While I Look For Dirt On Durbin...

While looking for more on Sen. Durbin's historical parallels and (parallel universe), I found this.  Which didn't help (other than through the inspirational power of laughter), but how was Google to know?

If this Sunday Durbin-fest is any indication, Mark Steyn and the right blogosphere are looking hungry like the wolf.  Censuring Durbin?  Who knows?

As to my to-be-continued search - it seems a likely bet that Sen. Durbin has, at some point, called for the censure of a fellow Senator.  It might be helpful to discover the circumstances.

Comments

[The Kid]

Here’s a good starting point: big Dick Drubin was one of a Democrat troika that spilled the beans on a black (i.e., super-duper secret) satellite program.

Three members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have apparently committed a very serious crime by blabbing about a highly-classified satellite program to the press last week. If these men actually did what it appears they did, we ought to throw the book at 'em for divulging one of our most-protected secrets: stealthy reconnaissance satellites.

As a result of their revelations to the public and the press, three U.S. Senators -- Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who's also the ranking Dem on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) -- are the subject of a "criminal referral" made on Monday for speaking publicly about this satellite. Such referrals are made to the Justice Department by the administration when criminal conduct is suspected. In this case, it's not only suspected, it's evidenced on the front pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post. A highly reliable intelligence community source told me that the referral had been made because senior administration officials were beside themselves that the three had taken the controversy on funding this project to the press.
[Snip]
Think about why we might build a stealthy satellite. Many nations, including Iran and other terrorist regimes, have the ability to spot conventional satellites on their radars. They can predict with considerable accuracy what those satellites can see, and when. If we had a satellite that couldn't be seen, its view of the bad guys couldn't be predicted. Now, these three senators have blown the cover on a black satellite program that may be code-word named "Misty," and by so doing, reduced the value of the satellite and the strategy that it is to implement to zero.

Global Security has more background on the disclosure and the systems.

[Amok92]

Hey Tom, next time you meet with Glenn to get your missives don't forget to bring up Hagel. He kind of looks Frenchy-French and I heard he smells like some kind of strong cheese. And oh yea, he's another "Purple Heart winner", maybe we can get some of those wacky RNC folk to mock the Purple Heart again with those adorable Band-Aids!

[Geek, Esq.]

Eight Senators in the history of the Senate have been censured. Good luck tilting at that windmill.

[TM]

Only eight? Well, nine is a lucky number!

And Derek Jeter had never hit a big-league grand slam, until he did.

Seriously, with the 4th of July break coming on, I assume any move for a censure will fade away.

[Geek, Esq.]

Bill Frist is no Derek Jeter. Do you think Jeter would have gotten rolled by his own teammates on the 'nuclear option' the way Frist did?

[creepy dude]

Continued pursuit of Durbin, to the extent a minute spent on it is a minute not spent on addressing any actual tangible problem facing the U.S., will only blowback on the Republicans a la Schiavo. So why do it?

I honestly believe the Republicans are actually scared to be in power. The responsibility is apparently overwhelming, so they subconciously seek to project a "we don't deserve to be in charge" mentality. Well, they've convinced me.

[Harry Arthur]

CD. As my youngest daughter likes to say: "Oh my God!" We agree again. I'm starting to worry. :)

Seriously, I think you've connected the dots. Very insightful comment IMHO.

[Paul Zrimsek]

I'd rather see the censure reserved as a punishment for conduct; hate speech can be punished at the ballot box. Besides, Durbin is more useful as a laughingstock tha he would be as a victim.

[SaveFarris]

Well gee, creepy: aren't we told day in and day out that "our reputation among other countries" is one of THE most important issues facing us today?

As I see it, letting a US Senator get away with comparing our boys at Gitmo to the most horrid of regimes over the past century does little to increase our standing vis-a-vi world opinion.

[creepy dude]

HA-my sincere hope is that their will be a ticket in 2008 we can both vote for, one that will go beyond the current incarnation of both the Repub and Dem parties.

[Appalled Moderate]

Durbin has cosponsored legislation calling that a high public official be censured. But that official:

* engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate employee

* deliberately misled and deceived the American people, and people in all branches of the United States Government

* gave false or misleading testimony and his actions have had the effect of impeding discovery of evidence in judicial proceedings

I don't think Durbin's statements rise to this standard.

[creepy dude]

SaveFarris-to the extent that Dems believe that our reputation is more important than the defense of the country such pusillanimty must be rejected (and has been), but the lies and incompetence of the present administration must also be rejected (remains on the "to do" list).

That's why, per my comment to HA, I really hope there's a ticket in 2008 that can do both.

In your example, for instance, if the defense of our country is based on a full committment to our values, as reflected in our founding documents, and the electorate is fully informed of the reasons for, and risks of, our actions, then I don't see how we could ever end up in an "unpopular" war or how our reputation could ever suffer with any country whose opinion mattered.

[TM]

Continued pursuit of Durbin, to the extent a minute spent on it is a minute not spent on addressing any actual tangible problem facing the U.S., will only blowback on the Republicans a la Schiavo.

Boy, wait'll we get to the flag burning amendment.

I honestly believe the Republicans are actually scared to be in power.

I don't know if I would go that far - I don't think that, as a party, they are any more scared than the Democrats - but it does seem that they are on the verge of going agenda-free. Soc Sec reform has collapsed; immigration reform ought to terrify them (if they still have a lick of sense); tort reform and a Supreme Court fight may be the best ways to re-enthuse the base and reunite the party.

Well, if the leaders of both parties go into every man for himself mode (and woman for herself mode), it will be a peculiar three years of (I Boldly Predict) partisan mud-slinging and little legislative output.

But remember - Bush was deemed to be agenda free in the late summer of 2001, after his tax cut and No Child had been passed. And look what happened.

Events, events, events.

[Crank]

Free-associations with "events" and "agenda":

Rehnquist, vacancy
Assad, "hot pursuit"

[Crank]

Here's some random backgroud on Durbin in the news:

Durbin liked "Fahrenheit 911"

Durbin called for investigation of Jeff Gannon

Durbin grilled Viet Dinh over his Federalist Society membership.

Durbin called for an investigation of leaks of damaging memos written to and from his office showing the influence of liberal interest groups on Democratic opposition to Bush judicial nominees.
Here and here.

[Al]

Continued pursuit of Durbin, to the extent a minute spent on it is a minute not spent on addressing any actual tangible problem facing the U.S., will only blowback on the Republicans a la Schiavo.

Ain't that the truth. I recall how every minute the Democrats spent on Trent Lott, rather than on any actual tangible problem facing the U.S., really caused so much blowback for the Democrats.

Dick Durban = Trent Lott. Same crime, same punishment.

[The Kid]

Oooh, a baseball connection from this April 1991 hagiography:

"Mr. Speaker," he intoned. "I rise to condemn the desecration of a great American symbol. No, I am not referring to flag-burning; I am referring to the baseball bat. Several experts tell us that the wooden baseball bat is doomed to extinction, that major league baseball players will soon be standing at home plate with aluminum bats in their hands. . . . Are we willing to hear the crack of a bat replaced by the dinky ping? Are we ready to see the Louisville Slugger replaced by the aluminum ping dinger? Is nothing sacred?"

Also the article noted that he was against Desert Storm, but after the third resolution 250 to 183, Durbin said that he fell in line behind Bush.

[Jeff]

Yes, Durbin is really the problem, isn't he? Glad to see the GOP has focused on the important things. Things must be bad indeed in the house of DeLay that a comment by Dick Durbin has become the lifeline.

You have the keys to leadership. This is how you're using it?

[SteveMG]

"You have the keys to leadership. This is how you're using it?"

TM has the keys to leadership? (whatever that means; didn't know that leadership had locks).

Well, after spending all this time debating all those wonderful ideas and proposals from the Democrats to deal with SS and the budget and Iraq and the economy, et cetera, it looks like the GOP has some spare time to use.

And Tom, since you're so influential in Washington, how about some front row seats to a Nats' game? I've been carrying water for you here and elsewhere; need some reciprocal back scratching. Interested in a Cards series in July.

My people will talk to your people, Mr. Bigshot.

SMG

[Paul Zrimsek]

We should ignore the trivial things like what Dick Durbin is saying so we can focus on the important things like what Jeb Bush is saying.

[SteveMG]

"We should ignore the trivial things like what Dick Durbin is saying so we can focus on the important things like what Jeb Bush is saying."

Huzzah, huzzah, that's very good.

Dammed, I wished I had thought of that.

Just great.

SMG

[creepy dude]

Just as long as we don't have to pay to attention to the so-fucking-stupid-it-should-be-criminal things Porter Goss is saying, right fellas.

So we have an excellent idea where osama-bin-forgotten is, but we can't get him yet due to diplomatic considerations!

I give up-I can no longer process such contemptible idiocy.

[creepy dude]

Apolgies TM-I try not to curse here-but really-it's maddening.

[M. Simon]

Durbin is called Dick.

dick@durbin.senate.gov

When you contact him tell him Bush is just like Hitler and Stalin. The Boy needs some cheering up.

In addition it would be helpful if if some one could contact the Army and get the firing squads cranked up. Dick needs some bodies.

[M. Simon]

cd,

Rumor has it he is in Iran.

You think we should start another war to get him?

I'm just askin'.

BTW if you favor starting a war with Iran I've got yer 6.

[M. Simon]

Durbin should stop with the Hitler comparisons already.

What he needs to do is to pick some really bad guy. Like Ming the Merciless. Do you remember how he made Flash Gordon shovel coal into the atomic furnaces? It was truly evil. Flash was actually starting to sweat.

And what about the treatment of the Mole People?

Something must be done.

Koran desecrators must be shot. That would be 5 of ours and 15 of theirs. A fair exchange all in all.

I understand why Dick would do what he did. The islamic fascists need all the help they can get. Dick is just doing his part. Kind of like what the left did in the 30s with the Hitler is worse than Stalin bit. Except for that period when they had a treaty. When Hitler was just as good as Stalin. Until Hitler attacked Stalin. When he became bad again. Or worse. Depending.

In any case Stalin filled more graves, but he had advantages. A bigger population to work with.

In any case we are falling way behind in our feeble attempt to be truly evil. Did you know that so far in three years of war only ten or twenty prisoners have died in captivity? Stalin could do ten times that in an hour. And Hitler? The man ran a production line. \

I wonder what is the cause of our striking lack of efficiency? We need to put some one in charge whose heart is in it. Where is Ming when you need him?