This photo by Brandi Simons accompanied a recent article by Mary Jordan profiling Sen. Tom Coburn for the Washington Post. At the time I thought the piece smelled like PR. Little did I realize this was an attempt to get ahead of the news cycle. Mary Jordan's PR piece begins by noting:
Tom Coburn is a Southern Baptist deacon, a family man married to a former Miss Oklahoma, a white-coated physician back in Muskogee who has delivered more than 4,000 babies and sees patients free of charge every Monday.
As she notes in her next paragraph:
But there's a darker side of the story...
Unfortunately, that rhetorical flourish is used to obscure the true dark side. I think we owe it to the men and women who serve this nation, and to the families and loved ones who support them, to honestly look at the dark side.
Let me introduce you to Staff Sergeant José Pequeño, his family and friends. These are some of the good, decent, God-fearing people Tom Coburn throws to the wolves.
As you may know, Senator Tom "Dr. No" Coburn, is the only senator with the gall to block S. 1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009. This is a bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide assistance to caregivers of veterans, to improve the provision of health care to veterans.
No other senator, left, right, center, Democrat, Republican, Independent, freshman or senior, from the north or the south, from sea to shining sea, stands in opposition to this bill. NO veterans organization stands in opposition to this bill.
No decent American would dare stand in the way of this legislation to provide support for those who must bear the burden of war now and for decades to come. No parent would dare torment another by abandoning them to their worst nightmare.
No one, that is, except for one man. A man who was trained to heal, A man who took an oath to provide care and comfort. A man who took an oath to protect and defend the constitution. A man who is happy to let soldiers die and abandon their families in their darkest hour. That small, pathetic excuse of man is Dr. Tom Coburn, Republican Senator from Oklahoma.
I could have picked any of thousands of stories to illustrate the depths of Coburn's depravity, but I think the story of José Pequeño, his family and friends deserves to be well known. José Pequeño's name is ironic. In Spanish, "pequeño" means "small", but there is nothing small about this man, his family or the community that embraces them.
Here is how Gary Sinise, Katie Holmes and Dianne Wiest re-enacted the actual experiences of Staff Sergeant José Pequeño's family at this year's PBS Memorial Day Concert.
His mother Nellie and sister Elizabeth were in the audience with José, and their sacrifices were also recognized at a private reception following the concert. New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick also presented Sgt. Pequeño with a commendation signed by Governor Lynch and top lawmakers praising his service and his sacrifice.
It is important to remember this is not out of character for Tom Coburn. It was Tom Coburn who so famously and cavalierly turned his back on one of his own constituents, a woman weeping in his town hall meeting and begging for help, when he told her that government cannot help her. He told her, and everyone else, that she (and everyone else) must turn to the aid of her friends and neighbors in their hour of need, because government cannot help them.
Fortunately, the people of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire didn't need someone like Tom Coburn to encourage them to answer that call. They were way ahead of him. This small town of about 600 people has raised over thirty thousand dollars to help with his care and to support their beloved Chief of Police and his family. Note, I did not say "former" Chief of Police. It's been three years since José Pequeño was injured, but Sugar Hill refuses to replace him. Out of respect for José Pequeño, Sugar Hill leaves his chair vacant.
I could go on telling you all the wonderful things his doctors, care givers, friends and family have done for this amazing young man. I could give you the statistics and mind-numbing numbers that seek to describe this unfolding and growing tragedy. But behind all those numbers are real people, with real needs, real fears and real courage. Out of respect for all those unsung heroes, I leave it to José Pequeño's mother, Nellie Bagley, to have the final word:
"When you have a child and he gets hurt, you question God. Why him? Why? God why? We did everything in our power to save him. We've gone without sleep, we've gone with food, we've gone without a home. We had to give up our whole lives. But if this journey to hell and back will help other families that are coming behind us, maybe that's the reason why."
-- Nellie Bagley, mother of José Pequeño