I would like to believe I would not have behaved differently had I not made a term limits pledge, but my own frailties and human desire for prestige and position tell me my term limits pledge did make a difference in how I approached my job in Congress.
Tom CoburnWhat makes this mentality dangerous is that when the team is held together by careerism and mindless partisanship, individual members are punished for thinking for themselves.
Tom CoburnWhen I came to Washington, I was troubled to observe so many similarities between the behaviors of drug-addicted patients and my political colleagues. In Washington power is like morphine.
Tom CoburnI believe keeping our promises should be our highest priority and that means saving Social Security and Medicare while preserving the American dream for our children and grandchildren.
Tom CoburnWelfare reform happened with reconciliation; half the Democrats voted for it. The Bush tax cuts happened with reconciliation; twelve Democratic Senators voted for it. You didn't have a real partisan issue on those times that it was used
Tom CoburnEverybody in America is going to have to sacrifice to help us rebuild the Gulf Coast. Every government program, every individual, we are all going to have to sacrifice
Tom CoburnThe ripping and tearing of an unborn child from his mother's womb through the hands of another, and we say, "That's fine; you have a constitutional right to do that."
Tom CoburnI still believe that term limits is the best way to ensure that the next generation, not the next election, is the central concern in our elected bodies.
Tom CoburnThe question that arises as we use all these adjectives and adverbs to describe our physicians as we approach a Supreme Court nominee is where are we in America when we decide that it's legal to kill our unborn children?
Tom CoburnCareer politicians do not have the courage to prioritize spending and say no to demanding special interest groups who do not reflect the best interests of the country.
Tom CoburnThe traits in career politicians the public detests most are produced when ego triumphs over principle.
Tom CoburnHow is it that we have sodomy protected under that due process but prostitution unprotected? It's schizophrenic.
Tom CoburnI asked Chief Justice John Roberts about this definition of life - you know, what is life? The Supreme Court can't figure it out or doesn't want us to figure it out; the fact that we know that there is no life if there's no heartbeat and brainwaves.
Tom CoburnStatesmen exhibit five key commitments: 1) A commitment to principles above politics; 2) An ability to compromise without abandoning principle; 3) A commitment to truth over spin; 4) A commitment to courage over cowardice; and 5) A commitment, or willingness, to give up power.
Tom CoburnFew things infuse a member of Congress with more courage than self-imposed term limits or an imminent retirement. The issues they choose to focus on in their final months say a great deal about what are really the most important issues in the country.
Tom CoburnThe founding fathers never once rationalized getting in power and having control so they could stay in power.
Tom CoburnSenator [Sam] Brownback talked about those with disabilities that are destroyed in the womb because of a genetic test that is sometimes wrong. I would put forward that we all have disabilities.
Tom CoburnI firmly believe that the court should take another direction on many of these moral issues that face us.
Tom CoburnI'm very disturbed at the picture that was painted by Senator Ted Kennedy that Samuel Alito is not a man of his word, that he is dishonest. The implication that he is not reliable I don't think is a fair characterization of what I've read.
Tom CoburnLesbianism is so rampant in some of the schools in southeast Oklahoma that they'll only let one girl go to the bathroom. Now think about it. Think about that issue. How is it that that's happened to us?
Tom CoburnWhen we have heartbeat and brain waves, we refuse to accept it as the presence of life - this lack of logic of which we approach this issue because we like and we favor convenience over ethics. We favor convenience over the hard parts of life that actually make us grow.
Tom CoburnThe gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power… That agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That's a gay agenda.
Tom CoburnPeople that had the guts to put their loyalty to the Constitution ahead of their loyalty to their political party were citizen legislators.
Tom CoburnWe've gone down a road to which we don't have the answers for. That's why we have the schizophrenic decisions coming out of the Supreme Court that don't balance logically with one versus another decision.
Tom CoburnThe danger of what's happening right now in terms of using reconciliation is, the purpose of the Senate is going to be defeated. And that is to bring consensus to big issues in this country.
Tom CoburnCareerism: the self-centered philosophy of governing to win the next election above all else.
Tom CoburnWe're gonna put $456 million to go to an island of 50 people? You know... The bridge to nowhere. And this is right after Katrina happened. And so I offer an amendment to take that money from Alaska and repair the stuff in Louisiana.
Tom CoburnThe voting records of virtually every member of Congress reveal that the oath of office is more a ceremonial gesture than a sacred commitment.
Tom CoburnI believe all life has value, from conception to natural death. And I believe the intentional taking of human life, except to save lives, should be a capital offense, as it is in most states in America today
Tom CoburnThe earmark favor factory needs to be boarded up and demolished, not turned over to new management that may or may not have a better eye for earmarks with 'merit.'
Tom CoburnIf we're to honor the heritage of our country, whether it be in terms of religious freedom, whether it be in terms of truly protecting life, protecting not just the unborn but who comes next, the infirm, the elderly, the maimed, the disabled - that's who comes next as we get into the budget crunch of taking care of those people in the years - I believe we ought to have that debate honest and openly.
Tom CoburnI'm proud of our country that we elected Barack Obama. I mean, it says something about us nationally. You know, it's kind of like crowning your checker when you get to the end of your checker board. Here's another thing that says America's special: Barack Obama, president of the United States.
Tom CoburnEverybody is gonna die from something. And so the deal is how to use each day to move things forward for both you and the people you love and the country you love.
Tom CoburnTactics and strategies ought to be based on what the real world is, and we do not have the political power to do this. We're not about to shut the government down over the fact that we cannot, only controlling one house of Congress, tell the president that we're not going to fund any portion of [Obamacare]. Because we can't do that.
Tom CoburnThe problem that faces our country today, the last 30 years we have lived off the future, and the bill is coming due. So there cannot be anything that is not put on the table. There will not be one American that will not be called to sacrifice. Those that are more well-to-do will be called to sacrifice to a greater extent.
Tom CoburnOne poll showed that Americans have a higher opinion of witches, the IRS and hemorrhoids than Congress
Tom Coburn