Batman vs. Babies: Sen. Tom Coburn's Battle with the U.S. Senate

by PEP | July 29, 2008 at 08:51 am

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The brawl between Sen. Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and the U.S. Senate escalated again this week as an Ethics panel attacked him for delivering babies--for free.

The feisty Oklahoma senator says that the core issue is about citizen representation. Citing Washington and other founding fathers, Coburn points out that going to Washington as a representative was never intended to be the end of someone's normal profession or community ties.

The fight began back in 2005, when the Senate demanded that he close his practice. The Senate Ethics panel relied on a fairly-new set of rules, established only about 20 years ago.

Those rules ban any "professional" from continuing their work for fear of a conflict of interest. Among the named groups--doctor, lawyer, real estate salesperson. The third listing I find very interesting.

Coburn may have a point. The entire idea of democracy is founded on citizen legislators.

On the other hand, I would expect someone to sell their investments in corporations and interests that are affected by legislation the representative would be involved in. Then again, there are many people in Congress who don't sell their ranch or farm, and who don't give up their profession to serve in Congress.

Is this Ethics panel charge really about something else? And are the rules fair, and are they evenly applied? In pointing out other senators who write books, appear for book signings, and appear in movies, Coburn's camp may have a valid point.

Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) office hit back Monday at new attempts to prevent him from delivering babies for free, arguing the Ethics panel might as well investigate Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) cameo in “The Dark Knight.”

Coburn has come under new pressure from the Ethics panel for delivering babies at the Muskogee Regional Medical Center, which changed from a public to a private institution in April last year after it was acquired by Capella Healthcare.

...Because of potential conflicts of interest, Senate rules prohibit members from receiving compensation for practicing a profession that involves a fiduciary relationship. Coburn’s work as an obstetrician has been a subject of interest for ethics panels in the Senate and the House when he was a representative.

...“Has Sen. Leahy provided an improper endorsement to Warner Brothers for appearing in Batman?” (John)Hart asked. “Will millions of Americans now see Batman not because it features stars like Christian Bale or the late Heath Ledger, but because Patrick Leahy, a distinguished United States senator, has offered his illustrious endorsement to this motion picture?

“If Sen. Coburn can only deliver babies for free at a public hospital, shouldn't Sen. Leahy only be allowed to donate his notable thespian skills to a public entity like PBS?”

....Hart also said the Ethics panel should investigate Reid and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who chairs the Ethics panel, for book signings they’ve had at privately owned bookstores if they are going to investigate Coburn’s baby deliveries.

“If the committee wants to walk down this path, we would expect they will investigate Sens. Reid and Boxer, who have both held books signing [sic] events at privately owned book stores,” Hart wrote. “After all, their events endorsed one book store over another. If Dr. Coburn can only deliver babies for free at public hospitals, Senators should only be permitted to sign books at public libraries."