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Here’s a theory about Washington you won’t hear very often.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) decried the level of dysfunction in the House and Senate, between the Democratic and Republican parties, between Congress and the White House, and so forth. What’s the news? you might ask. Unlike most people, Coburn blames Washington dysfunction on too much compromise. “Members of Congress and the administration agree on too much,” he said.
Here’s the full quote:
“Washington is dysfunctional, but it’s dysfunctional in a dysfunctional way. Members of Congress and the administration agree on too much. We agree on spending money we don’t have. We agree on not over-sighting the programs that should be over-sighted. We agree on continuing to spend money on programs that don’t work or are ineffective. Basically we agree on too much.”
Here’s the video of Coburn’s comment:
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Now, this is not to say Coburn is wrong on highlighting the government waste out there. He and his staff are among the best sleuths of nonsensical government spending (a 100-year starship program? A study to see if men look taller holding a pistol versus a caulk gun?). But on the issue of D.C. dysfunction, Coburn may be just a bit out of synch with the public.
