Senator Tom Coburn wins a rare double bill in the nation's two biggest newspapers this morning for his obstinacy (conservatives would call it heroism) in blocking Senate spending measures lined with pork.

Paul Kane writes the feature in the Washington Post:

Instead of a keepsake photo of a political hero or his family, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has a large framed picture next to his desk that serves as a constant reminder of his political ideology. Inside the black frame and matting is a single word, in large white letters: "No."

Coburn has become best known as the lawmaker who says no -- no to increased funding for unsolved civil rights crimes, no to creation of a national registry for victims of the disease ALS, no to more money for child pornography prosecutions.

Using every parliamentary tactic at his disposal, Coburn has tied the Senate in so many knots that Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has decided on an extraordinary tactic: He will devote most of the Senate's time this week to breaking the one-man stranglehold.

Kane also includes a quote from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that is sure to have conservatives cheering: "For those of you who may not know this," Reid told reporters recently, "you cannot negotiate with Coburn. It's just something that you learn over the years . . . is a waste of time."

In the New York Times, Carl Hulse covers the same beat:

Congress has dealt for decades with catchall bills known as omnibus legislation. Now, for the first time, comes the Tomnibus.

A product of Democratic frustration with the tactics of Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican and physician who has become the Dr. No of the Senate, the Tomnibus is a $10 billion collection of Coburn-blocked measures assembled by the Senate leadership in an effort to break his solitary grip on the legislative process.

Engineered by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, the bill includes 35 of the most irresistible-sounding measures stuck on the docket, including the Mothers Act and the Protect Our Children Act.

As Hulse writes, "good luck with that." Coburn is as unfazed by Democrats' tactics as they are affronted by his:

The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, said Mr. Coburn's approach was well within the rules but far outside the bounds of collegiality. "The Senate really depends on people getting along with one another and agreeing you are not going to abuse the right to stop the train," Mr. Durbin said.

Meanwhile, in another section of the New York Times, Bill Kristol argues that the ability to "stop the train" - to steal Durbin's language - may be a factor in helping John McCain into the White House in an otherwise overwhelming Democratic year.

In other words, conservatives and independents could rally to McCain over the fear that with Nancy Pelosi in the driver's seat and Harry Reid riding shotgun (with a near filibuster proof majority in the Senate), Congress could transform itself from a sputtering old steam engine into an liberal Acela with a pair of legislative Casey Joneses at the throttle.

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