Who Hijacked Our Country

Monday, August 04, 2008

Tom Coburn (R-Okla) Hates America and Loves Child Pornography

He also hates our troops, especially those whiny ones who complain about being paralyzed. And thirty-nine of Coburn’s fellow Senate Republicans agree with him.

A total of thirty-six bills have been blocked by Coburn. One of his stated reasons is “excessive spending.” Hey, I know how we can fix that.

But more recently he’s been blocking every Senate bill that doesn’t deal with oil exploration. He wants to blackmail the Senate into voting on whether to allow offshore drilling. Democrats have refused to bring this topic to a vote.

Newsflash for Coburn: the majority party (and right now that’s the Democrats) controls the congressional agenda. Get over it Douchebag.

Before the Senate’s summer recess, Harry Reid lumped together all 36 of the bills blocked by Coburn, and tried to get them passed as the Advancing America’s Priorities Act. That was when Coburn and his 39 Stooges stood together to block the bill. Democrats needed 60 votes to pass the bill; they got 52.

In addition to helping paralyzed veterans, some of the other blocked bills included funding for Homeland Security and to fight child pornography.

So, the question is: why is the “media” silent about this? And why aren’t Democratic strategists (in case there actually are any) capitalizing on this and shouting about it from the rooftops?

When a Democrat is against offshore drilling, the Republicans scream in unison that gas would go down to $2 a gallon TOMORROW if it weren't for those Democrats and treehuggers standing in the way. And these screams and soundbites are dutifully recited by thousands of Republican secretaries in the “media.”

But when Republicans defeat a bill that would require oil companies to start drilling on the 68 million acres where they already hold leases, the media is dead silent and the Democrats just grumble among themselves. And how many people even KNEW that the oil companies were already leasing 68 million acres where they aren’t drilling? Another big Fuck You Very Much to our lapdog “media.”

And why don’t congressional Democrats seem to know any of these obscure legislative maneuvers that Republicans are always pulling out of thin air? As much as I hated the late unlamented Jesse Helms — and don’t forget, the entire country celebrated with fireworks on the day he died — he seemed to know every obscure bylaw and parliamentary maneuver that ever existed. And he wielded them like a scalpel. He kept Bill Clinton in a straitjacket with his constant maneuvers — even during Clinton’s first two years when the Democrats controlled Congress.

Why don’t Democrats use any of these procedures? And they seem to be unable or unwilling to capitalize on Republican votes that would infuriate most Americans — if the public only knew about them.

Obama and his campaign staff need to articulate these issues and communicate them to the voters. If they can’t or won’t, we’re all gonna be stuck with Dumbya’s Significant Other in the White House next January.

cross-posted at Bring It On!

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19 Comments:

Blogger Enemy of the Republic said...

When you get right down to it, the love of child pornography gets to the heart of the Republican's patroitism--keep children alive (no abortion), don't discuss sex or engage in anything that tempts you (dancing, music) and children are really subsuvient to adults as explained in the Bible. Oh, I forgot about freedom of the press as long as they say what they want. But loving child pornography means you really hate children who just happen to be the future of America. So why not ruin them.

Good post. And if we do offshore drilling, the price of oil will not change one iota.

August 4, 2008 at 4:41 PM  
Blogger Jim Marquis said...

You make a good point about the Republicans and all these arcane legislative tricks they use. Sometimes the Dem seem like schoolboys who manage to have their lunch money stolen more days than not.

August 4, 2008 at 5:10 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Enemy: You're right, offshore drilling won't accomplish anything. It'll just expand the oil companies' turf so they can control millions of acres of wilderness and sensitive marine areas.

J: Yeah, I sure wish the Democrats would get in gear and start learning the legislative tricks that Republicans have been using for decades. At some point they've gotta get tired of having their lunch money stolen every day.

August 4, 2008 at 5:32 PM  
Blogger Lew Scannon said...

The intent is clear, As long as Republicans keep pushing for offshore oil exploration, the Democrats stand on the side of high gas prices. An intelligent and informed public wouldn't fall for this, which is why the corporate media doesn't report what it should, rather, it echoes McCain's and other Republican talking points.

August 4, 2008 at 7:48 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Lew: Yeah, it's a perfect combination. Soundbites repeated endlessly by the Right and their cooperative "media," and a public that's either dumbed down or oblivious. And passive Democratic politicians who just sit there and let it happen.

August 4, 2008 at 8:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Coburn is a real piece of 16th-century work, all right. He probably is holding out for offshore drilling in the belief it will benefit leaseholders along the Oklahoma coast.

I commented on one of Coburn's more-outrageous travesties in December '06, in "Gains against breast cancer, no thanks to Sen. Coburn" at Oh!pinion.

Truly, a radical ideologue after George W. Bush's own shriveled-dirtbag heart.

You're quite right about Democrats' shortcomings when it comes to strategy and tactics. I'm all over them right now for not sticking together and speaking up for one another, too. (Kerry on Meet the Press yesterday, feeding Wes Clark to the wolves.)

Sometimes it's like watching a Yo-yo competition where the Yo-yos are all stringless. It makes you want to ask, "What can you be thinking -- or are you thinking at all?"

August 4, 2008 at 10:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lew Scannon, you nailed it about the GOP-friendly media, and about a too-often gullible public. Excellent points.

Tom, try to imagine what Democratic congressional leaders like Sam Rayburn and Lyndon Johnson would've done with these clowns. It boggles the mind.

August 4, 2008 at 10:11 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

SW: Good '06 post about Coburn. And like one of your commenters said, Coburn is only the 2nd worst senator from Oklahoma.

Yeah, I can't believe how inept the Democrats' campaigning is. It's like they're trying to lose, to throw the game. You're right, Lyndon Johnson wouldn't have put up with shit like this.

August 4, 2008 at 11:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How about Kerry on with Brokaw yesterday letting Lieberman talk over him and interrupt him the way all the right wing gas bags do when they get on a talk show. Kerry needs to be sent to the showers, he gets hit all over every time they trot him out. We need a pitbull on t.v. with these a-holes not some prancing f'ing Afghan Hound who smiles while he's getting dissed and his candidate is getting hammered by a weasle turncoat like Lieberman. And Pelosi can put impeachment back on the table then hit the showers with Kerry, what a regrettable piece of history she made for womankind.

August 5, 2008 at 12:14 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Justice4Claire: I didn't see that show but it figures. Kerry's wooden manner and lack of assertiveness -- it's just an invitation for an asshole like Liebermann to walk all over him.

You're right, we need a pitbull, not some milquetoast wimp who just sits there all polite while he's getting shat on.

Obama is going to have to take the reins and start defining himself and the issues, or we'll be stuck with McSame next January.

August 5, 2008 at 1:14 AM  
Blogger Randal Graves said...

You do realize that Democrats are naturally dumb, right? Even with a worthless media, you'd think someone would be able to craft a narrative to rise above lizardbrain-itis, but, well, there's the evidence right there. Is it too early to start drinking?

August 5, 2008 at 6:05 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Randal: Democrats remind me of the kind of person (and we've all known people like this) who has a high IQ but does absolutely nothing with it. Drops out of school, works nothing but deadend jobs (or goes on welfare), and yet he/she is a whiz at crossword puzzles, Jeopardy, IQ tests, etc.

To answer your question: the sun is over the yardarm somewhere.

August 5, 2008 at 9:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hold on a minute. Kerry isn't beyond criticism, but let's keep it fair and accurate. On Meet the Press Sunday he launched into a stemwinder defense of Obama and took some shots at McPander and his campaign. That was the good news.

Later in the program, he collapsed like an accordion when asked about Wes Clark's statement. I give him a B- for the day.

You can read my take on it here at resurrected and freshly remodeled Oh!pinion. Don't worry, the paint's dry, there are no nails laying around and the sawdust has been vacuumed up (grin).

The post also includes a link to the MTP transcript.

August 5, 2008 at 11:36 AM  
Blogger American Hill BIlly said...

Tom I've got a good one for you. I have family that owns through a foundation the oil rights to six sections of land, or around 3,500 acres. There were six wells producing in the early 80's, and earning around 25k a month.

The government came in shut the six wells down, and capped'em. Now the family decendents(then only in the grandmother's name) in total recieve around 10k a month for the reserve!! WTF???


Peace and Freedom

August 5, 2008 at 11:46 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

SW: I didn't watch that program, so I'll take your word for it that Kerry manned up and defended Obama and jumped on McSame. It's hard to picture though. Every time I've heard him speak, he has that wooden manner and monotone voice that would make it hard to tell somebody off.

I'll check out your post (watching out for falling rafters and nails sticking up).

AHB: Interesting story. I guess they have to cap lots of oil wells in order to drum up this fake energy crisis. Sorry your family took such a loss. Big Oil doesn't care who they screw over.

August 5, 2008 at 2:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Coburn is a piece of shit, which stands him in good stead with damn near every other Oklahoma politician.

The Chimpromised MSM are too busy playing with their tire gauges to make note of this, though.

August 5, 2008 at 3:21 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

JR: That whole McSame tire gauge thing is so absurd. They totally dismiss something that will take effect immediately (checking tire pressure and getting regular tune-ups), and then they clamor for something (offshore drilling) that will have major risks and won't affect gas prices for ten years, or maybe never. Idiots.

August 5, 2008 at 3:38 PM  
Blogger Snave said...

The Senate just needs to keep putting it off until after 1/20/09, after which time the Dems will hopefully still control Congress and we will hopefully have a Democrat in the White House. The Dems need to stand firm.

August 6, 2008 at 5:02 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Snave: I think this whole phony "groundswell" will blow over shortly if the Democrats just stick to their guns. If offshore drilling gets brought to a vote, Republicans and turncoat Democrats will win. But there's no way this can be brought to a vote as long as the Democrats don't get all weak-kneed and crumble. That's the rules. Those are the rules we all had to live under when Republicans controlled Congress and controlled the agenda. Now it's the Democrats' turn.

August 6, 2008 at 6:49 PM  

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