NORMAN — Editor, The Transcript:
The Transcript’s article on Sen. Tom Coburn’s visit to his constituents in Stillwater last week was greatly appreciated, as it provided more laughs than the comics page.
Sen. Coburn told his audience, “There isn’t a thimble of sense in Washington right now.”
Would it be unkind of me to point out that Tom is a longtime senator who lives and works in Washington? I wonder how much sense he, personally, has added to the thimble. A bit more than a pinch and far less than a dollop?
Tom went on to say, “Politicians are playing games to advance politics and not the country.”
Surely he was not referring to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s vow that every Senate vote should be taken with the idea of defeating President Barack Obama in 2014, or that the House has refused to approve a single initiative placed before it by the president since Republicans took control of that not-very-August body in 2010?
After all, these do-nothing politicians are all Republicans and ... drum roll, please ... Tom Coburn is a Republican. How’s the game going, Tom?
When a constituent asked if the Ryan budget might destroy Social Security and Medicare, Tom admitted that he had little to no knowledge of Republican plans regarding these social programs for the aged and disabled. “Let’s let it play out,” he suggested.
Let’s roll the dice, eh, Tom? It’s only 150 million American lives at stake. Who knows? Maybe they won’t roll snake-eyes. Sorry, Tom, we have to remove a bit of the pinch of sense you contributed to the big thimble in the sky over Washington.
Finally, our good senator had this response to a student asking about rising tuition costs that are depriving students of a chance for a college education. “Tuition is going up because the federal government has gotten involved in it,” said Coburn, referring to Pell grants and student loans.
OK, let’s get this straight: If Daddy helps you by paying your tuition, it has no effect on the cost of attending college. If, on the other hand, the government helps you pay your tuition (with grants or loans), it adds to the cost of attending the same college. Daddy’s money is pure and good. Government money, by the very nature of its being “government,” is bad and forces colleges to raise costs. Go figure.
Sorry, Tom, old boy, we have to remove the remainder of your tiny pinch of sense from the great thimble above Washington. But, look on the bright side: You have finally reached the same competence level as Oklahoma’s other senator, James Inhofe.
DEAN EVERETT
Norman
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