to fix – or, more precisely, how not to fix – the debt ceiling problem.
“I think it’s terrible that we would have to raise more taxes,” Coburn said on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” “But if we’re going to get an agreement in Washington to fix our problems, when those of us that don’t want to raise taxes control the House of Representatives, don’t control the Senate, don’t control the White House — I think it’s pretty stupid and naive to think you’re going to win that battle.”
So … correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Senator Coburn has just called the entire Republican caucus in the House, up to and including Speaker Boehner, “stupid and naive.” Those are pretty harsh words, especially coming from a fellow party member.
And Coburn isn’t done.
[Coburn] continued his war of words with the anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist, saying he “represents the silliness of our political situation today.”
“I would rather fix the country and lose a battle with Grover Norquist than send our country down the tubes and pay attention to a point of view that is just suicide,” Coburn said.
Well, someone needed to say it. Still, the fact that Tom Coburn, of all people, seems to be the only Republican in Washington talking sense is a remarkable and somewhat depressing fact.
Hey, maybe Scott Brown has something useful to say! He’s an “independent” Republican, always thinking outside the box and all, isn’t he? Maybe he’s got an ingenious plan up his sleeve that will do something about the impasse!
Oh, right. Never mind.
We find ourselves in a pretty dire situation. Debt ceiling talks collapsed yesterday, and it’s now looking exceedingly unlikely that any sort of “grand bargain” can be reached in time. Leaders from both parties are expected at the White House today at 11 a.m. to talk about how to avoid a default, which, if I had to guess, will end up looking something like the McConnell gambit that we’ve discussed previously. And God only knows what the markets will do when they open up on Monday morning – the news of the talks collapsing came after markets closed on Friday. If nothing constructive happens over the weekend, it could be ugly.
This never, ever should have been allowed to happen.
howlandlewnatick says
Two cannibal tribes are arguing over who gets which pieces of us, how much is to be sacrificed to the war god and the great corporate demon. For the latter, it looks like a tax holiday will come up, the former, not mentioned by either tribe, as not to incur the wrath of Mars. No doubt many political pull interests will be allowed to gouge at least some the flesh from the citizenry. So we wait until the drums cease and the cutting starts.
It’s nice to see some cannibals question the ethics of eating us. Maybe that’s social progress.
“The difference between a Republican and a Democrat is the Democrat is a cannibal they have to live off each other, while the Republicans, why, they live off the Democrats.” –Will Rogers
jconway says
On abortion he makes even most pro-lifers uncomfortable, his involvement in the Ensign business is troubling, and on gays, Gods, and guns he is as nutty if not more so than most in his party. But on birtherism, Obama bashing in general, fiscal issues, transparency, civil liberties, aid to Africa, civility, and understanding thatcampaigning and governing are distinct skill sets he is one of my favorite conservative Senators. He has early on said some taxes got to go up since he is an old school paleocon budget balancer and not a neocon supply sider. He wants the wars to end and is open that they are money pits, he believes in term limits and actually abides by them,and he and Obama passed great laws together in the Senate and are actually quite close personally. It is sad statement about our politics though that a nutty conservative being a decent civil human being to his colleagues and being sane on some issues gets so much praise.
sabutai says
Coburn has principles, and he sticks by them. No wonder he’s so unpopular with the Republicanists* these days.
*Many of the freshmen Congresspersons seem to be following a religion more than a political philosophy. Hence I call them Republicanists.
JimC says
Who allowed it to happen? Raising the debt ceiling is a pretty routine matter; the president, for whatever reason, raised the stakes. Didn’t he allow it to happen?
hesterprynne says
The ever-opportunistic Republicans did, seeing “a pretty routine matter,” as you accurately describe it, as another occasion for hostage taking.
Paul Krugman, May 16, 2011:
Apologies if you were being ironic.
JimC says
It wasn’t the GOP who brought up deep cuts to Social Security. The president may not have picked the fight, but he (almost certainly) escalated it to make a point.
I think the heart of it is the Goldilocks strategy. He made a big point of saying he was willing to anger his own party. It looks like he was willing to anger the GOP too.
I’m trying to keep an open mind, but honestly I feel manipulated by the whole thing.
hesterprynne says
that the Prez has handled this very badly. (And “Goldilocks strategy” is really superb) Just that the GOP was the party to adopt anarchy as an imperative.
JimC says
I first saw “Goldilocks” on Eschaton, but I think it might be a digby-ism.
AmberPaw says
As in Obma – call Boehner’s bluff. Turn the tables. It is time to be a strong president.