Dr. Coburn: Please Say Yes
On December 19th, 2009, Senator Coburn blocked the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act from passage in the Senate due to objections over the source of funding for northern Ugandan recovery efforts and the rehabilitation of former LRA child-combatants. Months of negotiations with Resolve and the Senator’s staff ensued in which numerous compromises were offered by the original sponsors of the bill. All were rejected, and the bill was in danger of dying as the 111th Congress drew nearer to campaign season. Thus, after significant debate within Resolve, drastic action was deemed necessary to save the legislation.
Known as the Oklahoma Holdout, over 50 activists from around the nation pledged to stand in front of the Senator’s downtown office in Oklahoma for 24 hours a day until the block of the legislation was lifted.
For the next 262 hours, or 11 days, activists held vigil in front of the Chase Building in downtown Oklahoma City, with a permit from the city for a sidewalk protest whose end date read “to be determined.” Braving freezing temperatures, extreme mental fatigue, and faced with the prospect of potentially spending weeks in front of the building, members of the Holdout sacrificed greatly to see through the passage of the bill.
After two press conferences, over 10 appearances on the local news, and numerous outreach efforts into the community, Senator Coburn finally agreed to a personal phone call to members of the group in which he pledged his support for the legislation and announced his intention to accept a compromise.
The legislation was passed unanimously by the United States Senate the following day.
Read more about these efforts at CoburnSayYes.com