On the Senate floor today, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) gave a nice little speech about the power of the word “no,” and why it may not be such a bad thing that the Republicans have become known as “The Party Of ‘No.'”
Coburn started off by asserting that “‘no’ is a wonderful word.” He then provided a host of examples of when it is useful and appropriate to use the word:
When your child’s misbehaving, you say “no.” When your adolescent child is making bad judgments, you say “no.” When somebody’s stealing something from somebody else, i.e. liberty, you say “no.” When you’re stealing the future, in terms of opportunity, we should say “no”. When you’re creating a government-centric health care system, rather than a patient-centered health care system, “no” is a great word.
He continued that “saying ‘no’ at the right time saves lives. Saying ‘no’ at the right time saves money. Saying ‘no’ at the proper time time preserves our future.”
Coburn concluded: “Saying ‘no,’ when ‘no’ is the best answer, is the correct, right thing to do.”
Here’s the full video:
