Sen. Tom Coburn Kills Armadillos And Water Moccasins

He also likes to kill legislation. A short profile in Friday's New York Times displays Coburn's penchant for obstructing the legislative process. Is operating as an encumbrance in a legislative body designed to encumber achieving anything positive?

"'I’ve always considered myself an opposition within the opposition,' said Mr. Coburn, whose willingness to block, delay or neuter bills through an array of procedural measures has made him an effective nuisance during his five years in the Senate.

His at-times hyperbolic rhetoric, fervent social conservatism and seeming indifference to whether or not people like him have made him something of a lightning rod. 'If we wiped out the entire Congress and sent common people who have no political experience, we would get far better results than we have today,' he said in a remark typical of how he views the institution."

How true do you think this statement is:

"'If you look historically, every great republic has died over fiscal issues,' he said. 'That is the biggest moral issue of our time.'"

Is Tom Coburn the embodiment of the obsolescence of the senate? Sphere: Related Content