Tom Coburn Quotes

All change starts with a distant rumble at the grassroots level.

The vast amount of waste and sheer stupidity in government - from the Pentagon to the Food and Drug Administration - could fill committee agendas for years.

An easily accessible and transparent database of contract information will bring sunshine into the confusing and sometimes shadowy practice of government contracting.

One poll showed that Americans have a higher opinion of witches, the IRS and hemorrhoids than Congress

The longer a politician bears power, the more he is controlled by that power.

When I came to Washington, I was troubled to observe so many similarities between the behaviors of drug-addicted patients and my political colleagues. In Washington power is like morphine.

Careerism: the self-centered philosophy of governing to win the next election above all else.

The earmark favor factory needs to be boarded up and demolished, not turned over to new management that may or may not have a better eye for earmarks with 'merit.'

Everybody is gonna die from something. And so the deal is how to use each day to move things forward for both you and the people you love and the country you love.

Social Security and Medicare represent promises made and we must keep these commitments.

You're going to die sooner.

The danger of what's happening right now in terms of using reconciliation is, the purpose of the Senate is going to be defeated. And that is to bring consensus to big issues in this country.

Everybody in America is going to have to sacrifice to help us rebuild the Gulf Coast. Every government program, every individual, we are all going to have to sacrifice

Charity requires sacrifice, and members of Congress could set a good example of charity by giving up their pay increase.

I believe keeping our promises should be our highest priority and that means saving Social Security and Medicare while preserving the American dream for our children and grandchildren.

What makes this mentality dangerous is that when the team is held together by careerism and mindless partisanship, individual members are punished for thinking for themselves.

We must have government that spends less and does less.

My relationship with Barack Obama isn't based on my political philosophy or his.

I firmly believe that the court should take another direction on many of these moral issues that face us.

The traits in career politicians the public detests most are produced when ego triumphs over principle.

Career politicians do not have the courage to prioritize spending and say no to demanding special interest groups who do not reflect the best interests of the country.

It is easy to see how after receiving this adoration for a term or two most members become convinced they are indispensable.

The voting records of virtually every member of Congress reveal that the oath of office is more a ceremonial gesture than a sacred commitment.

Careerism in Washington "goes to the heart of what's wrong in America right now."

People that had the guts to put their loyalty to the Constitution ahead of their loyalty to their political party were citizen legislators.

I can't see the country electing another Bush, i love Jeb Bush - I think he's a nice guy. I just can't see it.

The career politicians in Washington had transformed a government "for the people" into a government for themselves and for special interests.

Expose widespread waste and duplication in federal spending.

Senator [Sam] Brownback talked about those with disabilities that are destroyed in the womb because of a genetic test that is sometimes wrong. I would put forward that we all have disabilities.

You have to be courageous to not spend money, ... and we don't have many people who have that courage.

I still believe that term limits is the best way to ensure that the next generation, not the next election, is the central concern in our elected bodies.

Matter of fact, the interesting friendships are the ones that are divergent.

It is a real issue, a measurement of our society, when we say it's fine to destroy unborn life who has a heartbeat at 16 days post-conception.

The founding fathers never once rationalized getting in power and having control so they could stay in power.

The ripping and tearing of an unborn child from his mother's womb through the hands of another, and we say, "That's fine; you have a constitutional right to do that."

We can achieve much greater representation through term-limited members.

There will be no insurance industry left in three years.

How is it that we have sodomy protected under that due process but prostitution unprotected? It's schizophrenic.

The American people will be appalled to learn the health care bill exempts (congressional) leadership and committee staff.