Dick Durbin

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Illinois Primary Could Muffle Tea Party Buzz

Moderate favored over 2 conservatives in today's Senate vote

(Newser) - If polls prove accurate, moderate Mark Kirk will emerge victorious from today’s Republican Senate primary in Illinois, beating out two more conservative candidates with tea party backing. His victory would put a dent in the tea party panic gripping the GOP, says Talking Points Memo . Republicans in states including...

Bernanke Nom Builds Steam


 Bernanke Nom 
 Builds Steam 
WH, DODD, GREGG 'VERY CONFIDENT'
Jan 24, 2010 9:05 AM CST

Bernanke Nom Builds Steam

Geithner, Dodd, Gregg all 'very confident' he'll win second term

(Newser) - Amid gathering clouds over his reconfirmation parade, Ben Bernanke's chances have appeared to turn around, with Tim Geithner joining key banking committee senators Chris Dodd and Judd Gregg in saying he is "very confident" the Fed chair would succeed. A White House aide further confirmed to Politico that President...

Illinois Prison Will Take Gitmo Inmates

 Illinois Prison Will 
 Take Gitmo Inmates 
UPDATED
Dec 15, 2009 6:43 AM CST

Illinois Prison Will Take Gitmo Inmates

Prison nearly empty, unemployment brutal in rural Thomson

(Newser) - A nearly vacant prison in a western Illinois town where unemployment is over 10% will be the new home of as many as 100 current Guantanamo Bay detainees. An announcement of the president's decision to acquire the 8-year-old jail is expected today, the Chicago Tribune reports. Gov. Pat Quinn and...

Harry Reid's No. 1 Priority Is Harry Reid
Harry Reid's No. 1 Priority
Is Harry Reid
dana Milbank
Dec 12, 2009 9:53 AM CST

Harry Reid's No. 1 Priority Is Harry Reid

A Senate majority leader needs to 'think bigger'

(Newser) - The Senate may be dealing with weighty issues like health care reform, but its majority leader's biggest concern is his own political skin, writes Dana Milbank. Harry Reid's selfish focus on re-election is getting in the way of his larger duties, and it's time Democrats woke up to this reality....

Ill. Dems Rally Around Plan to Take Gitmo Prisoners

Quinn, Durbin say detainees at empty prison would create 3,000 jobs

(Newser) - Illinois' governor and senior senator spent yesterday feverishly trying to regain momentum on their plan to use a nearly empty maximum-security prison 150 miles from Chicago to house Gitmo detainees. With federal officials visiting Thomson Correctional Center today, local GOP lawmakers had gone on the offense Saturday, calling it a...

Dems' Silent Fear: What if Reid Loses in 2010?
Dems' Silent Fear: 
What if Reid Loses in 2010?
ANALYSIS
Sep 30, 2009 6:24 AM CDT

Dems' Silent Fear: What if Reid Loses in 2010?

Party unity expected to take a hit if majority leader is voted out in 2010

(Newser) - Harry Reid hasn't kept a very high profile as Senate majority leader but the vital role he's been playing will become obvious if he is unseated in next year's elections, say Democratic insiders. Even the Nevada senator's critics admit that he's stopped liberal and moderate Democrats from feuding, and many...

McConnell: White House 'Demonizing' Health Critics

Angry protests 'clearly being orchestrated,' Durbin counters

(Newser) - The White House is “demonizing” the fiercely outspoken critics of its health care reform, Sen. Mitch McConnell told Fox News Sunday today. “To demonize citizens who are energetic about this strikes me as demonstrating a kind of weakness in your position,” the Senate minority leader said, but...

Baseball Hall Pass Means Cushy Retirement

Players battle for spot with political-style campaigns

(Newser) - This weekend, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice are headed for baseball’s Hall of Fame—and a life without financial headaches, the Wall Street Journal reports. Retired players make money with autographs, speeches, and endorsements, and a place in Cooperstown means their values skyrocket. “‘HoF’ after a signature...

No Vote on Health Care Reform Before Fall: Reid

More time is needed to build support for bill, majority leader says

(Newser) - The Senate will not vote on the health-care bill before the August recess, Majority Leader Harry Reid said today, citing the need to build bipartisan support—or even unified Democratic support—for such comprehensive reform, the AP reports. “Working with Republicans, one of the things that they asked for...

Senate Dems Bring Down Concealed-Weapons Measure

Schumer leads effort to quash Thune amendment

(Newser) - Senate Democrats today narrowly defeated a measure that would have let concealed weapons be transported across state lines, the Hill reports. The amendment, which required 60 votes to pass according to a prior, bipartisan agreement, went down 58-39. Sen. Charles Schumer and majority whip Dick Durbin fought hard to drum...

Aug. Health Reform Looks Impossible

Divisions among lawmakers may make reaching goal impossible

(Newser) - President Obama has called for the passage of a health care bill by August—but that would require an unusually smooth few weeks on Capitol Hill, Politico reports. The Senate Finance Committee hasn’t released a version of the bill planned for early June; disagreements among Democrats in both chambers...

Durbin: Cheney 'Way Beyond' the Constitution
Durbin: Cheney 'Way Beyond' the Constitution
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Jul 12, 2009 10:46 AM CDT

Durbin: Cheney 'Way Beyond' the Constitution

Also, Palin resignation 'surprised' McCain; she 'did not call me'

(Newser) - The revelation that Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress “absolutely” warrants an investigation, Sen. Dick Durbin said today. “To give the president unbridled authority goes way beyond the United States Constitution,” Durbin told This Week. Over on Fox News Sunday, Sen. John Cornyn...

Obama Still Scaring Up Gun Sales

FBI reports surge in background checks

(Newser) - The surge in gun and ammunition sales that started with Barack Obama's presidency shows no sign of abating, NPR reports. In California, gun sales are up 32% from a year ago, and the FBI has reported a consistent rise in applications for background checks. Gun retailers and consumers continue to...

Blago Toyed With Giving Rival's Daughter Senate Seat...

...in exchange for dad's pet-project support

(Newser) - Ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich considered nominating his rival's daughter to the US Senate in exchange for concessions on pet projects, the AP reports. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, daughter of the state's powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, was in contention for the spot, according to aides to Sen. Dick...

After Seniority Flap, Specter Lands Plum Gig

Durbin engineers Judiciary shuffle, giving newest Dem a gavel

(Newser) - Dick Durbin has yielded his seat atop the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime and drugs to Arlen Specter, a consolation prize after Democrats stripped their new colleague of his seniority, Politico reports. In exchange, Durbin will take the helm of a newly reconstituted human-rights subcommittee. The move should help...

Dems to GOP: Draft Your Own Budget

(Newser) - Frustrated Senate Democrats today urged their GOP counterparts to stop criticizing President Obama’s proposed budget and provide an alternative, the Hill reports. “If it were easy to write a budget, then the Republicans would be writing one,” Dick Durbin said. Republicans responded that as the minority, that...

Capitol Goes Gaga for Pitt
 Capitol Goes Gaga for Pitt 

Mar 6, 2009 8:01 AM CST

Capitol Goes Gaga for Pitt

Brad discusses New Orleans, lawmakers swoon

(Newser) - Brad Pitt was in Washington yesterday for a serious reason, but the effect he had on lawmakers was not entirely professional, with many employees ditching their offices to nonchalantly hang out in the halls hoping to catch a glimpse of the superstar, AP reports. It wasn’t all fun and...

Durbin to Burris: Resign
 Durbin to Burris: Resign 
UPDATED
Feb 24, 2009 3:30 PM CST

Durbin to Burris: Resign

(Newser) - Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told his junior colleague, Roland Burris, that he should resign during a meeting today, the Chicago Tribune reports. Burris declined, and also would not confirm whether or not he would run in 2010, despite earlier accounts that he would give up the seat. Durbin said he...

Burris Won't Quit, but Vows Not to Run in '10

Senator pitches compromise to Durbin to quell calls for ouster

(Newser) - Roland Burris won’t resign as senator in the wake of allegations he traded campaign donations for his appointment by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich—or at least that’s what Burris will tell fellow Illinois Dem Dick Durbin today, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. But sources say Burris will pledge not...

Unless He Resigns, Senate Likely Stuck With Burris

The embattled Senator, though lacking support, pledges to dig in and fight

(Newser) - Whatever problems Roland Burris had being seated in the Senate, they pale in comparison to the problems the Senate will have getting rid of him, the Los Angeles Times reports. Expulsion from the Senate requires a two-thirds vote; the last senators to be formally booted were alleged rebel supporters during...

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