Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), the man who forced a reading of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) single-payer amendment to bring the health care reform process to a halt in the Senate this week, says his party is playing fair when it comes to the health care debate on Capitol Hill.
“I don’t think we’re doing anything they [the Democrats] wouldn’t do,” Coburn told TPMDC on an RNC conference call this morning. “What’s unfair is setting an artificial debate deadline on the largest spending bill in American history.”
Democrats have accused the Republicans of unprecedented obstructionist tactics during the Senate reform debate, aimed at slowing a bill the GOP minority doesn’t have the votes to kill. But Coburn said it was the Democrats who are being “highly unfair” in the health care debate, allowing limited amendments and keeping details of the bill under wraps.
Coburn said his party has more plans to slow the bill moving forward, but he wouldn’t reveal what they are.
“We’re not going to preview our strategy because I don’t want the Democrats to hear it,” Coburn said.
The Oklahoma senator was joined on the call by Sen. John Barasso (R-WY). Both are medical doctors, and both are strongly opposed to the Democratic health care reform proposals. Barasso agreed with Coburn that the GOP has played fair during the reform debate, and he said the tactics the party has used aren’t about partisanship.
“They [the Democrats] have 60 votes — we have 40,” he said in response to the Democratic accusations that his party has unreasonably slowed the process down. “What we’re trying to do is protect the American people.”
