Coburn On Emmett Till Bill: ‘They’re Playing Games’
Coburn On Emmett Till Bill: ‘They’re Playing Games’
In 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy “was beaten and shot to death for allegedly whistling at a white woman in segregated Mississippi. An all-white jury took 67 minutes to acquit two white men of the murder; months later, they admitted the crime and spent the rest of their lives in freedom.”
In an effort to bring Till’s killers to justice, a bipartisan majority in the House passed the Emmett Till Unsolved Crimes Bill, authorizing a “potential $10 million per year to be added to the Department of Justice budget for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting outstanding Civil Rights era crimes.”
Over a year later, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is still blocking the bill from becoming law:
I agree with the Emmett Till bill, I just think we ought to pay for it. Surely we can find the money. They can say whatever they want to say. They’re playing a game, but they’re very loose with the facts.
But the game is all Coburn’s. The bill, which would cost “less than $1 per American in 2008,” has the support of the Bush administration, the Department of Justice and the majority of Republicans.
According to Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), “this legislation does not distribute new funds“:
Instead, it sets a spending ceiling that the Budget Committee and the Appropriations Committee in both the House and the Senate can use as a guide when they develop future federal budget and appropriations measures. In a federal budget that is nearing $3 trillion, the allocations for this bill are not excessive. Republicans and Democrats voted for this bill because they understand that you cannot put a price on justice.
During a “a press conference with Simeon Wright, a cousin of Till” yesterday, Dodd noted that “we honor Emmett Till and all those who sacrificed their lives advancing civil rights. It is disgraceful that it has taken us so long to take this basic step to pursue justice too long delayed. It is incredible that some continue to obstruct these efforts.”
Coburn, unfortunately, stands unashamed.
UPDATE: The press conference for the Emmett Till Bill:
4 Responses to “Coburn On Emmett Till Bill: ‘They’re Playing Games’”
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I understand what Coburn is trying to do*, but I disagree with his methods. Using this type of legal loophole to register dissatisfaction with a bill is absurd, the appropriate way to do that is by voting no.
This is just as absurd as the notion that a bill now requiring ‘60 votes’ to get an up or down vote. Filibustering and cloture should not be used on a day to day basis, this is not what they were meant for. Rather they should be used in extreme circumstances when the senators truly feel this is a bad enough of an idea to practically shut down the senate over the matter.
-MBirchmeier
*Looking at Coburn’s ‘roadblocks’ it appears he’s trying to stop what he considers to be pork spending. I can understand the more Federalist position of saying, this is funding the states should be putting forth, not the nation. But seriously, just vote no and move on.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:50 amIf Coburn indeed considers this bill “pork spending”, then he should go back to practicing medicine and leave governing to people who know how things work. “Pork” is the sweet gifts lawmakers sneak into bills to benefit their particular constituencies. Since the investigation and prosecution of civil rights crimes falls under the purview of the Justice Department, any costs for the Emmett Till bill should not be assigned to the states.
It is fairly evident that Coburn is the one “playing games.” In addition to the Emmett Till bill, Coburn is holding up these and other pieces of legislation: a bill to create an ALS registry, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Protection Act, an amendment to the Public Health Service Act which would fund Alzheimer’s research, and the Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Act of 2007.
He’s playing the grand old game of politics in an arrogant and cowardly way. He can’t simply vote “no” because he cannot risk being on the record as having opposed any of the aforementioned bills. Doing so would damage him in the eyes of his constituents. Thus, Coburn’s holds have little to do with concerns over spending, and everything to do with saving his own political skin.
July 24th, 2008 at 4:07 pmOf course he’s playing the grand old games of politics… but unfortunately he’s playing it in a way that’s detrimental to the system, instead of neutral or mutually beneficial.
July 25th, 2008 at 2:33 pmThis is NOT about money! One time reparations to Black-Americans might serve as a kind of talisman, both easing racial understanding, and promoting universal cooperation for many years to come!!
July 28th, 2008 at 10:27 am