Sen. Tom Coburn is blocking legislation that would provide $20 million a year in federal funding for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at ground zero, demanding that co-sponsors of the bill come up with cuts to pay for the spending, his office confirmed to POLITICO…. “Our debt is our greatest national security threat, and Dr. Coburn makes no apologies for forcing Congress to make choices and avoid unnecessary borrowing,” said John Hart, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Republican. “If providing federal funding for this effort is a critical national priority, the sponsors should pay for this effort by reducing spending on lower-priority programs…. “It is also important to question why we need a $20 million earmark for a 9/11 memorial when private and patriotic Americans across the country are generously supporting this noble cause,” Hart added.
Just when I begin to think that Republicans couldn’t possibly sink any lower, along comes Tom Coburn, who demonstrates once again that the GOP is a barrel with no bottom. In this case, Coburn is proving his devotion to his flavor of “fiscal responsibility” by demanding that federal spending for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum be offset with corresponding spending cuts.
I find it interesting that Coburn and his fellow Republicans have no problem with the bloated defense budget in the hundreds of billions of dollars, but $20 million for the 9.11 memorial is a bridge too far? Coburn is holding funding for the memorial hostage until he gets his spending offsets. To call Coburn’s stance meaningless and offensive would be an understatement. $20 million represents less than .001% of the federal budget. If Coburn is so all fired up about the federal debt, it would only be logical to assume that he would start with legitimate waste…like, say, the bloated defense budget, which is loaded with weapons systems the military doesn’t need but are saddled with because they provide jobs in some Congressman’s district.
Coburn, who’s been in the Senate long enough that he’s begun to believe his own press clippings, seems to have no problem with portraying himself as a political buffoon. Among other silliness, Coburn made a federal case of out of the non-existent “$16 muffin” scandal flogged by Bill O’Reilly, among other Right-wing talking heads. Coburn’s never been one to let the truth get in the way of selective, often pointless outrage.
If you think I should be giving Coburn the benefit of the doubt, consider this: last year, Coburn blocked a bill that would have provided health care and other benefits to 9.11 first-responders and those sickened by the dust at Ground Zero. This from a man who professes to be committed to national security. If that isn’t mean-spirited, hypocritical, and heartless, I’m not certain what would qualify.
