A civics lesson from 'Dr. No'

Sen. Tom Coburn gave Majority Leader Harry Reid an embarrassing lesson in Senate rules last week, and exposed Washington's wanton spending habits in the process. Taxpayers should pay attention to Sen. Coburn's efforts to highlight Congress' fiscal laxity.

With frequent assistance from South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, Sen. Coburn, R-Okla., works hard to hold up wasteful spending bills. Under Senate rules, a single objection can force lengthy delays.

Sen. Reid, D-Nev., had an ulterior motive for his Monday showdown with Sen. Coburn, an obstetrician known as "Dr. No" for his refusal to allow fudging on Senate rules. Republican senators were successfully using an energy debate to argue for new offshore and Alaskan oil production — a position that divides Democrats.

Sen. Reid was determined to change the subject. His gimmick: bring up a catch-all bill of feel-good legislation blocked by "Dr. No" because there isn't funding to pay for all the goodies.

The majority leader wanted Republicans to face this bind: They could vote against such worthy causes as researching Lou Gehrig's disease and helping mothers with postpartum depression, or vote against their fiscally principled colleague.

To their credit, most Republicans stuck with Sen. Coburn, defeating a motion to take up what Sen. Reid called the Advancing America's Priorities Act.

Sen. Coburn more accurately described it as the "Grow Government and Spend More of Your Grandkids' Money" bill, in view of its $11 billion price tag.

After Sen. Reid launched his predictable attack on Republicans for voting against motherhood, Sen. Coburn asked unanimous consent to pass an anti-child-pornography bill that had been included in the catch-all legislation.

Outmaneuvered and outraged, Sen. Reid objected, thereby blocking a measure designed to reduce child pornography — and making himself look ridiculous in the process.

Too bad the episode's comic relief was limited by the fiscally alarming reality of a Congress that persists in reckless and often unaccountable spending. There's just so much a "Dr. No" can do to halt his profligate colleagues.