All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Sen. John Ensign's political future got a little murkier this week as more details emerged about his extramarital affair – and other members of Congress were drawn into the ordeal.

Sen. Tom Coburn, a fellow conservative and confidant of Ensign's, affirmed to reporters Thursday that he knew about Ensign's affair and told him to end it. However, he denied allegations that he urged Ensign to pay off his mistress, Cindy Hampton, or her family.

"I categorically deny that," Coburn said when asked whether he had discussed with Ensign making payments to the Hamptons, the Tulsa World reports.

Coburn's statements came in response to accusations from Doug Hampton, Cindy's husband, in a televised interview with Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun.

"This was at the request of Tom Coburn and some people to try and help them manage John," Doug Hampton said about the proposal to pay the family.

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It was no surprise when President Obama turned to his vast online resources to try and win support for his health care agenda. Now Republicans are trying to tap into the potential of the Internet to push their own health care ideas. Two Republican senators -- senators who happen to have medical degrees -- launched an online show today called "Senate Doctors."

Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) will host the show every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00 p.m. EST.

Barrasso is an orthopedic trauma surgeon and former president of the Wyoming Medical Society, and Coburn is a family practice physician specializing in obstetrics. The senators will have guests on their show to discuss policy, as well as the "questions, stories, concerns and comments about health care proposals" from their constituents, according to a release.

"We all agree that health care needs reform," Barrasso said in a statement. "Having practiced medicine for over two decades in Wyoming, I know that the devil is in the details. It deserves a serious, open, and transparent national debate. 'Senate Doctors' will allow more Americans to participate in that discussion."

Their debut show this afternoon did not include guests but featured video questions from people visiting the National Mall in Washington. The Web site showed today's episode garnered a little more than 400 viewers at one point.

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On CBSNews.com’s “Washington Unplugged” today, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma discussed his objections to possible health care reform plans.

Coburn argued that any public plan “will morph into a government run health care plan, and if we do that then we will fall into the same problems as every other nation that has run government run health care – you control costs through the bureaucracy and you ration care.”

Such a plan, he said, “will eliminate all private insurance because it will be cheaper and everyone will go towards the cheaper plan, which will end up getting subsidized and ultimately it will collapse on itself.”

We won’t have the money to pay for it because we will run it just like Medicare or Medicaid,” he said.

Also appearing on “Washington Unplugged,” Christina Romer, the head of President Obama’s economic council, said it is important to keep costs under control while expanding health care coverage.


Watch CBS Videos Online

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The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved Attorney General nominee Eric Holder on a 17 to 2 vote.

Two Republicans voted against Holder in the committee today – Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the panel, announced yesterday he would vote in favor of Holder.

Holder, a former No. 2 official at the Justice Department during the Clinton administration, has come under fire from some for his role in Bill Clinton's end-of-term pardons and whether intelligence agents who participated in harsh interrogations might be prosecuted.

The nomination now goes forward to the full Senate floor for a vote. It now appears likely he will be confirmed, but the timing of that vote is not yet known.

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