BY WANDA JO STAPLETON

An open letter to U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK:

I understand that you are resting following prostate surgery in Tulsa.

I heard you during a speech in Oklahoma City tell a distraught woman with a seriously ill husband to ask the neighbors for help. And you told me once that Medicare was no good. So I’m wondering about your recent surgery.

As our PUBLIC servant, do you mind answering these questions:

Are you paying for the surgery yourself or are you asking for donations?

Did your minister perform your surgery?

Is your next-door neighbor going to change the catheter?

I am assuming with these questions that you will ask your neighbors and churches for help when you need it, not the federal government, as you advise your constituents in Town Hall meetings.

– The author, a former Democratic state representative from south Oklahoma City, is a regular contributor to The Oklahoma Observer. This letter was e-mailed to Coburn via his U.S. Senate web site.

Editor’s Note: Coburn caricature courtesy of DonkeyHotey http://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/5693723516