Free Republic

Sen. Durbin (D-Ill.) last night [10/26/2009] and today [10/27/2009] is once again using his leadership position to make false claims about E-Verify's reliability and to project the absolutely foolish notion that unemployment and immigration have no relationship. But while he laments the 125,000 who have recently lost their unemployment benefits (I do, too), he ignores the fact that HIS immigration policies now in place have given out 125,000 brand new work permits to foreign workers during the last month. Sadly, Sen. Durbin is Exhibit A of the intellectual hypocrisy that is pervasive in Congress. He gives speeches as a champion of unemployed...

Mr. (Forgiven Sinner) (Street) Peoria, IL Dear Mr. (Forgiven Sinner): Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns about federal funding for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). I appreciate hearing from you. I've seen the videos and I am appalled by them. I am also troubled by the discoveries of voter registration fraud, and I am glad ACORN reported the incidents to the authorities. These employees have been fired, and ACORN is being investigated by state and federal agencies for misconduct and potential misuse of government funds. Anyone who has broken the law should be...

Politics: In yet another vote against transparency, the Senate killed an amendment imposing legislative oversight on unconfirmed White House officials. Shouldn't we know who they are and what they're doing? Green czar Van Jones is gone, forced to leave the administration after Fox News and the conservative blogosphere revealed his past as a self-avowed communist. Jones had issues that some argue should have been discussed in confirmation hearings that never occurred before he assumed his position. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, would have liked to have learned of Jones' communist links and more before this man, who believes that white America...

Oversight: As the Senate votes to de-fund Acorn, add pimping, tax evasion and human trafficking to voter fraud paid for with taxpayer dollars and you have an organized criminal enterprise. It's time to investigate.After Acorn workers were caught on tape in three cities allegedly abetting what they believed was a fraudulent-mortgage and sex-trafficking scheme, the Senate has voted overwhelmingly to strip the group of funding in the Transportation/Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. The amendment, offered by Nebraska Republican Sen. Mike Johanns, passed by an 83-to-7 margin and marked the third time this year that Republicans have tried to block...

Today, at noon Central Time, Daley Plaza was the home of one of 435 tea party demonstrations against Obama Care. This particular protest was directed specifically at Senator Dick Durbin. Senator Durbin declined to attend and the crowd let Durbin know just how they felt about his lack of attention to his constituency. This demonstration was promoted by John and Cisco of 560 WIND. The Thomas More Law Center was also a sponsor and they did the leg work in getting the permit.

Attention Illinois FReepers: Please spread the word about tomorrow's town hall meeting in front of Dick Durbin's office in downtown Chicago. 8/22/09 12:00pm-2:00pm Federal Plaza, 219 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago IL Dick Durbin refuses to hold townhall meetings so we're taking one to him. Join us for a townhall meeting outside Dick Durbin's Chicago office on Saturday, August 22. Be there at noon and bring friends, family, and neighbors. The more people we have the louder the message that voters can't be taken for granted. Organized by Cisco Cotto of WIND AM 560

Leadership: Scores of congressmen and women are trying to hide from their constituents this August recess as the revolt over ObamaCare continues. If you haven't seen him or her lately, you might try your refrigerator.IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For FailureIt's amazing how frightened of the community the party of the great community organizer has become now that the community has organized itself against his attempt to impose socialized medicine on the country. They cheered when he told them to get in the faces of their opponents. Now they won't show their faces, period. Senate Majority Whip Dick...

Here's a nugget from my Senator also proclaiming those that are at these town halls are "plants" and tools of the GOP.

Nancy Pelosi upped the ante in the health care debate when she responded to a media question in the following manner: Interviewer: Do you think there’s legitimate grassroot opposition going on here? Pelosi: "I think they’re Astroturf… You be the judge. "They’re carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare." That being in addition to her reference to town hall protesters as "simply un-American."Well, first of all, Nancy Pelosi calls health care opponents "Astroturf," and the propagandist mainstream media have duly found evidence of one or two emails from conservative groups instructing opponents of health care...

The first round of protests against the Obama administration's chaotic and rapid-fire expansion of government came in the form of grass-roots "tea parties," which were predictably met with scorn by the Democrat-Media Complex (the natural coalition of the Democratic Party and the mainstream media.) CNN's Anderson Cooper and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow led the charge, declaring concerned Americans "tea baggers," an allusion to an absurd sexual fetish beneath describing in a family newspaper. This attack on hundreds of thousands of people practicing their constitutional right to protest speaks volumes not just about the hardened sociopolitical leanings of America's...

The so-called public option is a hot topic of debate at town hall meetings across the country. Supporters say it's needed to keep private insurance companies in check and extend affordable coverage to all. Critics warn that the government should not have so much control over health care and that a public option could eventually eliminate private insurance.

No. 2 Senate Democrat 'Open' to Health Care Bill With No Public Option The so-called public option is a hot topic of debate at town hall meetings across the country. Supporters say it's needed to keep private insurance companies in check and extend affordable coverage to all. Critics warn that the government should not have so much control over health care and that a public option could eventually eliminate private insurance. FOXNews.com Sunday, August 09, 2009 The No. 2 Senate Democrat said Sunday that he's "open" to health care reform that doesn't include a government-run "public option," the latest indication...

Here is video of Sen. Dick Durbin today on CNN with John King where he said once again that much of the outrage being expressed at Health Care Town Hall Events is "clearly orchestrated." Texas Sen. John Cornyn said it is important during to August recess to "slow down" and "listen to the people" on this issue and others. Durbin came right out and said there is nothing in the Democrats' Health Care Bill that would encourage more abortions. Durbin is putting out "disinformation" in saying that. The President's own budget director will not rule out ObamaCare paying for abortion...

Durbin on town hall chaos: ‘This is clearly being orchestrated’ Posted: August 9th, 2009 11:04 AM ET From CNN Political Producer Rebecca Sinderbrand WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Senate’s second-ranking Democrat slammed recent town hall protests Sunday as organized disruptions of the democratic process. “We have these screaming groups on either side. That isn't helpful. Let's be honest about this. Town meetings are not bean bag, I've had hundreds of them and sometimes folks get upset. And that's part of America, part of our process,” he told CNN’s John King on “State of the Union.” “But this is clearly being orchestrated...

I learned something a long time ago - when someone accuses you of lying, for example, it usually means that in a similar situation they would lie - so they project their lack of a soul onto you. Sen. Durbin (A-hole - IL), actually says that he hopes his "colleagues won't fall for a sucker punch like this." "These health insurance companies and people like them are trying to load these town meetings for visual impact on television," he added.

Durbin warns other lawmakers of healthcare town hall 'sucker punch' @ 3:39 pm by Jordan Fabian Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) warned other members of Congress against antagonistic audience members at healthcare town hall events who may be funded by industry interest groups. "I hope my colleagues won't fall for a sucker punch like this," Durbin told the liberal blog ThinkProgress. "These health insurance companies and people like them are trying to load these town meetings for visual impact on television," he added. Liberal news sources have recently featured items about conservative and interest groups efforts to pack lawmakers' town hall...

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that a pre-recess vote on healthcare reform is unlikely. “We’re going to take a little longer to get it right,” Durbin told The Hill when asked about the oft-stated goal of a vote on or before Aug. 7, when a monthlong Senate recess begins. “Initially we had hoped for a full vote by then, but I don’t think it’s going to be possible.” Delaying the vote until after Labor Day would all but erase hopes of getting a bill to President Obama by mid-October, since the House...

In a committee markup last week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that residents of the District of Columbia have a disproportionately large number of abortions because D.C. is disproportionately African-American. In our nation's capital, 41 percent of all pregnancies end in abortion...

They call the legislative process making sausage. That's because the sausage making process is often messy and ugly and the legislative making process no less messy or ugly. Unlike the process of making sausage, the legislative process unfolds in front of us. The latest ugly part of the sausage making process occurred on the Sunday talk shows.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) signaled Senate Democrats were not on board with a plan outlined by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman (D-N.Y.) that would levy a tax on the rich to fund President Obama's health care overhaul. "I think we're going to have a different approach," Durbin said on ABC's "This Week," adding that he was in favor of a package of cuts to the current health care system combined with new streams of revenue.

The following was sent to Sen Duck Durbin this morning via his webpage-email link: Dear Senator Durbin: You were kind enough to send me your views on global warming, climate change, and cap-and-trade. After the very close vote in the House yesterday on cap-and-trade, several documents were revealed that need to be considered prior to any action on your part in the Senate. It seems that when any of these things are discussed, the argument deteriorates to name-calling, especially the term "flat earther". Well, call me what you will, but the scientific facts simply do not support the Al Gore/Leonardo...

In 2001, TV personality and business magnate Martha Stewart got a third-hand tip that one of her stocks was about to tank. She sold her shares to avoid $45,673 loss, pocket change for the fabulously wealthy entrepreneur. She later was accused of insider trading, but it turned out what she did was legal. But federal prosecutors, apparently channeling predecessors who put gangster Al Capone behind bars on innocuous income-tax charges when they couldn't get him on murder, bootlegging, bribery and many other crimes, managed to put Ms. Stewart in prison in 2004 on charges she broke the law in her...

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat and assistant majority leader, looked like such a great investor. On Sept. 19, he sold off $42,696 in mutual-fund shares, and quickly sold off another $73,000 during the rest of September. The stock market collapsed after that. Within two weeks, by Oct. 3, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen by 9 percent. A month later, by Oct. 17, it had plummeted over 22 percent. On Tuesday this week, the average is still down about 25 percent from Sept. 19. If Mr. Durbin ever leaves his day job as a Democratic politician, he should...

If you knew what Sen. Durbin knew, would you do what he did? Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat and assistant majority leader, looked like such a great investor. On Sept. 19, he sold off $42,696 in mutual-fund shares, and quickly sold off another $73,000 during the rest of September. The stock market collapsed after that. Within two weeks, by Oct. 3, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen by 9 percent. A month later, by Oct. 17, it had plummeted over 22 percent. On Tuesday this week, the average is still down about 25 percent from Sept. 19. If...

Talk about corruption: The Illinois senator’s 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders in a closed meeting to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks. The same day, he bought $43,562 worth of Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B stock, the disclosure shows. Riiiight. I have written before about the fact that Congressfolk can trade on pending legislation. There is no apparent violation of the law, if I read it correctly, in doing so. But there damn well should...

Ethics: Sen. Dick Durbin cashes out of the market and invests with a key Democratic contributor after a Treasury briefing warning of collapse. Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Dodd's Irish cottage appraises at triple the value he's disclosed.Those investors who rode the stock market down to the bitter end and saw their 401(k) accounts evaporate in the morning sun could have used the information Senate Majority Whip Durbin had at his fingertips on Sept. 19, 2008, when he sold $42,696 worth of mutual fund shares. By the end of September, Durbin had sold investments totaling $116,000.

The meeting with Hank and Ben, and the stock sales, are a distraction. What about the buying? So if Dick Durbin selling his stocks and mutual funds last September isn’t a scandal, could his decision to buy shares of Berkshire Hathaway be? That possibility occurred to us when we remembered that Warren Buffett was reported to have had frequent phone calls with key lawmakers during the negotiations over bailout legislation. So did these calls play a role in convincing Durbin to invest his money in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway? We actually have no doubt that they did. Even if Buffett...

...Following the announcement (made late on the 23rd), Berkshire stock jumped in price the next day by 3.5%. The climb in price should not come as a surprise since Buffett is viewed as one of the greatest investors of all time. If he were to announce, in the middle of a panic, that he was buying into Goldman Sachs, his stock would most assuredly climb since it was Warren Buffett putting a stamp of approval on the stock market and financial system. Who better to then take a ride with then Buffett by buying his stock. If you knew this...

<p>As U.S. stock markets plummeted last September, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, sold more than $115,000 worth of stocks and mutual-fund shares and used much of the money to invest in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.</p> <p>The Illinois senator's 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders in a closed meeting to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks. The same day, he bought $43,562 worth of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B stock, the disclosure shows.</p>

<p>As U.S. stock markets plummeted last September, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, sold more than $115,000 worth of stocks and mutual-fund shares and used much of the money to invest in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.</p> <p>The Illinois senator's 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders in a closed meeting to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks. The same day, he bought $43,562 worth of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B stock, the disclosure shows.</p>

Sen. Dick Durbin was just 10 or 11 when he and his cousin Mike sneaked out behind a garage in East St. Louis, Ill., to have a smoke, Durbin's first. He didn't care much for the taste of the cigarette but, unfortunately, Mike did. Mike died two weeks ago of tobacco-related lung disease. "There he was, on oxygen, smoking the night before he died," remembered Durbin, D-Ill. "He just could not quit. It is a terrible addiction." Durbin's father, also a smoker, died at age 53 of lung cancer. "It was devastating to my family," Durbin said... ~snip" Reid said...

The Leftist Blog reports that Rep. Collin C. Peterson (D-MN) echoes, almost to the letter, what Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the 2nd ranking democrat in the Senate said a month earlier. Read Full Story

Names of the six senators who voted to fund the closing of GITMO: Durbin - Illinois Harkin - Iowa Leahy - Vermont Levin - Michigan Reed - Rhode Island Whitehorse - Rhode Island Source: michellemalkin.com

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) had an angry scowl on his face when reporters informed him Thursday that Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) would take over one of his subcommittees. Leahy was surprised to learn that Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a member of the Judiciary panel, had given up his chairmanship of the Crime and Drugs panel to Specter. Leahy received no advanced warning from Durbin. Leahy and Specter have a friendly relationship, by and large, aides say, but they have also been known to spar heatedly. After news of his gambit broke, Durbin said that he knew...

Durbin blames lobby for bankruptcy billLisa Lerer, Victoria Mcgrane Thu Apr 30, 7:28 pm ET Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin blames the powerful banking lobby for Thursday’s defeat of legislation he championed empowering bankruptcy judges to modify some troubled mortgages. But some Democrats suggest he look to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as well. Democratic supporters of the measure say that President Barack Obama invested far less political capital in the controversial bankruptcy measure than he did credit card legislation, another campaign priority over which Democrats are going head-to-head against big financial interests. “I cannot tell that President Obama has used [his]...

Freedom of speech is one of the most important protections we have against tyranny. The right to speak out and expose corruption and to spread new amazing ideas. Of course the left doesn't like that one bit. Over the past decades, government has eroded our first amendment with the Federal Communications commision which dictates what we can or cannot listen to. The FCC and its many regulations and licensing fees prevent the creation of new radio and TV stations that would otherwise produce alternative views and regulates what we can or cannot watch. A dangerous prelude to totalitarianism. Enter the...

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) on the influence of banks: "the banks, hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created, are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place."

In an unusual step, the Senate's top leaders were interviewed yesterday by the chamber's ethics committee in its ongoing investigation of Sen. Roland W. Burris's campaign to win appointment to the seat vacated by President Obama. Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) met with the committee, in separate 30-minute discussions, to recount their interactions with Burris (D) during his effort to be seated after he was appointed by then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D).

Durbin: 'Right-Wing' Radio Hosts Wave 'Bloody Shirt' over Broadcast Censorship Thursday, March 12, 2009 Washington (CNSNews.com) – Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) told CNSNews.com Tuesday that "right-wing talk radio" hosts are waving a "bloody shirt" when they talk about potential government efforts to diminish the conservative presence on the air waves. He also said that an amendment he is sponsoring that directs the Federal Communications Commission to promote "diversity" in the ownership of broadcast outlets is nothing new and merely restates longstanding FCC rules. CNSNews.com asked Durbin: “Is the Durbin amendment--what's come to have been called the Durbin Amendment--is...

On March 3, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., took the Fairness Doctrine and its often overlooked potential threat to Christian radio to the Senate floor. The Oklahoma senator gave a lengthy floor speech and mentioned that Sen. Jim DeMint’s effort to force an up-or-down vote on the Fairness Doctrine issue, which passed 87-11 in the Senate, was a good beginning. “Last week’s vote was the first nail in the coffin of the Fairness Doctrine, but it was not the end of the attempt on the part of some people to regulate the airwaves,” Inhofe said. “Now, I have long been outspoken...

Sen. Dick Durbin, who advised Sen. Roland Burris last week to step down from the Senate, acknowledged today that racial considerations were at play in the decision by majority Democrats to seat Burris. Durbin, a fellow Democrat and Illinois' senior senator, noted that Rep. Bobby Rush, a Chicago Democrat, appeared at Gov. Rod Blagojevich's announcement of his appointment of Burris and used racially charged language to defend the appointment. "My colleague from Illinois, Congressman Bobby Rush, made strong statements along those (racial) lines," Durbin said on WGN-AM (720). "They were painful and hurtful, and it became part of this calculation."

Conservatives ask: Is Durbin going after Limbaugh? Conservatives fear that Democrats are pursuing a “back door” approach to cracking down on Clear Channel Communications, the media conglomerate that airs "The Rush Limbaugh Show," a favorite among conservatives. The Senate voted along party lines Thursday to adopt an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, that directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest.” The measure passed 57-41 without a single Republican vote. Durbin said his proposal...

The Senate passed a Broadcaster Freedom Amendment to a D.C. voting rights bill on Thursday by a vote of 87-11. But Democrats countered with an amendment that seeks to promote “diversity” in media ownership.The Broadcaster Freedom Amendment prevents the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, which would requires equal time for the expression of different political viewpoints on the public airwaves. Radio stations that run conservative talks shows, for example, would be required to allot equal time for liberal talk shows – or, more likely, stop airing the conservative shows altogether. Critics of the Fairness Doctrine call it...

Let's take Attorney General Holder up on his advice. No cowards needed in discussing race. Got it. So. The Democrats' Illinois Senator Dick Durbin refused to vote to oust a white president from office when, as the whole world knew, said president had lied about his role in the federal crime of sexual harassment. Yet when a black U.S. Senator, Durbin's Illinois colleague Roland Burris, is accused -- with as yet unproven allegations -- of lying to the Illinois House of Representatives, Durbin wants said black Senator's resignation post-haste. Well now. Isn't that white of him.

Let's take Attorney General Holder up on his advice. No cowards needed in discussing race. Got it. So. The Democrats' Illinois Senator Dick Durbin refused to vote to oust a white president from office when, as the whole world knew, said president had lied about his role in the federal crime of sexual harassment. Yet when a black U.S. Senator, Durbin's Illinois colleague Roland Burris, is accused -- with as yet unproven allegations -- of lying to the Illinois House of Representatives, Durbin wants said black Senator's resignation post-haste. Well now. Isn't that white of him. And where, pray tell,...

Conservatives ask: Is Durbin going after Limbaugh? By Alexander Bolton Posted: 02/26/09 04:58 PM [ET] Conservatives fear that Democrats are pursuing a “back door” approach to cracking down on Clear Channel Communications, the media conglomerate that airs "The Rush Limbaugh Show," a favorite among conservatives. The Senate voted along party lines Thursday to adopt an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, that directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest.” The measure passed 57-41 without...

Senator Burris supporters attacked racist Dick Durbin and other racist democrats who are asking Senator Burris to resign. They say there are racial motives involved.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Roland Burris refused to resign on Tuesday, rebuffing a call from the Senate's No. 2 Democrat who made it clear that the embattled Illinois lawmaker has little hope next year of winning the seat vacated by President Barack Obama. "I told him that under the circumstances, I would resign," fellow Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin told reporters after an hour-long meeting with Burris. "He said, 'I'm not going to resign.'""I can't force him," Durbin added.Burris was appointed by disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached and driven from office after he was accused of trying to sell...

Just across on MSNBC; video to follow. They met this morning, supposedly to hash out a deal in which Burris would stay on, serve out his term, and then retire next year when the special election rolls around. I can only assume that his egomania intervened and refused to let him pledge to go quietly, forcing Durbin to go nuclear. Over to you, Illinois legislature: If Burris quits, Gov. Quinn will appoint a Democrat on a temporary basis–someone, Quinn told me, who would be a caretaker. Quinn then would push the Illinois legislature to change the law for a special...