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Sen. Tom Coburn
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<b><font color-=red>NEW - </b> </font color> Coburn announces re-election run
June 1, 2009 — TULSA, Okla. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn says he will run for re-election next year.
He made his announcement Monday in Tulsa.
“Today, I am announcing my intention to seek a second, and final, term in the United States Senate in 2010.
“This decision has been difficult for me, my wife and our family. I don’t like being away from Oklahoma and my medical practice, nor do I like asking my loved ones to make sacrifices. I also don’t particularly like Washington, DC.
“My decision to run again came down to a sober realization that our country’s future is at stake. Very few leaders are talking honestly about the real causes of our challenges, much less the real solutions. I believe the decisions Washington makes today and in the near future will decide the fate of our republic. We can either do what we’ve been doing – borrow without limit and spend without restraint – and pass on crushing debt, a lower standard of living and less freedom to the next generation. Or, we can restore the common sense principles that made our country – limited government, individual liberty and personal responsibility – and ensure that the beacon of liberty called America burns bright well into the future.
“In short, I’m running again because I believe America, and future generations, are worth fighting for. Today, the very idea and identity of America is under attack from within. To our founders, America was, and is, an idea that trusts individuals more than the government, and it is an idea that trusts the competition of ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit to produce a more fair and just outcome than the cold calculations of governing elites. Some in Washington are claiming those ideas don't work anymore, and that after 230 years, politicians really do know best. I disagree.
“I first made the unlikely decision to seek public office because I was alarmed by Washington’s desire to impose collectivism and socialism on the public, particularly in the area of health care. Today, we face the same challenge. Many in Washington are claiming that all problems can be solved with more spending and less individual freedom. Those ideas have never worked and they never will. While I’m confident the wisdom of the American people will prevail, we won’t win without a fight.
“If Oklahomans decide that I am the best person to carry this fight and represent their values in the United States Senate you have my word that I will be true to my oath and never back down, even if I must stand alone.”
Coburn, a medical doctor, has gained a reputation in the Senate as a leading opponent of earmarks and runaway spending.
Coburn was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, defeating Democrat Brad Carson with 53 percent of the vote.
During the 2004 campaign, Coburn pledged to serve no more than two terms in the Senate if he won.
No other candidates have announced plans to seek the post in 2010.
Coburn previously served three terms in the Oklahoma House.
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