Posted on 12/18/2014 7:26:00 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Now that the GOP is taking control of the Senate in 2015, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., offered up a resolution of sorts for the opposing party to abide by next year: Get Ted Cruz under control.
Durbin’s suggestion comes days after Cruz’s disastrous maneuver last week that brought the Senate into session on Saturday, unwittingly opening the door to the approval of dozens of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees. That infuriated Republicans, leading Cruz to apologize days later.
“It was classic Cruz. He knew how to get the headline, but he didn’t know how to close the deal,” Durbin said.
Durbin made the remarks during an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday.
“They’ve got to control [Cruz] and a few others,” he said when asked what advice he would offer to the GOP next year. “Just like [U.S. Speaker John] Boehner has to contend with the Tea Party in the House, Cruz and a few others have the potential of wrecking any agenda [GOP leader Mitch] McConnell comes up with. So he has to control his caucus.”
Durbin talked about how U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was likely to play a more prominent role as part of the progressive caucus next year, and how Democrats’ strength in the U.S. Senate will shift in the New Year, following mid-term elections in which Republicans swept across the country.
“Our only bargaining strength is through the White House. It comes down to this: If it reaches the point of bargaining between Republicans in Congress and the president, and if the president says, ‘Don’t do that, I’ll have to veto it.’
“The question is whether 34 Democrats in the Senate will stand with the president. Because then [Republicans] can’t override a veto,” he said.
Durbin predicted Warren would hold a “more starring role” next year. “The progressive majority of our caucus is going to play a pretty large role in whether the 34 votes will be there,” to block a veto override, Durbin said.
As for political talk of 2015, Durbin said he was unsure whether U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., would run for U.S. Senate.
“She has never told me that she wants to run. I’ll leave it to her to make that decision,” Durbin said. “There are several people looking at it, some of them are deferring, waiting for her decision.”
A liberal being quoted by a left wing new rag telling the right what to do about Cruz..... Sure....
We all know that Dick (head) Durbin has the best interests of the GOP in mind at all times.
Proves Ted Cruz is over the target, bombs away Ted.
Please, please don’t throw me in the Briar Patch.
Prolly win a Pulitzer.
Turban Durbin should exit stage left sooner rather than later.
Dingy would have figured a way to get votes on the nominees despite Ted Cruz. They are using Cruz as a punching bag. Most unfair, but, hey, they are mentally diseased.
Bingo!
The only problem that I have with Ted Cruz is that there is no way to clone him to fill some of the other GOPe seats. Always do the opposite of whatever Democrats advise us to do.
I'd sooner take Kim Jong Un's advice on network security.
Yeah. We need 99 more Ted Cruzes.
Advice to Dems: Durban, Leahy, Shumer, Boxer and Feinstein take a leap off 14th Street Bridge.
Dick only has the best interest of the GOP at heart.
Hey Dick!
He IS “under control”!
Just wait until HE is in the White House!
66 more is sufficient.
Let us all keep that in mind; the opposition always telegraphs us whom it is they fear.
Oh great so now we are supposed to listen to Dick (head) Durbin????
I stand with Ted
It's pretty obvious, isn't it? Gotta be infuriating to Hillary. Getting screwed twice in a row out of what she is entitled to get (in her mind).
Which brings up something my brother and I were discussing yesterday. Hillary had everything she needed in 2007 to stomp Hussein into obscurity and never used any of it. I sure would like to know what sort of pressure was brought to bear on her to take the fall like that.
Exactly!
Who in their right mind would listen to Durbin?
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