Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) criticized the chamber in his farewell remarks on the Senate floor, saying his colleagues have ignored the Founding Fathers’ vision and infringed on the rights of American citizens. The two-term senator choked up as he read aloud the oath of office taken by lawmakers. “Every member of the Senate takes the same oath and here’s where I differ with a lot of my colleagues. Let me read the oath to you because I think it’s part of our problem. ‘I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.’” The senator, long-dubbed “Dr. No” for combating government waste, further lectured his fellow senators about enriching their home states: “Your state isn’t mentioned one time in that oath. Your whole goal is to protect the United States of America, its Constitution, and its liberties. It’s not to provide benefits for your state. That’s where we differ. That’s where my conflict with my colleagues is come. It’s nice to be able to do things for your state, but that isn’t our charge. Our charge is to protect the future of our country by upholding the Constitution and ensuring the liberty that’s guaranteed there is protected and preserved.” Coburn was first elected in 1994 to the House of Representatives and upheld his campaign promise to serve no more than three consecutive terms. He was elected to the Senate in 2004 and then re-elected in 2010–and pledged not to seek a third term. He announced last January that he would resign two years early. Senator Coburn will be succeeded in January by Rep. James Lankford (R) who won a special election this year to serve out Coburn’s remaining two years. Although Coburn is currently being treated for cancer, he has said that the cancer is not the reason for his resignation. The 66-year-old Republican made no mention of it in his speech. Read more at westernjournalism/tom-coburn-reminds-senators-duty-farewell-speech/#Ye7goQY5gQwfc0DA.99
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 19:32:36 +0000
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