There has been no paperwork filed and his name does not appear on the USA Election Polls website, but one republican who is still mulling over a run for the presidency is the junior senator from the state of Oklahoma, Tom Coburn. He has the dubious distinction of being Newt Gingrich's nemesis, in part owing to Coburn's estimation that Gingrich is a symptom of what ails the Republican Party: a gradual drifting to the left.
Furthermore failing to make friends with the more moderate conservatives by calling for the dismissal of embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, he is considering a run for the White House on his conservative values. While in theory there is a substantial number of conservatives who will welcome this back to basics approach Mr. Coburn embraces, the more realistically minded constituents admit that his candidacy – should he declare it – does not have a snowball's chance of taking off, suggesting that Coburn has alienated too many moderate republicans he will be unable to garner the nod of the party.
This is not a deterrent to the potential candidate who is candid about his call for the death penalty for abortion providers, while at the same time showcasing his ability to work together with other politicians and bridging the aisles. Together with Barack Obama he has worked on the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 while together with John McCain he labored on an overall reduction of federal government spending. Considering himself a true Reagan conservative, he is still mulling over a run for the nomination as late as August of 2007.
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