Sunday, August 03, 2008
Politicians - Dr. No
Apparently the New York Times and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid don't like Senator Tom Coburn's reluctance to pass bills without deliberation and without funding.
Somehow, that makes me LIKE Senator Coburn. How about you?...
Somehow, that makes me LIKE Senator Coburn. How about you?...
At Reason.com, Jacob Sullum gives his opinion:
"I myself am partial to the notion, promoted by such rogue right-wingers as James Madison, that the federal government may exercise only those powers explicitly enumerated in the Constitution, which do not include subsidizing medical research, museums, or foreign travel for college students. As Madison pointed out, if Article I's General Welfare Clause is interpreted as blanket permission to spend money on good things, much of the rest of the Constitution is superfluous.
Coburn, known as the Dr. No of the Senate, does not go that far. Unlike Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), the Dr. No of the House, Coburn generally does not oppose spending on constitutional grounds. But he does ask his colleagues to pay for new programs by cutting old ones instead of spending money they do not have. In a letter to Reid, he identified $45 billion in cuts that could be used to offset the cost of Advancing America's Priorities.
Reid did not respond. When you're spending other people's money, especially when you're borrowing against the earnings of people who are not yet born, there's no need to set priorities."
