Media Analysis: For a non-political talk show host Oprah Winfrey is very hot-iron political. After launching Barack Hussein Obama on the national stage and refusing to allow the first Republican woman vice president nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, an opportunity to even appear on her show, Winfrey (the big O of magazine fame) is supporting sleazy political trickster Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in his attacks on Oklahoma’s Senator Dr. Tom Coburn.
According to The Hill, Reid’s office has sent word to Senate Democrats that it would like to bring the so-called Coburn omnibus bill to the floor soon, setting up a rematch on the massive special interest earmarking pork feast Conservative Coburn and most coherent taxpayers oppose.
Dr. Coburn won the last round, but Winfrey asked viewers Monday to call and write the Senate to demand their support for the legislation, sponsored by Democrat vice presidential nominee Joe Biden (Del.). Thus ends the Obama Crusade’s emotional pleas and promises of post-partisan-civility in his campaign. No change here.
Winfrey has squared off against Dr. Coburn, who has blocked S. 1738, the Combating Child Exploitation Act. Coburn initially blocked it because it would have authorized nearly a billion dollars over eight years to fund a law enforcement crackdown on child exploitation. Coburn has insisted that new government programs be offset with spending cuts, a budget-saving device Biden’s bill lacked.
Coburn now wants Biden’s revised proposal paired with Republican legislation that would give law enforcement greater access to the online records of suspected sexual predators.
In a press release response to the Winfrey show Coburn said, ““Those who watched Oprah’s broadcast today deserve to know that Senate leaders have repeatedly objected to passing critical child protection legislation for partisan, political purposes. Congress has a nine percent approval rating because politicians in Washington refuse to set common sense priorities, refuse to make rational budget decisions, and refuse to work across the aisle when that requires sharing credit with the other party during election season. Victims of these horrible crimes don’t care whether Democrats or Republicans get the credit for protecting children.
“Oprah’s viewers deserve to know that Senate leaders have twice objected to passage of the bill she supports. Senate leaders have insisted that S. 1738, authored by Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) and endorsed by Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), only pass if it is included in a package of unrelated bills that addresses less vital concerns such as the interstate commerce of non-human primates. When I proposed de-linking the causes of protecting children and chimpanzees, Senate leaders objected,” Dr. Coburn said.
“Because of these objections, I introduced S. 3344, a comprehensive child exploitation bill that pairs S. 1738 with the Securing Adolescents from Exploitation-Online (SAFE) Act of 2007, a measure strongly supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which passed the House by a margin of 409-2. The Democrat leadership objected, however, apparently because they didn’t want to give the SAFE Act’s Senate author, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), credit for passing a complimentary bill,” Dr. Coburn added.
To read more of The Hill story, click here.
To reach Oprah Winfrey online, click here.
To read more of Dr. Coburn’s release, click here.
To read a previous story by this writer on Dr. Coburn’s mission in government service, click here.
To find satisfaction and gain peace with condescending elitist media and socialist government programs … seek a frontal lobotomy.
About the author: David Arnett began his career in professional journalism in 1985 and has published Tulsa Today since 1996 – before Al Gore invented the Internet. He has won two national awards as a First Amendment Publisher. Arnett is an idea guy, a Constitutional Republican, a Conservative Media Critic and a proud pain in the political derriere of the disingenuous.
This analysis may be reproduced without charge with proper attribution and links to the original source. Arnett is available for interview by recognized media.