Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) explained why he recently used strong language to criticize Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Speaking on MSNBC on Thursday, Coburn said when he referred to Reid as "incompetent and incapable," he was getting "in front" of himself.
"I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. I get out in front of myself. You know, I'm 64 years of age and I guess I always will now and then make some mistakes in terms of my choice of words, and I don't mind apologizing. I mean, I don't know anybody, even talk-show hosts, that don't make errors every now and then," Coburn said.
Coburn blamed the election for the Senate's failure to find agreements that would avoid major cuts to federal spending or the U.S. Postal Service defaulting.
"The problem is the election. The election is keeping us from doing what we need to do because, you know, if you have 23 senators up, you don't want them to have to take the first hard vote, and that's why we haven't had a budget — that's why we haven't done anything to address the real problems in the country," Coburn said.
Coburns comments stem from his saying, during a recent interview on C-SPAN, that Reid was the reason the "Senate isn't working."
"If you want to ask why the Senate isn't working, there's one reason: It's called Harry Reid — incompetent and incapable of carrying on the leadership in the Senate."
Coburn later apologized on the Senate floor for the comments, saying his words were "inappropriate in describing [Reid's] actions in the Senate."
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