Poor John Is Daid

David Weigel | May 29, 2007

The American Spectator's "Prowler" dishes a rumor I'd been hearing, too, most recently before the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Sen. Tom Coburn is mulling an entry into the Republican presidential primary, according to sources inside and outside the Senate. Coburn, a senator from Oklahoma, is believed to be receiving encouragement from a small group of wealthy businessmen and philanthropists in the Oklahoma-Kansas-Texas region of the country.

... "He's not bound to any timetable or any fundraising imperative," says a longtime adviser to Coburn, who has spoken with him. "What's important for him is that there is no other true, Reagan conservative in the race, and he thinks he can fill that void."

Coburn is believed to have the backing of several low-profile members of the so called "Swift Boaters," men who financed the ads that doomed the presidential aspirations of Sen. John Kerry.

I've also heard support for this from people allied with the Club for Growth. There are two stories here: The weakness of the GOP field and the weakness of John McCain in particular. Despite Mitt Romney's steady rise in polls, conservative donors and voters who had cohered at the start of the decade are still bobbing and flailing around for a candidate to support. None of the 2nd tier candidates are rising up—for all of his charm, Mike Huckabee's governing record is too squishy to win over a plurality of conservatives.

And the issue running through all of that is McCain's weakness. Coburn's claim to fame is his zealous opposition to earmarks and new spending. The senator who used to be identified with that cause was... John McCain. Former McCain ally Fred Thompson thinks he's feeble enough to knock out of the race, and spending hawks who once adored McCain have given up on him, having seen him break faith on too many issues.

The new issue of reason (with the psychedelic Jesus cover) has a long interview/profile with our 44th president.

Comments

|5.29.07 @ 11:33AM|#

Wouldn't this just have the effect of splitting the Ron Paul vote in half?

It was my impression that this was the same product with slightly different packaging

|5.29.07 @ 11:38AM|#

Tom Coburn is no libertarian. He is very pro-war and religious right, the two elements that have damaged the Republican Party.

|5.29.07 @ 11:53AM|#

"What's important for him is that there is no other true, Reagan conservative in the race, and he thinks he can fill that void."


Even Reagan wasn't a true Reagan conservative. I don't think the creature exists.

D.A. Ridgely|5.29.07 @ 12:21PM|#

Wouldn't this just have the effect of splitting the Ron Paul vote in half?

I saw a stage magician do that once, but it turned out to be a trick.

|5.29.07 @ 12:23PM|#

Coburn's trying to fill the need of having a true nut case in the Republican primaries. Maybe he'd use the presidency to lecture the US on venereal disease and the need to forbid pregnant rape victims to have an abortion.

Gob Bluth|5.29.07 @ 1:52PM|#

but it turned out to be a trick.

You mean "illusion".

Europe|5.29.07 @ 2:15PM|#

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

Sorry, GOB just said illusion. Contractual obligations and such.

|5.29.07 @ 3:47PM|#

I saw a stage magician do that once, but it turned out to be a trick.

There's a 50-50 chance that Ron Paul's vote total will be odd, in which case you would be correct.

Cesar|5.29.07 @ 3:51PM|#

I like Coburn on fiscal issues, its too bad hes pro-war.

|5.29.07 @ 4:15PM|#

I highly recommend that anyone considering be pro-Coburn go back and watch him in the Alito confirmation hearings. There is absolutely no doubt that the man is a grade-A loon with the cross-party appeal of a turnip.

This is just an attempt to split the most authoritarian nutters off of the McCain and Romney blocs. He might as well have been hired by Giuliani, or perhaps by the DNC.

Single Issue Voter|5.29.07 @ 7:22PM|#

"Tom Coburn is no libertarian. He is very pro-war and religious right, the two elements that have damaged the Republican Party."

Pro War and Christian Conservative? Yeah nobody will ever get elected with those nutjobs in their constituency. What do you think this country is..
.....America or somethin'?

|5.29.07 @ 9:55PM|#

I don't remember the priest telling me when I went to Confession when I was a kid, "Well, Lance, it was wrong of you to disobey your mom and talk back to her like that, but since you set the table every night and do your homework and sent your aunt a糖尿病 心脑血管 文秘 糖尿病分型 糖尿病

|5.30.07 @ 2:04AM|#

Coburn's the guy leading the nation's defense against lesbian sex in high school womens' bathrooms, and who thinks the greatest threat to our nation is Teh Gay.

I take it Reason lost an article this month and didn't have any backups, and needed to fill the space?

Josh K.|5.30.07 @ 11:00AM|#

I once attended a discussion of medical ethics where Coburn quoted the Old Testament as the final arbiter of any disputes. He'd also loaded the audience with goons who hooted like chimps whenever the bible was quoted. It was truly terrifying, and I came away with the distinct impression that he's another deep-fried idiot.

|5.30.07 @ 11:42AM|#

If I still lived in Oklahoma at the time Coburn ran, I think I would have voted for the Democrat.