Coburn renews battle with Ethics over baby deliveries

cnredd · #1 (**permalink**) 07-30-2008, 03:44 PM

Quote:

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.

Sources said the fact that Muskogee is now a private hospital has renewed the ethics panel’s interest in Coburn’s work.

In May, Coburn received a strongly worded “final determination” memo threatening him with a Senate censure if he did not stop delivering babies for free. The letter prompted several heated meetings between Coburn and the Ethics Committee in June over the matter, according to two knowledgeable Senate sources.

Coburn spokesman John Hart agreed to discuss the issue only after The Hill contacted his office several times over the past two weeks. He called the Ethics panel’s logic “absurd” and its argument “inane.”

“Just as parents don't choose him hoping to sway his vote, parents don't choose to receive his services at a particular hospital because Dr. Coburn has somehow endorsed that hospital because he is a senator,” Hart said in a statement e-mailed to The Hill. “The committee has shown us zero empirical evidence to back up its flimsy claim.

“Has Sen. Leahy provided an improper endorsement to Warner Brothers for appearing in Batman?” 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.”

Reid’s and Boxer’s offices declined to comment. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the ranking member of the Ethics panel, also refused to comment on private ethics matters.

Hart estimates that Coburn has delivered dozens of babies since last receiving an ultimatum from the Ethics panel in 2005. Coburn has received no compensation for his work and paid “tens of thousands of dollars” out of his own pocket for medical malpractice insurance and other costs related to his medical practice, Hart said.

The guy practices his skills for free to keep himself in medical shape, and the "Ethics" panel tries to kill him for it...

bhkad · #2 (**permalink**) 07-30-2008, 06:42 PM

YouTube - BUSH! What the F#©k!!!

This OB-GYN quote is one of my favorite Bush-isms.

I love our President and will miss him. But he's done well by us and I wish him all the health and happiness possible in his upcoming retirement!

saltwn · #3 (**permalink**) 07-30-2008, 07:10 PM

A fine example of the Alice's Topsy turvy world we share with grumble-gremlins.
Hey! I think I just coined a new phrase.
That sound is me blowing on my manicure.

Mikeyy · #4 (**permalink**) 07-30-2008, 08:37 PM

Would you feel the same if Cheney was out driving Haliburton trucks?

saltwn · #5 (**permalink**) 07-30-2008, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeyy

Would you feel the same if Cheney was out driving Haliburton trucks?

If Cheney ever drove a truck period, I'd be shocked. Unless he did it to look macho in some political ad.
But that's not the same thing at all. The guy is delivering babies for free. How does he keep those skills if he doesn't do the work? And what's wrong with it if he doesn't take money for it?

Mikeyy · #6 (**permalink**) 07-30-2008, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltwn

If Cheney ever drove a truck period, I'd be shocked. Unless he did it to look macho in some political ad.
But that's not the same thing at all. The guy is delivering babies for free. How does he keep those skills if he doesn't do the work? And what's wrong with it if he doesn't take money for it?

Wouldn't it be easier to deliver where you don't have other interests. I am sure he can find a way without making a case out of it. Or go be a Dr. Nobody is stopping him. Especially me.

saltwn · #7 (**permalink**) 07-31-2008, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeyy

Wouldn't it be easier to deliver where you don't have other interests. I am sure he can find a way without making a case out of it. Or go be a Dr. Nobody is stopping him. Especially me.

By other interests, do you mean he owns part of the hospital or something?

Mikeyy · #8 (**permalink**) 07-31-2008, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltwn

By other interests, do you mean he owns part of the hospital or something?

It said he had a fedutiary relationship. The story is real short on facts. So I would bet there is more there there.

saltwn · #9 (**permalink**) 07-31-2008, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeyy

It said he had a fedutiary relationship. The story is real short on facts. So I would bet there is more there there.

I reread it and here's what it says..

Because of potential conflicts of interest, Senate rules prohibit members from receiving compensation for practicing a profession that involves a fiduciary relationship.

Definition of fiduciary : of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust: as a: held or founded in trust or confidence b: holding in trust c: depending on public confidence for value or currency <fiduciary fiat money>

And remember his side's reply was:

“Just as parents don't choose him hoping to sway his vote, parents don't choose to receive his services at a particular hospital because Dr. Coburn has somehow endorsed that hospital because he is a senator,” Hart said in a statement e-mailed to The Hill. “The committee has shown us zero empirical evidence to back up its flimsy claim.

And I agree it's a flimsy claim. Looks to me like the Dems are playing with words here. Because they state there can be no fiduciary relationship, it has lead you (and others, I'm sure) to believe that there is one!

So in essence what Reid's guys are saying is that by delivering babies this senator is hoping to sway voters.
I would guess Muskogee, Oklahoma has more than one hospital (could be wrong-maybe you want to check that), and how many babies at that hospital can he deliver a year and still do the senator gig? That amount of people -saying they all voted for him even ones who weren't satisfied with his services-cannot possibly influence an election. I am very disappointed in Harry!

Looks like they're trying to drive Coburn to his grave with this bullowney!! Coburn Checked For Irregular Heartbeat, By Daniel W. Reilly - CBS News

Mikeyy · #10 (**permalink**) 07-31-2008, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltwn

I reread it and here's what it says..

Because of potential conflicts of interest, Senate rules prohibit members from receiving compensation for practicing a profession that involves a fiduciary relationship.

Definition of fiduciary : of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust: as a: held or founded in trust or confidence b: holding in trust c: depending on public confidence for value or currency <fiduciary fiat money>

And remember his side's reply was:

“Just as parents don't choose him hoping to sway his vote, parents don't choose to receive his services at a particular hospital because Dr. Coburn has somehow endorsed that hospital because he is a senator,” Hart said in a statement e-mailed to The Hill. “The committee has shown us zero empirical evidence to back up its flimsy claim.

And I agree it's a flimsy claim. Looks to me like the Dems are playing with words here. Because they state there can be no fiduciary relationship, it has lead you (and others, I'm sure) to believe that there is one!

So in essence what Reid's guys are saying is that by delivering babies this senator is hoping to sway voters.
I would guess Muskogee, Oklahoma has more than one hospital (could be wrong-maybe you want to check that), and how many babies at that hospital can he deliver a year and still do the senator gig? That amount of people -saying they all voted for him even ones who weren't satisfied with his services-cannot possibly influence an election. I am very disappointed in Harry!

Looks like they're trying to drive Coburn to his grave with this bullowney!! Coburn Checked For Irregular Heartbeat, By Daniel W. Reilly - CBS News

You could be right but I never liked him. Not that I want him to die of a heartattack That I save for Cheney

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