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Dr. No Endorses Sen. McCain
Anti-Pork and Pro-Life Stances Attract Senator Coburn
By Adam C Posted in 2008 — Comments (17) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
I began my blogging back in 2004 by following then-retired Rep. Coburn in his primary race against the establishment choice and solid conservative OKC Mayor Kirk Humphries. After reading Breach of Trust, I recognized that even if Sen. Coburn had some views that I disagreed with and wasn't always the most unifying presence, his priority would be to smash the bipartisan embrace of Big Government. Since Sen. Coburn upset Mayor Humphries and then rode Bush's coattails to victory in 2004, I have been very happy to see the Senator focus on cutting pork, ending earmarks, and smashing that growing bipartisan consensus on Big Government. Moreover, Krempasky asked me to blog here at RedState primarily to cover the OK-SEN race. And they haven't kicked me out yet, 4 years later.
In December 2007, I endorsed Sen. McCain for President despite some disagreements on issues. That endorsement was in part due to Sen. McCain's staunch record fighting the pork-barreling corruption machine that is Washington, DC. It took Sen. Coburn's endorsement today for me to find this June 2007 article that Sen. Coburn wrote about Sen. McCain on immigration and more importantly on Sen. McCain's character during policy disagreements. Furthermore, I was unaware that Sen. McCain was a signatory with Sen. Coburn on this letter:
We also believe that it is wrong to violate Senate Rules by inserting new provisions that are not included in either a Senate or House bill into conference reports at the last minute. The unsavory practice of inserting such provisions at the last minute stifles debate and empowers well-heeled lobbyists at the expense of those who cannot afford access to power. Decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent should not be made in the dark, behind closed doors. Therefore, we also plan to challenge future violations of Senate Rules, and, as necessary, we will offer proposals to strengthen current Senate Rules in order to increase transparency and accountability in the expenditure of taxpayer dollars.
I have always admired Sen. Coburn's ability to put principle before party. And it doesn't surprise me to see him endorse another Republican who has done the same, especially on pork-barreling corruption issues.
Sen. Coburn's endorsement is below the fold:
"I am honored to be here in South Carolina today, and I am very proud to endorse my friend and colleague Senator John McCain for President of the United States. John McCain and I have stood side-by-side on many issues and I'd like to speak to two of them today -- fiscal responsibility and ensuring the sanctity of human life.
"Much has been made in this presidential campaign about the need for change in Washington. Candidates from both sides of the aisle have talked about bringing real reform to the federal government. But, only one candidate has a record of putting his money where his mouth is, and that's John McCain.
"Since I came to Congress in 1995, I have met one true reformer -- John McCain. He has the unique blend of character, guts, and experience needed to transform Washington from the inside out. He is beholden to no special interest. He is guided by strong conservative principles, and committed to doing what he believes is right without concern for political consequence.
"John McCain has never been afraid to take the road less traveled, and he has fought wasteful spending at every turn along the way. He's saved taxpayers untold billions, and he has rightfully earned the reputation as the Senate's number one fiscal hawk. I trust that as president, John McCain will veto any pork-barrel bill that crosses his desk, and will make the authors famous.
"When it comes to ensuring the sanctity of human life, you will find no one stronger on the issue than Senator McCain. For twenty-four years, John McCain has been an unwavering voice in Congress for the rights of the unborn.
"For those reasons and more, I urge voters here in South Carolina and across the country to join me in supporting John McCain for president."
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Dr. No Endorses Sen. McCain 17 Comments (0 topical, 17 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
He voted against
by Adam C
the Energy Pork Bill and the Transportation Pork Bill two years ago. Coburn voted for the latter. McCain was the only Senator to use the term "pork" to describe the Transportation Bill on the Senate floor. Or as the Senator puts it, "there's a reason I'm not Ms. Congeniality in the Senate."
McCain also opposed Bush's Prescription Drug Bill because he opposed spending more money on an entitlement. He supports Personal Retirement Accounts. McCain has his problem issues, but fighting pork and spending are one of his good points. And Sen. Coburn knows that.
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Some links
by Adam C
Here is an article I did in 2005 about "The Fall of Republican Fiscal Conservatism" that notes the 3 Senators who voted against the Energy and Transportation Pork Bills: Gregg, Kyl, and McCain. No Coburn, Brownback, Santorum, DeMint, etc. but McCain is there.
And here is an old (2005 IIRC) article I wrote about McCain being a conservative and having small government credentials that Rs needed.
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Good "get" for McCain...
by Syndicate
...but this should not be a big surprise. Coburn's biggest issue is pork barrel spending, and McCain is the best in the field on that. This doesn't change the fact that McCain is pretty darn liberal on a host of other issues: 1st Amendment, ANWR, Immigration, tax cuts, judges and marriage to name a few.
liberal?
by Amarcavage
How is McCain "liberal" on judges? The Gang of 14 makes him "liberal"? It's not like he voted against any of the President's nominees. In fact, the Gang of 14 agreement paved the road for some of the most conservative and controversial--Owen, Rogers Brown and Pryor--to get confirmed without incident. And then of course there was Alito's very easy confirmation. And it preserves the filibuster option for another day...when we'll likely be the ones who need to threaten its use. The Gang of 14 agreement represents the utmost in conservative--Burkean conservative--values.
Same for "marriage." McCain didn't want to undertake a quixotic experiment with the Constitution, though he's on record against gay marriage. That makes him a conservative pragmatist, not a "liberal."
It also makes him electable.
This is good for McCain.
by St. Louis Conservative
I don't know if this will move any votes in McCain's favor, but it definitely will make conservatives (me included) less uneasy about supporting him should he get the nomination.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
Makes sense
by cordpt
There are still a few sane minds in the GOP. Let's hope they are enough to stop this out-of-control federal spending, the incessant cutting of taxes without cutting spending - a recipe for catastrophe, the expanding welfare (social and corporate) and all the other policies of America’s socialist left (including a sound part of the GOP).
SNAFUed
by Adam C
Hey all, I think I SNAFUed this thread by accident. I'm working on getting someone smarter than myself to fix it.
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Moe fixed it. Thanks Moe.
by Adam C
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Curious
by SIConservative
I find this a bit odd. It's not so much the actual endorsement that troubles me, it's the "When it comes to ensuring the sanctity of human life, you will find no one stronger on the issue than Senator McCain." That's kind of like the President saying that Hariet Miers was the best SCOTUS nominee he could find. Setting aside for a moment his own pro-life cred, Coburn could've walked down the hall from his Senate office and found a few people stronger on life than McCain. What's more, McCain's continued support for life-destroying research in spite of recent developments suggests to me that he really doesn't understand the issue or, perhaps worse, doesn't care to do so.
I'd have been perfectly fine with it if Coburn said that he was endorsing McCain based on fiscal issues while saying McCain would not work against us on life. I wish, though, that he hadn't fallen into the trap that so many other people (including much of the RedState community, especially the supporters of St. Fred) have of attempting to deify his candidate of choice.
Even so
by SIConservative
Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson would veto federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. I'd rather see them attempt to outlaw it, but either way that position alone makes them stronger on life than John McCain.
HUGE endorsement.
by Staunch_Libertarian
He is one of the most respected voices for conservatism in the Senate. Big deal.
One thing to note, Coburn is by no means stupid. He wouldn't endorse someone with little chance of winning. He has his ear to the ground and knows which way the wind blows.
Good news for Mac.
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Coburn
by Ihatepork
Adam whats your theory behind why Coburn did in fact vote for the Transportation Bill?
Good for him! If McCain can secure the nomination despite the "Fair and Balanced" reporting coming from the Murdock Machine, it shows he has touched a real desire among Americans to face facts and deal with our problems. If not, we can always go back to pandering as usual.
I saw Coburn tonight
by absentee
He was a compelling voice at the John McCain town hall. These guys are dead serious about pork and corruption.
absentee
He STILL shut down the search and accounting for our POW-MIA's. Until he can explain this, and apologise to the families for his accusations, I could care less if he walks on water!!
Of course there are STILL the minor issues of PUBLICLY fighting the administration on war policy, tax cuts, having immense contempt for us little racist guys for demanding control of our borders, incremental limitation of gun rights, limiting us little guys right to political speech, claiming torture doesn't work (it only took him 2 days, according to his book, to offer the Vietnamese military info for medical treatment.)
This man's life has been all about HIM!!! He has no loyalties to Conservatism, Values, or the Constitution. Only to those things that will promote HIM!!!
No, just because McCain seems to be good on spending, I am not going to trade EVERYTHING ELSE AWAY!!!!!
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If Senator McCain is such a reformer, how is it that his 20+ year record shows so few signs of actual reform?
In addition, Senator McCain is tough on earmarks, but he is not a frugal spender. Corporate welfare comes to mind, but he has never been the type of Senator to go to the floor and wage spending battles (though I concede that Coburn has).
Just a few thoughts.