Republican blames party split on Oklahoma senator

Could the Civil War be back on (inside the Republican Party, at least)? And could an Oklahoman have a lot to do with it?

As reported on CNN.com's Political Ticker, it seems one Northern Republican believes his Southern GOP brethren are to blame for the party's failures with the public the past few years. And Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn is a prime example of the problem, according to the Yankee GOPer.

Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich is retiring next year from the U.S. Senate and had some choice words for one newspaper about his party's problems. When asked by The Columbus Dispatch to identify the GOP's biggest problem, this was Voinovich's answer:

"We got too many Jim DeMints (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburns (R-Ok.). It's the Southerners. They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr.' People hear them and say, 'These people, they're Southerners. The party's being taken over by Southerners. What the hell they got to do with Ohio?'"

Unless the Ohio legislator was having some issues with intestinal gas when talking to The Dispatch, we're going to assume the "errrr" is referencing Coburn broadcasting anger toward President Barack Obama's policies. Whatever the case, the Northern senator definitely has issues with Southern senators.

He could be right. While Republicans are getting wiped out in the North, East and West, the South has become a haven for ultra-conservative politicians. But it has cost the GOP control of the Congress and White House.

Still, to blame it on the likes of Coburn seems a bit too simple. Teaching congressional staffers the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and defending the right of Americans to be gas hogs must have some appeal.

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