Free Republic

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” said President Obama’s former consigliere Rahm Emanuel, who is now the mayor of the strictly gun-controlled gun murder capital of the world, Chicago. So naturally the statist anti-gun utopians see opportunity in Friday’s Newtown school massacre to push the total gun ban they’ve been lusting after for so long. Rather than pause long enough to grieve with the rest of us over the horrific murders of twenty children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school; rather than wait for the media frenzy to subside so all the facts could...

Many powerful Democrats, even some of the most liberal among them, are supporting what amounts to a dismantling of President Obama’s signature health care law. Using “Republican” language to make their case, these Democrats are attempting to repeal some of the funding mechanisms as well as the cost-containment measures that were purportedly inherent in the law. With some of their most influential constituent groups facing onerous tax increases that are slated to help fund the law’s mandates and regulations, Senators like Al Franken (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA)

If you thought President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder had given up on closing Guantanamo Bay and bringing jihadists to American soil, think again. Two troubling developments on the Gitmo front should have every American on edge. The first White House maneuver took place in October, while much of the public and the media were preoccupied with election news. On Oct. 2, Obama's cash-strapped Illinois pals announced that the federal government bought out the Thomson Correctional Center in western Illinois for $165 million. According to Watchdog.org, a recent appraisal put the value of the facility at $220 million. Democratic...

I value anybody working to make this country I love and honor, America, as great as it has been and so much greater than it is now. Senator Dick “Dimples” Durbin pulled the earnings gap out of the Democratic Party closet and pummeled hedge fund managers for making too much money in comparison to Navy SEALS. He feels there’s an immoral disparity between what this nation pays its warriors and what hedge fund managers earn in private industry. This proves a point: the Democratic Party leadership is composed of wealthy people saying “don’t do as I do; do as I...

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin has a message for Republicans insisting on wholesale changes to entitlement programs in exchange for new tax revenue: not yet. In a speech later this morning that seeks to crystalize the progressive approach to deficit reduction, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat will try to split the debate about overhauling Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from the negotiations over resolving the fiscal cliff. “Progressives should be willing to talk about ways to ensure the long-term viability of Medicare and Medicaid but those conversations should not be part of a plan to avert the fiscal cliff,” Durbin...

Sen. Dick Durbin said today that his Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate should be willing to address entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid in deficit reduction negotiations. “From my side of the table, bring entitlement reform into the conversation,” Durbin said on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” “Social Security — set aside … doesn’t add to the deficit. But when it comes to Medicare and Medicaid, protect the integrity of the program, but give it solvency for more and more years.” But Durbin ruled out raising the age of Medicare eligibility as a potential reform. “We’ve got to...

Several Democratic senators are calling on the Obama administration to allow Syrians who are already in the United States to stay, at least temporarily, out of concern it would be "too dangerous" for them to return home. The senators want President Obama to invoke what's known as "temporary protected status" for thousands of Syrians in the U.S. The designation typically is given to foreign nationals whose home countries are beset by war or natural disaster and who could face harm should they return. The senators argued that Syrians in the U.S. are in just that kind of predicament, as Syrian...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will introduce President Barack Obama during prime time this evening at the final night of the Democratic National Convention. Vice President Joseph Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, will address delegates at the Time Warner Cable Arena during the 9 p.m. hour, convention organizers announced. And no one is more disappointed about Biden’s speaking slot than Republicans, who have taken to Twitter to campaign for the gaffe-prone vice president to speak during the nationally televised 10 p.m. hour instead. CBS and ABC news will air the DNC’s program only during...

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) “Well, I can just basically tell you that if the narrative that is being presented on your station and through your channel and your network is that Democrats are Godless people, they ought to know better,” Durbin said. “God is not a franchise of the Republican Party. Those of us who believe in God, and those of us who have dedicated our lives to helping others in the name of God don’t want to take a second seat to anyone who is suggesting that one word out of the platform means that the Democrats across America...

On Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” on Tuesday, Democratic Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin attempted to downplay news from earlier in the day that language about “God” and “Jerusalem” was stricken from the Democratic Party platform. Durbin told host Bret Baier, who was broadcasting from the scene of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., that it is improper to glean from this that Democrats are godless people. “Well, I can just basically tell you if the narrative that is being presented on your station and through your channel and your network is that the Democrats are godless people, they...

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which he is a member, has approved a bill that preserves essential federal funding for scientific research and development programs that will support work at two Illinois labs – Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab which together employ over 4,000 Illinoisans.  These projects were included in President Obama's FY2013 Budget and supported by Durbin.    “Science labs like Fermi and Argonne are the backbone of our nation’s scientific infrastructure and workforce.  Today’s legislation provides a fiscally responsible path that will allow them to continue existing projects, expand...

As part of a weeklong campaign around the Buffett Rule, President Obama’s re-election team is making Mitt Romney the face of income tax inequality. On a conference call with reporters Monday, top Obama surrogates blasted the Republican candidate for keeping years of tax returns secret, using offshore bank accounts for some investments, and enjoying a lower effective tax rate than most middle-income Americans. -snip- Durbin said. “And when is the last time a presidential candidate for the U.S. had a Swiss bank account? The answer is never.”

Sen. Dick Durbin reacts to the tornadoes in Dallas, Texas earlier this week. Durbin calls for more laws regulating carbon output while he sends a dire warning that we must convert to hybrid cars or lose our life. Durbin says we must spend money now to fix the problem. "It's your money or your life," he said a press conference. "We are either going to dedicate ourselves to a cleaner, more livable planet and accept the initial investment necessary or we're going to pay a heavier price in terms of loss of human life, damage and costs associated with it."

Illinois state Sen. Dave Koehler, who abruptly exited the Democratic primary in the 17th Congressional District race two weeks ago, shed some light Thursday on his surprising decision. He said he dropped out the same day U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told him he was going to endorse rival Cheri Bustos. Koehler’s exit came on a Friday, just three days before the filing deadline for state legislative races. Over that weekend, he and supporters had to scramble to get enough signatures to get on the ballot to run for re-election to his state Senate seat. At the time, Koehler said...

Gov. Rick Scott will not respond to a request from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin that he promptly explain how his administration will ensure "that all Floridians who wish to do so can cast their votes during the early voting period" under the new voting law. Why not? He's tied up with session, and he didn't write the law. "Governor Scott won’t be responding to the senator’s letter. He’s focused on passing meaningful jobs legislation, education and PIP reform and respectfully declines to further explain a law he didn’t write," spokesman Lane Wright said in an email. The same goes for...

STERLING – News of a possible endorsement from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin appears to be having a big impact in the 17th Congressional District race. State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, who left the race this month after earlier announcing his candidacy, said he did so largely because Durbin, a Democrat, called to tell him that he would endorse Cheri Bustos, an East Moline alderwoman. The district includes Whiteside County. The candidates are vying to replace Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Colona, who is running for a second term. Koehler said Wednesday that he was disappointed with Durbin’s decision. “I felt we had...

Jason Scherr had a lot on his mind the day after he opened his fifth Think Coffee shop in Manhattan last week. The fan was blowing too hard, the classical music was playing a little too loudly—and he was trying to figure out how to get more customers to pay with cash. A new law that was supposed to reduce costs for merchants that accept debit cards has instead sent Mr. Scherr's monthly processing bills much higher and forced him to reassess the way he does business. "My choice is to raise prices, discount for cash or get an ATM,"...

Even as Bank of America and other major lenders back away from charging customers to use their debit cards, many banks have been quietly imposing other new fees. Need to replace a lost debit card? Bank of America now charges $5 — or $20 for rush delivery. Deposit money with a mobile phone? At U.S. Bancorp, it is now 50 cents a check. Want cash wired to your account? Starting in December, that will cost $15 for each incoming domestic payment at TD Bank. Facing a reaction from an angry public and heightened scrutiny from regulators, banks are turning to...

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin told the Chicago Tribune that if the 2012 election is a “referendum” on President Barack Obama, then Democrats are “in trouble.” In an interview Thursday for the Tribune’s “Chicago Live” series, Durbin was asked about the election. “If it is a referendum, then we’re in trouble because the economy’s not good and people’ll say, ‘well, I just want to make it clear I don’t like the way things are,’” Durbin said.

A month after Bank of America got pummeled by consumers and politicians for introducing plans for new debit-card fees, most other big U.S. banks are steering clear of imposing similar charges. Following eight months of consumer testing, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has decided that it won't charge customers who use their debit cards to make purchases, according to a person familiar with the bank's plans. The New York bank's Chase retail unit is one of the largest U.S. consumer banks, with 26.5 million checking accounts and 5,300 branches. J.P. Morgan joins U.S. Bancorp, Citigroup Inc., PNC Financial Services Group...