On the heels of the Senate's failed cloture vote to end debate on the financial reform bill today, Sen. Tom Coburn (R. - Okla.) squared off with Howard Dean on MSNBC's 'The Dylan Ratigan Show.' At issue was the stalled financial reform bill, which was held up today by Senate progressives who had seen many of their amendments killed.
Coburn, defending his own vote to keep the debate going on the financial reform bill, said that the proposal still needs work -- and is actually favored by banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. "This bill is a nightmare in terms of really addressing the real disease that plagues us," Coburn said.
Dean, for his part, argued that the bill needs to promptly head to the Senate floor, where Democrats will have the upper hand. "I think there's going to be hell to pay if the Republican's keep filibustering this bill," Dean said. "And I hope they do because it makes it easier for us."
"You can't pass the bill unless you stop filibustering it," Dean told Coburn.
Here's more from Coburn, who, unexpectedly, may be in implicit agreement with Senate progressives that the bill needs to be strengthened:
"If this bill goes out of here and does what its designed to right now, it won't fix the problem. We out to be proud that we're not letting it go through until it does fix the problem. You can play the political game, but the game doesn't count anymore because Americans are fed up with both sides."
WATCH Dean and Coburn go at it:
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