States Rights

Sometimes I come upon stories that make me doubt the wisdom of our Federal system. Why should those of us in states that have invested in education and mental health care suffer from decisions made by people in other states, where, shall we say, similar civilized standards are not upheld? The stories about upcoming election problems in Florida bring this to mind, as does this story from Oklahoma.

Maybe this is what happens if you don't let those OB/GYNs practice their "love". In Oklahoma, there is a doctor with the following position:

On the death penalty, he said: "I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life."

He said he performed two abortions to save the lives of mothers who had congenital heart disease, but opposes the procedure in cases of rape.

"Under the mores we live under today, my lineage wouldn't exist," Coburn said, explaining that his great-grandmother was raped by a territorial sheriff.

(Would it be rude to point out that, by his standard, he'd be dead either way?)

He apparently also sterilized a woman without her written consent, illegally billed Medicaid for it, and then, when he was later elected to Congress, introduced a Medicaid fraud bill. He also believes the gay "agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today."

But wait. How about this? "If I wanted to buy a bazooka to use in a very restricted way, to do something, I ought to be able to do that," said Coburn. He called a bill for disaster relief after a tornado in his own state "malarkey." Sounds like one wacky old coot.

Why is this man currently the Republican Party's candidate for United States Senator?

(Don't even get me started on Alan Keyes in Illinois.)