Senator Bernie Sanders pulls amendment after being told to read it aloud

Coburn absolutely did the right thing in objecting and demanding that it be read. If nothing else, it would have set them back a good 17 hours. However, what happened after that was in violation of the rules of the Senate. Once Coburn had the floor - via the reading by the clerk - no interruptions are allowed. Sanders shouldn't have been recognized and should have had to wait till the end to yank the amendment. The rules state: "Under Rule XV, paragraph 1, and Senate precedents, an amendment shall be read by the Clerk before it is up for consideration or before the same shall be debated unless a request to waive the reading is granted; in practice that includes an ordinary amendment or an amendment in the nature of a substitute, the reading of which may not be dispensed with except by unanimous consent, and if the request is denied the amendment must be read and further interruptions are not in order." But the Democrats allowed further interruptions. They obviously didn't want the amendment as much as they wanted to hurry up the process so they violated their own rules to let Sanders pull his amendment. Every day and in every way these guys in Washington show their contempt for the will of the people and even the rule of law.

Two thumbs way up for Senator Coburn. Gee, I wish I could see the look on Sanders face when he was told to read it out loud. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a mixture of the two. I mean, if it was a really crappy amendment, can you imagine all the time he'd spend trying to defend every single questionable clause in that 767 page monstrosity?

Probably pulled it for both reason.

Come on, Taskr, you know as well as I do that Coburn was only looking to delay the bill in any way possible and that Sanders wasn't afraid of people knowing what was in the amendment, he was afraid that these delay tactics would insure that nothing will be done on health care! Senator Sanders has been on TV just about daily talking about his amendment and his opinions on the bill in general, so why wouldn't he want people to know about it? Coburn is a first class jack-a$$ who should stick to advising his friends on how to get away with paying off their mistresses to keep them quiet! Annie

I think he was trying to pull a fast one and when caught decided it was better to pull it than have it read out to the whole congress and have the american people know what was in it. Why else would he NOT want it read out loud. It must have been bad.

Since I am not in Senator Sander's mind I can't honestly say if he did the right thing or not. If he decided not to read the amendment because it was a load of trash, then, yes, I do think that he did the right thing. If, however, he decided not to read the amendment because it would take to long to have hope of getting the healthcare bill passed by the date that they want it to happen, then I think that he did the wrong thing.

Yes, it was a very good thing to force a little light in the direction of the corrupt democrats and their desperate attempts to control all of health care. More importantly it shows how those in office have so corrupted their roles and responsibilities that it is totally unacceptable. The bottom line is when these Congress men and women cast their vote, they really have no idea what they are voting for. Can you even imagine being an elected official and doing your job that way? The 2000 page bills are never read, they contain blank sections to be filled in later. And even after the voting is over, they continue to make changes in the wording. Anywhere in this process, there is always opportunity for someone to insert something else (for the appropriate bribe, of course). I do not think Sanders should have the right to hide what he was proposing. If he was planning on putting it into the health care, then he should be made to pass it out for all to read. What a slime ball!

Yes, Coburn did he right thing. I think sanders pulled his amendment for both reason described. I think that all amendments should be fully read and understood before being voted on, and that a full oral reading by the sponsors should be required before any bill is put to a vote. I somehow think that these humongous omnibus bills would quickly be thing of the past if that very simple rule were adopted.

Of course he did the right thing by demanding it be read! I think ALL bills should be read aloud, put up on the internet for 30 days, & published in newspapers for at least that long! Isn't everyone aware by now how Congress always loads up their bills with pork & other detrimental things? People who care about this country would pay attention! The rest--the numb-skulls--deserve whatever they get. And yes, I also think he pulled it because he knew it wouldn't fly. Washington D.C. is hyper-aware of how angry we are, & that their jobs are on the line. Look at the pink slip campaign; it's now stacking up to over a half-mile high! I wonder if we could get the entire bill yanked? Maggiepie "SAY 'MERRY CHRISTMAS!'"