Politico...
Gang of Six at
‘impasse’ as Tom Coburn drops out
By David Rogers & Manu Raju
The Gang of Six lost its strong blocker on the right Tuesday, as Sen.
Tom Coburn pulled out of the bipartisan deficit reduction talks and
predicted no meaningful deal can be reached until Democrats accept a
greater share of savings from government benefit programs.
“These guys have worked hard, and we had 80 percent of some significant
things the country needs to do,” the Oklahoma Republican told POLITICO.
“But right now, I don’t see us solving what needs to be solved.”
Coburn’s departure adds to the pressure on the remaining five to show
real progress this week, and Democrats took heart that Republican Sens.
Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Mike Crapo of Idaho are still active in
the discussions, which will continue Wednesday.
“At many points, we’ve hit rough spots; I hope this is just that,” said
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.). Crapo’s office
used similar language expressing hope for a resolution. “The group is
facing tough issues,” the statement read. “But it has faced tough
issues before and continued to work.”
But the loss is ominous, and Chambliss signaled that to make a deal
work, Coburn would have to be brought back into the fold.
“We’ll continue to get together because there’s still ideas,” Chambliss
said. “But there won’t be a proposal by five of us. It’s got to be six
of us.
“I want Tom Coburn [to be] a part of this. He’s been with us 10 months
on the debt commission and debate, now five months in this discussion,
and he needs to be a part of it.”
One of the strongest political partners in the deficit reduction
effort, Coburn is often the most mercurial as well, and Tuesday’s
departure followed several weeks of mood swings over the prospects for
a deal — and tensions with Democrats over what Medicare savings can be
achieved.
Yet for all that, he avoided fanfare Tuesday after investing so much
time in the effort. Arriving shortly before a 2:30 p.m. meeting of the
six senators, Coburn came without staff and appeared to stay less than
10 minutes, walking past a single reporter outside without comment.
“We’re at an impasse. There’s no reason to talk about the same things
over and over and not getting any movement,” he said later. “It’s just
a recognition that we can’t get there.”
“I’m not planning on participating at this time. If things change, I
will.”
Read the rest of the story at Politico
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