Senator Coburn and the Government

Congressmen and women have a tendency to say strange things. But then something happens that shocks even the most hardened political observers. At a recent town hall, a crying women told Senator Coburn (R, Oklahoma) that her husband had suffered from a serious brain injury, but that the insurance would not cover his aftercare and rehabilitation . The Senator told her that the government can't help, but that her neighbors should. The video and transcript below:



Transcript

Woman: "My husband has traumatic brain injury. His health insurance will not cover him to eat and drink. And what I need to know is: Are you going to help him?

We left the nursing home, and they told us we are on our own. He left with a feeding tube. I have been working with him, but I'm not a speech pathologist, a professional that takes six years for a masters', and I'm trying to get him to eat and drink again. [inaudible due to weeping].

Senator Coburn: "First of all, yeah. We'll help. The first thing we will do is to see what we can do, individually, to help you, through our office. But the other thing that is missing in this debate is us as neighbors, helping people that need our help. You know we tend to... [applause] The idea that the government is a solution to our problems is an inaccurate, a very inaccurate statement. [applause].