Oprah Clashes With Coburn On Protect Our Children Act
Oprah Clashes With Coburn On Protect Our Children Act
Yesterday, Oprah Winfrey urged her viewers to contact their senators and ask them to support the Protect Our Children Act (H.R. 3845/S. 1738), which authorizes over $320 million over the next five years for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation:
This is what we want to do. Want to get these guys and put them in jail. So, tell us about the Protect Our Children Act. It’s going before the U.S. Senate this month. We only have a few days.
Watch it:
The bill is being blocked by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who, in July, successfully derailed the legislation when it was included in the “the so-called Coburn omnibus,” a package of nearly 40 uncontroversial bills that extended funding for cancer research and crime prevention.
Now, Senate Democrats are gearing up for a re-match. According to the Hill, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), spurred on by activists and TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey…has sent word to Senate Democrats that it would like to bring the so-called Coburn omnibus bill to the floor soon, setting up a rematch with the conservative Oklahoma Republican who has often brought the Senate to gridlock.”
Indeed, in his three short years in the Senate, Coburn has earned the reputation of “a fly in the soup,” abusing the senate’s hold privilege to prevent “the Senate leadership” from bringing matters to a vote. He “initially blocked” S. 1738 “because it would have authorized nearly a billion dollars over eight years to fund a law enforcement crackdown on child exploitation,” but now “questions the efficacy of a new program.”
Far from controversial, the bill is co-sponsored by conservative Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) and is estimated to cost just $3 per American over the 2009-2013 budgeted period.”
Cross-posted at the Wonk Room.
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So when can we expect to see a McCain-Palin ad about Oprah supporting sex education for kindergarteners?
September 16th, 2008 at 3:13 pm..and yet Reid couldn’t even sstop the idiotic “MoveOn Resolution: that played into the republicans; hands.
Idiot.
Weak-kneedReid will fold again if bush tells him too. Funny, it takes Oprah to shame the democratic leadershi(t) into doing its job.
Pathetic.
How in God’s name did we wind up with Nancy and Harry and the Spineless Ones, such a collection of milquetoast poof-tahs hardly qualifies as ‘representation.’
Ugh.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:19 pmWith the McCain ad and now this, the Republicans are obviously against protecting our children and seem to find some kind of glee in mocking even trying to… What did they put Mark Foley in charge of again? I think I see a pattern.
They’ll surely fight to no end for fetuses to be born into exploitation.
(only somewhat tongue in cheek)
September 16th, 2008 at 3:25 pmObama should have picked Oprah to be his running mate. She seems to get things done in ways that Palin can only dream about…..
September 16th, 2008 at 3:27 pmLooks like Coburn is trying to out-AssKlown Imhoffe to become the biggest scumbag from OK.
Must be an honor to be represented by these two, huh, Oklahomans?
September 16th, 2008 at 3:27 pmCoburn holds the safety of our children hostage because he’s a whiner. There’s that classic conservative tough-on-crime stance. Or wide stance, depending on the provision one particular senator inserts into the bill.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:28 pmHere’s my three bucks, gladly well spent..
Why is Coburn such a child hating, miserly, cheapass effing reprobate?
September 16th, 2008 at 3:31 pmWith leadership like this, it’s a wonder that Sooners aren’t Laters…
September 16th, 2008 at 3:32 pmCorrect me if Im wrong, but senators don’t have an explicit ‘hold’ power. It’s an outdated tradition that is being abused.
Get rid of the ‘hold’, Its no longer needed. McCain invented teh Blackbury!
September 16th, 2008 at 3:34 pmRUCerious Says:
Here’s my three bucks, gladly well spent..
Why is Coburn such a child hating, miserly, cheapass effing reprobate?
And get this, he is a f’ing MD. I just hope he isn’t a pediatrician!
September 16th, 2008 at 3:37 pmupside OMG! You mean he’s actually taken the Hypocritic Oath?
September 16th, 2008 at 3:40 pmAnd here I thought in his case MD stood for MofoDumbass!
September 16th, 2008 at 3:41 pmRepublicants suck ass.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:50 pmPerhaps Coburn is afraid law enforcement might have enough money to check his hard drive.
September 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pmhas sent word to Senate Democrats that it would like to bring the so-called Coburn omnibus bill to the floor soon, setting up a rematch with the conservative Oklahoma Republican who has often brought the Senate to gridlock.”
Harry Reid is a lying sack of $hit. Coburn can block those bills because Reid allows him to do it. I forgot what Democratic Senator tried to block a FISA bill in the same way and Harry Reid overruled the Senator and brought it to a vote anyway. If he can do that to someone in his own party, he can do it to Coburn.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:03 pmSpeaking of which here’s a list of Republican offenders and the latest inductees: http://republicanoffenders.com/
September 16th, 2008 at 4:08 pmOprah is one of the main monarchs of the People magazine political pop culture. For all the “good” she supposedly does, I can think of a lot of other stuff she does wrong that adds to the vacuum of the empty “material” decadence that ruins us.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:30 pmHow apt is the appellation “Repugnant”?
September 16th, 2008 at 4:44 pmBoth inhofe and coburn are bought and paid for by lobbyist esc. the oil and the weapons industry. It does make sick to be from oklahoma. I have moved back for the first time in 10 years and this is what I see. The only news the people can get on cable is fox news or cnn. no cbc, bbc or even comedy central to get a little unbiased news. Inhofe and mccain’s ad’s run all the time talking pretty much about liberal’s this and that and with there being about 1 church per person in most small towns that’s pretty much all that is needed to win. Inhofe and coburn have the money from these industries to stay elected as long as they want.
September 16th, 2008 at 5:01 pmIf this bill does what it is protrayed as doing – how could anyone vote against it?
September 16th, 2008 at 6:22 pmDo Republicans really believe it’s a good thing not to protect children?
O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A…Oklahoma…is not OK…
(Except for Will Rogers, Woody Guthrie and Mickey Mantle…)
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September 16th, 2008 at 6:30 pmHe’s using Senate rules, not in the spirit for which they were intended, but for his own political and ideological gain with no consideration for potential consequences beyond not meeting his own goals.
He thinks he’s more right then anyone, kind of the way fundamentalist Christians think they believe in God more then anyone or have more family values then anyone.
That is the essence of conservative right wing Republican party and they will ruin this country.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:41 pmSome excerpts from a linked article:
Coburn initially blocked it because it would have authorized nearly a billion dollars over eight years to fund a law enforcement crackdown on child exploitation. Coburn has insisted that new government programs be offset with spending cuts, a budget-saving device Biden’s bill lacked.
Coburn now wants Biden’s revised proposal paired with Republican legislation that would give law enforcement greater access to the online records of suspected sexual predators.
Reid bundled the Biden bill with nearly 35 other bills that Coburn has used Senate rules to block into a package known as the Coburn omnibus.
“Oprah’s viewers deserve to know that Senate leaders have twice objected to passage of the bill she supports. Senate leaders have insisted … [the bill] only pass if it is included in a package of unrelated bills that addresses less vital concerns such as the interstate commerce of non-human primates,” Coburn said.
Since Coburn’s initial objection, Biden has pared down the cost of his bill to $320 million over the next five years.
Coburn has dropped his objection to the cost but still questions the efficacy of a new program if Congress does not grant law enforcement officials greater access to Internet service provider records that would help them trace online child pornography.
______
This bill is important enough to pass on its own rather than bundle it with other, lesser known bills. It would also be responsible to offset the cost of the bill with spending cuts and to give authorities the tools to investigate those suspected of online child predation and/or porn.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:49 pmYou puck head.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has taken a stand that he will block any bill that comes up if the ways of funding it are not spelled out.
What a great idea, don’t spend what you don’t have. WE need 99 more senators who say pay for it now, don’t pass it on to the next generation. If all senators would do that, the waste, pork barrel spending would end. you want to target the ONLY Honest Senator up there. If they had to pay for all the programs they think of up front 9 of 10 would be voted out. Hell have the ball to tell people we want 66% of your income to fund programs we think you need, we will not pass the expense on to your kids.
September 16th, 2008 at 9:03 pmIsn’t everything sold at WalMart made with child exploitation?
September 16th, 2008 at 10:47 pmI am sick of the Republican “right to life” meme. They do not believe in the right to life. They believe only in the right to birth. After you’re born, they couldn’t care less, witness Coburn’s obstinance, Palin’s cutting of the Special Olympics budget, and McCain’s voting against the children’s healthcare bill.
September 16th, 2008 at 11:04 pmremohes Says:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You ignornat piece of garbage. Your STUPID is galactic level. I scrape things off my SHOE that are smarter than you are ever going to be you worthless ignorant troll. You make my plastic houseplant look like a genius. Please stop stinking up this site you do nothing but embarass yourself by parading your ignorance in this humiliating fashion
September 17th, 2008 at 12:42 pmJust like the cold war when everyone who didn’t agree with the U.S. was either a communist or a communist sympathizer. toki This poor crazy guy spent half a decade being tortured because a bunch of stupid politicians araç sorgulama were sure the NVA was in bed with the Russians (minimal help) and/or the Chinese (ancient enemy of the vietnamese). ssk sorgulama You would think he would have learned from others’ mistakes. Guess not. Republicans need an enemy. key ödemeleri This century it apparently will be all Muslims, health all of whom must be alQaeda operatives.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:34 pm