This story, in short. Tom Coburn, the Senator that supports the Porkbusters campaign more than any other, even going so far as to put the logo on his web page, is a baby-birthin' doctor in his civilian life. During his long tenure in the House, he delivered about 65 babies a year, earning just enough income from that job to pay his malpractice insurance and licensing fees. He claims that he will leave service in the Senate after just two terms, and wants to keep doctoring on this very part-time basis so that he'll be able to jump back in full-time when his 12 years as a Senator are up. Well the Seante has a rule that you can't have an outside job that has fiduciary complications. In others words, you cannot have a job you get a paycheck for, so long as you serve as a Senator. It kind of makes sense, you were elected to be a Senator, and that's your job. But Coburn isn't exactly neglected his duties, and several of the Senators that voted against a bill that would have allowed him to continue birthing babies are major hypocrites.

How? Let me explain using our least favorite nutty California liberal (ok, 2nd least favorite, Nancy Pelosi takes the cake on that one), the Honorable Mrs. Boxer. Mrs. Boxer does not have a job outside of the Senate, but that has not stopped her, or many other Senators, from writing and publishing books for income while in office. It's not a paycheck for a regular job, so they can get away with it, but they don't seem to see the hypocrisy in denying Coburn the chance to do a job that is not enriching his bank account, but instead is helping people. Apparantely writing (in most cases hiring a ghost writer) lame books for easy cash when you're supposed to be helping make laws is ok, but having a part-time job that actually benefits people is VERY VERY BAD!