Tom Coburn: “I love it. I love to debate the Senator from Illinois. I take a different tact, and the Senator knows that. I look at…”

“I love it. I love to debate the Senator from Illinois. I take a different tact, and the Senator knows that. I look at the oath I took when I came to the Senate. It didn't say 'Oklahoma' in it; the Senator's didn't say 'Illinois.' What the oath says is to defend the Constitution of the United States and do what is best for the country as a whole and in the long term. Now, the Senator--and I admire him greatly--admitted that he plays the game the way it is played. I am telling him that the American people are ready for the game to be played a different way--a totally different way. Part of that is looking at the authority under which we allow money to be spent and recognizing that if we are going to authorize something new, given the jam we are in, all you have to do is talk to David Walker and look at what is going to happen in the next two generations. Don't we have an obligation to look at the programs that are not authorized? Would the Senator answer this question: When was the last time he saw a program deauthorized in this body?”