According to the latest Rasmussen poll, 83% of Americans blame the deficit on politicians’ unwillingness to cut spending. Former Congressman Watts has penned an  editorial today comparing the Democrats spending and programs to “bad dog food.”

“Washington, Please Quit Digging.

Americans don’t like what they’ve seen over the last eight months. President Obama signed an omnibus spending bill last December, costing $447 billion. It expanded federal spending by 12 percent while inflation grew by 1.8 percent.

According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, there were 5,224 pork barrel projects that cost $3.9 bllion, including one called “The Shrimp Industry Fishing Effort Research Continuation,” costing us all $700,000. This irresponsible spending makes us all a bit cynical.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two institutions that were central to the economic meltdown, were virtually given a blank check by the US Treasury last Christmas Eve. Estimated cost over the next three years — $400 billion.

By the 2006 elections, Republicans in Congress and the Bush White House had dug a ditch so deep they couldn’t get out of it, and surprisingly in some ways, they kept on digging. This seems to be where the Democrats are today. Read more…

Related:

WSJ: Deficit Hawk Turns Dove at Home

Sen. Coburn’s comments on Sen. Kent Conrad, Democratic chairman of the Senate Budget Committee:

Conrad says one thing, and then votes hundreds of times the other way—to spend money,” says Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, one of the Senate’s strictest spending hawks and among only six senators who sought no funding for home-state projects through the “earmark” process last year.

“Nobody knows what’s in the bill. The bill came out of help committee and created 88 new programs. If you think the federal government isn’t going to be involved in your health care with 88 new bureaucracies you’ve got another thought coming because this is a government centric run at health care rather than a patient centered run at health care.”

Hat tip:2wno

Rasmussen Reports: 57% Say Health Care Plan Will Increase Costs, 53% Say It Will Reduce Quality of Care, 45% Favor Passage

National Journal:

“I’ll defend him as a man of integrity and a man of good spirit, but I’m going to have disagreements with him. We have a different political philosophy, but we have a personal friendship that, even when I’m against him, it doesn’t affect that personal friendship. I pray for him every day.” Read more…

Sorry Senator!

Hat tip: cqpolitics

“The U.S. Senate’s Dr. “No” was Dr. “Noise” for a few minutes Wednesday afternoon. Sen. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma freshman known for his penchant for obstructing legislation in the Senate, was forced to belt out a few lines of Elton John’s “Rocketman” after losing a football bet to Florida Sen. Bill Nelson.”

The word yesterday from Washington was that Sen. Coburn would lose his seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Congressional Quarterly is reporting that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “assured” him he would remain on the powerful committee.

Click here to read the CQ story.

From the Wall Street Journal:

“Senate Republicans — such as, from left, Richard Shelby, Tom Coburn and David Vitter — are expected to be a tough sell for supporters of a move to release the remaining government bailout funds.” Read more…

Related:

TPM:  Is Harry Reid Really Trying to Push Tom Coburn Off the Judiciary Committee?

Dr. Coburn Repeats Call for an Open and Transparent Debate on Controversial $10 Billion Omnibus Lands Bill

From South Dakota War College blog:

By PP at the SDWC

I just got off the phone with Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, that state’s Junior Senator and one of the U.S. Senate’s 2 practicing physicians. He’s in South Dakota for a couple days campaigning on behalf of Republican Senate Candidate Joel Dykstra, and he was gracious enough to give me a few minutes of his time.

Senator – tell me why you’re here in South Dakota campaigning for Joel:

The problem with the US Senate is that there’s too many people that all the care about is helping themselves, without caring about the future and their country. We need to change out people on both sides, and to shut down the “good ol boy’s club.”

Joel cares about our future, and I think he’s the right man for the job.

One of the issues that’s come up in the campaign is the importance of debate in the job of US Senator, and the fact that Johnson refuses to debate Joel. What’s your take on that? Read more…

To demonstrate his bi-partisanship at the “faith debate” last night, Sen. Obama said he would look to former Senator Sam Nunn (a Democrat) and current Senator Dick Lugar (a Republican) for advice on foreign affairs. Obama also said he would look to Sen. Tom Coburn for domestic advice. Yeah Riiiiiiiiight!

From The Hill:

“On Domestic policy I’ve got friends ranging from Ted Kennedy to Tom Coburn, who don’t necessarily agree on a lot of things but both I think have a sincere desire to see this country improved.” Read more…

Related:

WRS CEO Chris Wilson discusses Obama “Embrace” ad on FOX

One of the biggest pork barrel politicians in the Senate, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, has been indicted by the Justice Department.

Some may point to the beginning of the end of the The King of Pork’s reign the day Oklahoma U.S. Senator Tom Coburn took on Steven’s infamous “bridge to nowhere”on the floor of the Senate in nearly three years ago. Though Coburn lost that day, his reputation as a watchdog against wasteful spending was significantly enhanced, and this week’s events prove the Muskogee Senator is a major budget player in the Congress regardless of his maverick label.

Breitbart tells it.

As we suspected, Coburn garnered support of omnibus on Monday.  The question remains, will this force Democrats to face the drilling issue?

Politico, The Crypt Blog:  Results of today’s vote

The Caucus: New York Times Political Blog  doubts the drill.