Dick Durbin, United States Senator, met with Macomb residents at the Old Dairy Tuesday from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.

Durbin lashes out at Bush

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin met with Macomb area residents Tuesday to discuss concerns about the Bush administration

By: Jason Nevel

Posted: 7/5/07

Western Illinois University Board of Trustees Secretary Bob Cook introduced Dick Durbin to a packed room at the Old Dairy Tuesday by asking the audience if they had read the Peoria Journal Star that morning. Those in the audience who had read the paper responded with a good chuckle.

"When it comes to the law, there should not be two sets of rules -- one for President Bush and Vice President Cheney and another for the rest of America," said the Illinois Senior Democratic Senator on Monday in the PJ Star in regard to Bush's commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. "Even Paris Hilton had to go to jail. No one in this administration should be above the law."

The remark was the first of many criticisms of the Bush administration that Durbin would make, to which the crowd of approximately 70 Macomb area residents would applaud. Durbin stopped in Macomb while on a break from Congress and will be making stops across the state.

Durbin was also critical of the vice president, saying that Cheney had created his own branch of government.

"Cheney is redefining the Constitution," Durbin said. "Some people believe -- at least I did -- for the longest time that we had three branches of government. It turns out there are four: the executive, the legislative, the judicial and the Cheney branch. And the Cheney branch is not covered by anything."

According to a story first reported by the Chicago Tribune, Cheney's office resisted attempts by a federal agency to compile information -- in accordance with an executive order signed by Bush himself -- on the classified documents being held by the vice president's operation. Cheney's office argued that the vice president's office, because it has both executive and legislative branch duties, is exempt from the order.

Durbin, who was accompanied by Illinois State Senator from the 47th District John Sullivan, also reminded the crowd of his stance against the Iraq War. Durbin was one of 23 Senators who voted against deploying American troops into Iraq in 2002.

"I voted against this war and I believe now as I did then," Durbin said. "The Iraqis will not stand up and defend their own country as long as they can dial 911 and order up 20,000 more American soldiers, who were brought to their rescue because they refused to face and accept the reality of political life in their country today."

Durbin also acknowledged the need for better health care for Iraq War veterans and emphasized how much of a problem traumatic brain injury has become with the veterans. Durbin discussed the Senate's recently passed legislation on a bill that would raise the average fuel economy standards from 25 miles per gallon to 35 miles per gallon over the next 10 years and the country's need to look at alternative energy sources as a serious option.

Durbin fielded questions from the audience about the crisis in Darfur, which is located in Sudan. Bush declared genocide in Darfur in 2004, but Durbin said the administration has done nothing to counter it and compared it to Rwanda's genocide in 1994.

"About once every two weeks we had a meeting in the White House ... I used my chance to bring up Darfur and I told the president 'I congratulate you on declaring a genocide and you also said not on my watch," Durbin said. "I said, 'Mr. President, your watch is about to end and you've done nothing.'"

Durbin is up for re-election to the United States Senate in 2008. If he is elected it will be his third consecutive term.