Dick Durbin
Posted at 11:05pm on Jul. 9, 2008 "Oh, The Tide Is Turning!"
By Pejman Yousefzadeh
When the senior Senator from the home state of the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee--who is the Senate Democratic Whip to boot--comes out in favor of offshore drilling, you have to know that there is a change in the political landscape. I figure that it is only a matter of time before Barack Obama changes his position on this issue as well.
Posted at 12:53pm on Jul. 9, 2008 Winning The Battle on Drilling
D Senators Can Read Polls Too
By Dan McLaughlin
"There's clearly a dramatic shift across the ideological divide in America in favor of producing more energy here at home," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.
"I can't imagine that the majority (Democrats in Congress) is going to ignore that indefinitely," McConnell added.
He cited a poll released on July 1 by the Pew Research Center that found that 45 percent of respondents who identify themselves as "liberals" said they favor expanded energy exploration, mining, drilling, building more power plants. In February, the figure was just 22 percent.
A top U.S. Democratic senator said in a newspaper interview published Wednesday that he would consider supporting opening up new areas for offshore oil and gas drilling.
"I'm open to drilling and responsible production," Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin told The Wall Street Journal, adding that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could also support the move.
Your move next, Senator Obama.
Posted in Dick Durbin | Domestic Drilling | drill here | Energy | Mitch McConnell | mitchslap — Comments (7)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:31pm on Dec. 19, 2007 Dick Durbin: Speed Reader
More Absurdity on the Omnibus
By Bluey
Is 46 hours and 8 minutes enough time to read a 3,417-page bill? Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) thinks it is.
Last night before the Senate voted on the legislation, Durbin criticized Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) for suggesting lawmakers weren't given enough time to consider the mammoth omnibus spending bill.
For this Senator to suggest on the floor that we are sneaking this bill in, that people have not had a chance to see it, I would just say to the Senator from South Carolina: Welcome to the world of the Internet. This bill has been posted since 12:15 a.m. Monday morning on the Internet for your perusal. That is early to get up, I understand. It is an early time to be reading the bill. But, please, do not come to the floor and suggest that this is a mystery bill which no one has seen. For 2 days, this has been posted on the Internet. You have had your chance. Every Senator has had a chance.
DeMint's office wondered if that feat was even possible. It is -- assuming you read nearly 1¼ pages of the bill every minute for 46 hours and 8 minutes, take no bathroom breaks and don't eat or sleep.
Here's the exchange caught on video:
Posted in Congress | Congress | Dick Durbin — Comments (8)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 8:37pm on Apr. 25, 2007 Dems Missing Plot In Iraq
By RS Insider
The RS Insider hears of another example of Democrats losing the plot in Iraq. On the floor of the Senate today, Senator Durbin said Iraq controlled only “three out of eighteen provinces”.
In fact, the fourth province, Maysan, was handed over last week, and five more provinces are getting close to fulfilling the requirements necessary to be handed over to Iraqis. In fact, recent reports indicate that Dahuk, Irbil, and Sulaymaniyah are peaceful and awaiting impending transfer, and Kerbala and Wasit will be ready for handover soon, as well.
Senator Durbin should be aware of this kind of thing, since it was included in the Congressionally-mandated “March 2007 Report to Congress”. (of course, Democrats may not have read that, either) For example…
On December 17, 2006, the Prime Minister and the Ministerial Committee for National Security approved the transfer of security responsibility for Dahuk, Irbil, and Sulaymaniyah to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). These provinces will transition to PIC on completion of negotiations between the GOI and the KRG to resolve a national budgetary issue concerning the defense budget. These three provinces and three others—Qadisiyah, Maysan, and Ninewah—are expected to transition to PIC by the spring of 2007. The remaining provinces are expected to achieve PIC in 2007 except for Anbar, which is projected to transfer to PIC in early 2008.
Apparently, Senator Durbin didn’t get the memo. Or perhaps, like other Democrats, he’s just not reading them anymore.
Posted in Dick Durbin | War — Comments (7)/ Email this page » / Read More »
