Durbin on Face the Nation

Dick Durbin was on CBS' Face the Nation today. I didn't think it was a particularly interesting segment, but maybe others did/will. Read the transcript here.

Durbin Meets Alito

Sen. Dick Durbin met with judge Samuel Alito, today. And, after the meeting, Durbin came across as open-minded. But coming across as open-minded and actually being open-minded are two different things. Dick Durbin is about as narrow-minded as it gets. The president could've nominated a clone of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Durbin would vote against her because she was nominated by a Republican. So here's my prediction, and I know I'm not going out on much of a limb -- Durbin will vote "nay" when it comes time to confirm or reject Alito.

Here's the thing -- Durbin voted against the confirmation of John Roberts. What would make Durbin support a candidate like Alito, who is as conservative as Roberts? It's not as if Alito has a more impressive legal background. He's qualified, to be sure, but so was John Roberts.

Dick Durbin talks as if he's reserving judgment. He's not. His mind is made up. And he will vote against Alito. Durbin had this to say about Alito: "Although he didn't go quite as far as John Roberts did in his hearing, he satisfied me that he recognized this to be one of the unenumerated rights in the Constitution, and he led me to believe that he felt that it was an established right. I think he believes in the fundamental right to privacy." Alright, so, Alito's words didn't satisfy Durbin as much as Roberts' did. And what Roberts told Durbin wasn't good enough to earn him a "yea" vote. So...