Next to fall on his sword: Senator Tom Coburn

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart skewered Senator Tom Coburn (Republican from Oklahoma) on Tuesday's show.

When I ponder our country and its greatness, its weaknesses, its potential; my heart aches for less divisiveness, less polarization, less finger-pointing, less bitterness, less mindless partisanship, which at times sounds almost hateful to the ear of Americans. — Senator Tom Coburn, in the U.S. Senate confirmation hearing for Chief Justice nominee John Roberts, 2005-09-13

Coburn is about as great an actor as Gray Davis, rising almost to the level of artistry of the bartender-turned-Congressman from The Love Boat, but not rising to nearly the level of a William Shatner, much less the creepy new D.A. on Law & Order. Happily, the folks at the Daily Show have an even better library of dusty old quotes than I do:

The gay community ... is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. — Sen. Tom Coburn, Spring 2004

I favor the death penalty for abortionists. — Sen. Tom Coburn, 2004-07-09

Indeed, Senator Coburn is so passionate about healing the partisan rift in our body politic that he was moved to do a crossword puzzle during Roberts' hearing.

It is this sort of inescapable airtight proof of hypocrisy on the part of a political figure that is the reason the Daily Show gives me such hope for the future of American democracy.

There is only one way out for Senator Tom Coburn. He has been caught undeniably faking it for purely partisan reasons, so his only path is to resign and remove himself from public life forever.

As President George W. Bush says, "I'm a divider, and if you don't like it, you can go fuck yourself." (as quoted by Stephen Colbert on the Daily Show)