Free Republic

In a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said free enterprise isn´t always best. Government must step in. "The free enterprise system is a strong system," he said, but it "created unfairness and injustice when it came to health care, which we are addressing with this Affordable Care Act." In passing that law, Durbin said Democrats "rejected the free enterprise approach to health care and said let´s have something that basically respects families." He also criticized Republicans for embracing free enterprise: "Let me tell you a free enterprise idea when it came to health care. Before

Sen. Mark S. Kirk’s decision not to campaign this year against his in-state Democratic colleague should come as no surprise. While Kirk has said he will support the Republican ticket in November and has committed to actively assisting the party’s gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner, the Illinois Republican told the Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet that he won’t be stumping for Republican Senate nominee Jim Oberweis. Kirk said he wants to protect his working relationship with Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin by “not launching into a partisan jihad.” But there are other equally compelling reasons not to hit the campaign trail against...

In the race for U.S. Senate, Republican challenger Jim Oberweis is getting shunned by two top Republicans - one local, one national. Dick Durbin is such a favorite for reelection that Republican Senator Mark Kirk says he’s not even planning to campaign with fellow Republican Oberweis. “I’m going to be protecting my relationship with Dick and not launching into a partisan jihad that hurts our partnership [in which we] both pull together for Illinois.” And at his side at an unrelated news conference was Republican Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, in town for a fundraiser, who took a...

The Talk Shows March 23rd, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Former President Jimmy Carter; Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Mitt Romney; Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.THIS WEEK (ABC): Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and Tom Cole, R-Okla.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Tony Blinken, President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser; Reps. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Putin is set to respond to Obama's sanctions of Russian officials with his own list. Several U.S. Senators and officials will be banned from visiting Russia, including Sen. Dick Durbin. U.S. senators, congressmen and top Obama administration officials are sure to be on Vladimir Putin’s sanctions list; a response to the Obama Administration’s announcement on Monday that 7 Russian officials and 4 Ukrainian officials would be barred from holding assets or traveling to the United States.

Leave it to a bunch of Democrats from typically liberal states to take aim at healthy alternatives to cigarette smoking. Democrats from California, Illinois, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have decided that because e-cigarettes vaguely resemble puffing on an actual stick of cancer, they should be the target of heavy regulation and criticism. Instead of embracing a technology that aids in smoking cessation efforts, and greatly reduces health complications associated with traditional “smoking”, these Nannycrats have decided that these non-cigarettes should be the target of ridicule and government regulation. And, of course, it’s all for the “children”. According to the Washington Free...

Top Illinois politicians say a multimillion-dollar institute bound for Chicago will be the nation’s flagship research site for digital manufacturing. Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Pat Quinn on Sunday publicly heralded Chicago’s selection by the Defense Department as the site of one of two manufacturing institutes. …

President Obama has named a Black lesbian from Illinois to serve on the federal court, according to The Washington Blade. Obama nominated Staci Michelle Yandle for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on Jan. 16 as part of a group of four nominees. U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin ( D-Ill. ) recommended Yandle, who will need confirmation from the U.S. Senate before she's seated on the bench. According to her firm's website, Yandle opened her own firm in 2007 ( after two decades of practice ) "to concentrate on representing victims of medical malpractice,...

U.S. Congressman George Miller, a senior Democrat from California who has long championed education system, labor, health and the protection of natural resources, announced on Monday that he will not seek a 21st term in the House this fall. “This is a great institution and I cannot thank my family and my constituents enough for having given me the honor and privilege of representing my district in Congress these past 40 years,” the 68-year-old Miller said on his website. ““I will leave Congress with a full heart and a crowded plate, because the challenges of our times demand our constant...

Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) checked himself into the hospital Friday as a precautionary measure. “Luckily, the senator has the best of healthcare coverage,” said Reid’s greatly relieved spokesman, Adam Jentleson. “We expect he will be back on his feet shortly, but the senator asked that I use this occasion to remind those less well insured to sign up for Obamacare before illness strikes them down.” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill) said that he would be replacing Reid in his absence and urged his fellow senators “to move forward with the vital work to which Senator Reid has given his...

Speaking to the attendees of the group’s policy summit in DC, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz rallied the ALEC faithful and urged them not to let the growing chorus of criticism get them down. “I first came to ALEC over a decade ago,” Cruz said. “When I was serving in the Bush administration, I’d been privileged to work with ALEC in the federal government. I’ve been privileged to work with ALEC when I was back in Texas with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, leading the 10th Amendment Center, and I’m proud to stand with ALEC today.” Referencing Sen. Dick Durbin’s earlier...

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R) Montana Senator Max Baucus (D) Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D) Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss (R) Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran (R) Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) Massachusetts Senator William "Mo" Cowan (D) Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi (R) Minnesota Senator Al Franken (DFL) South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R) North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan (D) Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D) Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (R) Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns (R) South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson (D) Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) Michigan Senator Carl Levin (D) Kentucky...

<p>Outrage drove Captain Ahab relentlessly after that great white whale, and apparently, it drives Sen. Dick Durbin too.</p> <p>Durbin, the unctuous Democrat running for re-election in President Barack Obama's political home state, is consumed by outrage. This time Durbin is outraged by an unidentified Republican who may have disrespected the face of the president, even if the White House says the insult that Durbin is outraged about didn't happen.</p>

After a government semi-shutdown, the disastrous rollout of HealthCare.gov and the looming budget crisis coming again in January, you’d think the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate would reserve his limited time and resources to focus on fixing these critical issues the federal government has already messed up. You’d be wrong. Senator Richard Durbin, the second most powerful man in the Senate, will hold a special hearing this week on state self-defense laws and the death of Trayvon Martin. (PJ Media has extensively covered the Trayvon Martin incident. See, “Justice for Trayvon, Race Hustler Style,” or Bill Whittle’s fantastic revelation about...

Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, testified on Capitol Hill Tuesday that “stand your ground” laws must be reviewed and amended. “It’s unfortunate what has happened with Trayvon, and that’s why I feel like it’s so important for me to be here so that you all can at least put a face with what has happened with this tragedy,” Fulton said at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing. “I just wanted to come here to talk to you for a moment to let you know how important it is that we amend this ‘stand your ground’ because it did not,...

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) removed a Facebook post Monday that alleged a House GOP leader told President Obama “I cannot even stand to look at you” at a private meeting. Durbin said he did not immediately take down the post after it was proven false last week because he wanted to leave it in the proper context. "If I'd have raced to take it off, [the media] would have done that story too: `Durbin races to take this off.' I wanted to put into context how I got into this situation," he told the Associated Press. After Durbin...

The White House and Senate Democrats may need a refresher course on how to leak a juicy story. The White House today was forced to backtrack on a rumor Obama administration officials started about a Republican House leader who purportedly insulted President Obama to his face, telling the president, “I cannot even stand to look at you.” Turns out, it never happened. How do we know? The same White House that was responsible for starting the buzz now says there was a “miscommunication” and a “misunderstanding.” Here’s how it went down: (Read the timeline at linked source)

October 24, 2013 DICK DURBIN RAISING MONEY ON STATEMENT WHITE HOUSE SAYS IS A LIE DOWNERS GROVE — The Truax campaign is outraged that U.S. Senator Dick Durbin launched a fund-raising effort over derogatory comments Durbin's Facebook page alleges an unidentified Republican GOP House member said to the President during government shutdown negotiations. "Dick Durbin needs to return every cent he's raised off this dubious claim until he can verify it is true," said Doug Truax, who is running for U.S. Senate against Durbin. "The White House has unequivocally stated Durbin's claim is untrue."Durbin retells what the White House says "didn't...

The White House on Wednesday disputed Sen. Dick Durbin's assertion that a House Republican leader insulted President Barack Obama while negotiating with the president over the partial government shutdown. But Durbin, an Illinoisan who is a friend and ally of the president, stood by his story, according to numerous media reports. In a Facebook post Sunday that remained up Wednesday night, Durbin wrote: "Many Republicans searching for something to say in defense of the disastrous shutdown strategy will say President Obama just doesn't try hard enough to communicate with Republicans. But in a 'negotiation' meeting with the president, one GOP...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday called federal prosecutors’ efforts to crack down on gun crime “horrible” in Chicago when compared to other cities like New York or Los Angeles. “But that does not absolve us from our responsibility. It doesn’t absolve Springfield. There is a lot that needs to be fixed specifically on guns, both on the prosecutorial side, the gun prevention side and other aspects,” [Chicago Mayor Rahm] Emanuel said. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) have been encouraging the [federal prosecutor] to take on street crime, too.