The search continues...

Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to become a Supreme Court justice, leading to a search for a replacement candidate. Who will that candidate be? Sen. Dick Durbin described the type of person he'd like to see on the bench:

"Durbin says the person who replaces Miers as the nominee should have a moderate, balanced approach and be not too far to the right and not too far to the left." (article)

Hmm... This sounds sensible, which is suspicious, seeing as it's coming from Durbin. The problem is, I think, that Durbin has a skewed conception of the terms "moderate," "right," and "left."

...

New Poll: 60% of Illinois Voters Are Clueless

Alright, so, every month Survey USA comes out with polls tracking the approval/disapproval ratings of each US senator. And this month's results just came out. And Illinois' senior senator, Dick Durbin, still has a higher favorability rating than he deserves, at 50%.

There is some good news, though. A recent Tribune poll said that only 26% of Illinoisans disapproved of Durbin's performanace. The Survey USA poll says that 40% of people disapprove. I hope Survey USA is right, and I hope more and more people realize what a joke Dick Durbin is. Among young people, the target audience of this blog, 48% approve, 40% disapprove, and 12% aren't sure. Some anti-Durbinite should get the attention of my peers and expose Durbin by running anti-Durbin ads during The OC or One Tree Hill or whatever it is my generation is choosing to watch!

See the poll here.

Durbin on the War

Support for the war in Iraq certainly seems to have waned here in the US. And Dick Durbin is one of many people to have voiced concern about the direction the war is taking. Recently, Durbin had this to say:

"Words of tribute are in order to honor the sacrifice of these brave men and women and their loved ones. But words are not enough. We owe them leadership and a clear strategy to bring our troops home with their mission truly accomplished." (article)

Durbin, stepping up to the plate and exercising the leadership abilities he spoke of, outlined his clear strategy to bring the troops home. Oh, wait, no. No, Durbin did NOT do that.

Dick Durbin is not a leader. He can find problems, but can't come up with solutions. Illinois deserves better.

A Matter of Pressing Importance

Sen. Dick Durbin sure does make the most of his time, doesn't he? He's been griping a lot lately, but at least he's coming up with solutions for all the things that are bugging him.

What's on Dick's mind? Well, we've got those poor prisoners in Guantanamo. And, the war in Iraq isn't going so smoothly. And, well, the president's judicial nominees just don't seem to cut it.

Fortunately for Illinois voters and the rest of the nation, Dick Durbin doesn't just dish out criticism, he offers meaningful feedback. And Sen. Durbin has a secret plan that will end prisoner abuse, win the war in Iraq, AND ensure that only the best, brightest, and fairest nominees make it to the Supreme Court bench. Are you ready for Durbin's top-secret plan? Are you?!? Well here it is: talk about baseball. That's right, baseball:

"(AP) WASHINGTON Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has an explanation for why it was so, so easy for the Chicago White Sox to win their first American League pennant in 46 years.

And he offered it today on the floor of the U.S. Senate." (article)

Durbin on Fox News Sunday

Chris Wallace grilled Dick Durbin on Fox News Sunday, yesterday. In case you missed it, read the transcript here.

The issues covered on the show:

The war on Iraq. Chris Wallace pointed out what was going right. Dick Durbin highlighted what he views as errors. Durbin, of course, offered no solutions to the problems he mentioned. Wallace caught Durbin on this, saying: "frankly, in your answer, I still didn't hear a plan."

The CIA leak case. ::yawn::

Harriet Miers. Dick Durbin said it was wrong of the president to bring up Harriet Miers' religion to drum up support for her, to which Wallace replied: "I've got to ask whether you were hypocritical, because you talked with Judge Roberts about his faith, the faith that you share, the Catholic faith, and what role that would play. So aren't you playing — didn't you bring up the religion issue just as much as the White House?" Why, yes! Dick Durbin is hypocritical. I'm glad someone called him on it!

The more Dick Durbin talks, the clearer his strategy to win his next election becomes. Here's his plan to stay in office, best as I can tell: criticize the president at every opportunity. I don't care if Dick Durbin likes or dislikes the president. I don't care if Illinois voters like or dislike the president. I do care that Dick Durbin can level plenty of criticism, but he can't offer any constructive feedback. C'mon, Dick, think of something brilliant! Get something done!

Dick Durbin is simply inept as a senator, and that's that.

Poll: 78% of Illinois voters are clueless

According to a recent Chicago Tribune poll:


"Fifty-two percent of voters approve of Durbin, while 22 percent disapprove. Twenty-six percent offered no opinion of his performance in the Senate, where he serves as the assistant Democratic leader. His approval rating is virtually unchanged since a similar poll was taken in May." (article)

::sigh::

What is wrong with this state?!?

If you have a blog or a website and you are among the 22% of Illinoisans who are sensible, please consider linking to Students Against Dick Durbin. We are dedicated to exposing Dick Durbin for what he is -- wrong on the issues, and wrong for Illinois.

New Link

I added Illini Pundit to my list of Illinois-oriented political blogs some time ago. Well, I recently came across another, similar-sounding blog -- Illinois Pundit.

I like Illinois Pundit, so I'm adding it to the list o' blogs.

Here's a link to Illinois Pundit's recent post about Durbin's proposed tax increase on oil companies: blog entry. What?!? Durbin supports higher taxes?!? What else is new? ::sigh::

Durbin's Double Standards

I'm as confused as anybody else when it comes to the president's latest judicial nominee, Harriet Miers. I don't know if she's qualified or not or whether to support her or not. But I do know this: Dick Durbin has a double standard.

After meeting with Miers, Durbin asked this: "If she ends up satisfying the extreme right, where does that leave the rest of [t]he country?" (article) I would ask Sen. Durbin this: you've ended up satisfying the extreme left, where does that leave the rest of the state?

Congratulations!

Congratulations and thanks To Ms. Stephanie D!

Stephanie has succeeded me as president of Students Against Dick Durbin at the University of Illinois, and I couldn't be happier. When I started SADD last year, I had hoped the organization would grow steadily such that there would be a strong, committed group of students ready to help defeat Sen. Durbin in 2008. I have no doubt that Stephanie will continue to expand the organzation and that she will be an able president.

So, congrats again, Stephanie on becoming President of Students Against Dick Durbin for the 2005-2006 school year! Thank you for taking over the reins and good luck!

(*Note to readers: I, Matt S., will continue to be the primary blogger for SADD)

Big surprise

I was out of the country for a week, hence the lack of posting. But, I'm back, now.

So, Dick Durbin voted against John Roberts?!? Big freakin' surprise. I guess that puts the matter to rest. But I'm sure Durbin's judicial obstruction will continue to be a serious issue...