Today is a sad day for the U.S. Senate. Locked in an ongoing battle with cancer, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn is retiring to focus on his health. This morning, he delivered his farewell speech:
Sen Tom Coburn R-OK barely gets a minute into his farewell Senate floor speech before he gets all choked up
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) December 11, 2014
Very emotional moment for Sen Coburn as he delivers his farewell address on Senate floor.
— carl hulse (@hillhulse) December 11, 2014
Coburn's farewell speech is really good.
— Heather Marie (@hfearny) December 11, 2014
Indeed.
More from The Hill:
“To those of you over the years who I have offended, I truly apologize,” Coburn said on a serious note. “None of that was intended because I actually see things different. I believe our founders were absolutely brilliant — far smarter than us. I believe the enumerated powers meant something.”
…
He said the most important number in the Senate is one — one senator. He said it doesn’t matter if you have 60 votes or 51 votes, because the founding fathers established a body where just one member can stop legislation.
“No senator should be able to decide what the rights of another senator are — that’s ternary,” Coburn said. “We must respect the rights of others.”
In farewell speech, Sen. Coburn implores his colleagues to stop ignoring the "wisdom of our founding documents."
— Kara Rowland (@kararowland) December 11, 2014
"Our charge is to protect the United States and liberty, not to give things to our States." – Coburn
— Heather Marie (@hfearny) December 11, 2014
Recommended
You can watch the speech here.
Big applause for Coburn's emotional farewell from bipartisan group of colleagues on the Senate floor.
— Caitlin Huey-Burns (@CHueyBurns) December 11, 2014
https://twitter.com/TylerYork86/status/543081808255287296
Dr. Coburn will be sorely missed.
As a reporter, I'll never know senators real selves. So I judge them by how their staffs feel about them, & Coburn is beloved by his people.
— Meredith Shiner (@meredithshiner) December 11, 2014
Understatement | RT @davidhauptmann: Sen. @TomCoburn will definitely be missed in the US Senate.
— Sean Hackbarth (@seanhackbarth) December 11, 2014
sad to see sen coburn leave. true champion of government efficiency and oversight.
— Stephen Jackson (@sdjacksondc) December 11, 2014
God bless & thank you, Sen. Coburn! MT @TomCoburn Tune in C-SPAN 2 11am when Dr. Coburn will say goodbye in his farewell address to Senate.
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) December 11, 2014
https://twitter.com/TPCarney/status/543081655351508992
No, thank you, @TomCoburn. http://t.co/mwadIfdmrX
— Becky Holland (@Rebeccalee24) December 11, 2014
Au revoir Tom Coburn. One of our most decent, honest, and principled politicians. You will be missed
— MLopez (@MCLopez_94) December 11, 2014
So happy to see most politicians give their farewell speeches. But I'll miss Tom Coburn.
— Joshua Mercer (@joshuamercer) December 11, 2014
99% of Senate/House departures are "whatever" for me & should be for you. Today, a genuinely great man is bidding farewell: Tom Coburn.
— The Nats Won The World Series (@EsotericCD) December 11, 2014
@EsotericCD @allahpundit @EWErickson I respect Coburn more than almost any other politician, and I say that as a liberal.
— RAB (@bayo1121) December 11, 2014
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