Richard Durbin Quotes (38 Quotes)

The Ku Klux Klan branded Johnson the most hated man in America wooden crosses were burned on his lawn. Judge Frank Johnson, ... was denounced as a judicial activist and threatened with impeachment. He had the courage to expand freedom in America. Judge Roberts, I hope that you agree America must never return to those days of discrimination and limitations on our freedom.

I guarantee you, whether it is Gov. Bush or Vice President Gore, the minute they step off the plane and onto the tarmac, the first question they hear is, 'What are you going to do about the gasoline prices' ... And there isn't a presidential candidate . . . that would ignore that political reality.

This is not just about athletics.

If we had an idea of who might fill the other vacancy, it would help put Robert's nomination in perspective. This court is very closely divided, and if the president's next nominee is too extreme, it will worry us that the court is going to change for generations to come.

That's a critical part of this conversation, ... We understand that this is the first of two vacancies on a court that's so evenly divided that one bad choice could make a - from my point of view - could have an impact for a long time.

I promised John Roberts I would give him a clean slate.

Time and time again her votes on the commission have been against the children, against families and for the industry. When you look at the product involved ... she can't find fault with the product she finds fault with the consumers and the parents.

These judges were bitter medicine, but I believe the Senate and our caucus is better for it. We preserved the right of extended debate and filibuster, and when and if a Supreme Court vacancy occurs, we have preserved our rights, if a controversial person is named, to exercise our traditional authorities in the Senate.

following the arrest of Rosa Parks, Judge Johnson ruled that African-Americans of Montgomery, Alabama, were acting within their constitutional rights when they organized a boycott of the buses and that Martin Luther King Jr. and others could march from Selma to Montgomery.

It is very difficult to track how this man, who gave us such misleading information before the invasion of Iraq -- now under active investigation for endangering American troops --- is now the toast of the town in the Department of the Treasury and Department of State,

We have created a plan here that is so difficult, so confusing and so hard for average people to understand that many seniors are struggling to try to figure out what is the best plan to turn to in order to protect themselves,

It really falls on us to ask important questions about who he really is and to require the administration to produce enough evidence about who he is and what he believes so that we can make a reasonable judgment,

Today we learned our nation has crossed a tragic threshold. The enormity of this loss of 2,000 of our best and bravest breaks America's heart.

I think that goes way ahead of the information that's before us. At the first instance what we need to do is get to the bottom of it, understand what legal authority, if any, this administration had to spy on Americans.

He said he had spent more time worrying and working over that decision than over any other decision he made when he was a judge,

We are certain the president will speak to issues relative to terrorism and security, North Korea and Iraq,

We will initiate at the beginning of next year one of the most serious debates about civil rights and individual liberties in our history.

I'm troubled by it. It's another element of this administration's policy and the treatment of detainees and prisoners which I'm afraid will come back to haunt us at a future time.

All of us are trying to get down to, what are your core values ... If you'll play for any team that asks you to play, it raises the questions of where would you draw the line, if you would draw the line.

I think clearly there's been movement that we wanted at the U.N.. Now the president sends to Congress this challenge, which basically says, ignore the United Nations, the United States is going to do this alone. I think it's the wrong way to go.

For the president to suggest he had the same intelligence we had is just plain wrong,

This is the heart of the debate. This is what the patients' bill of rights is all about.

missing key intelligence information.

We hope before the end of the week the Senate Intelligence Committee will reach an agreement to move forward in this important phase of the intelligence investigation,

we cannot put off the debate over the best course for the future. . . . We do not honor our fallen soldiers simply by adding to their numbers.

He has no legal basis for spying on Americans without court approval.

We know what the people of America think. This is a very bad idea.

If we are going to enforce the laws to find the 1,000 federal gun dealers to trace the 57 percent of the nation's guns used in crime, we need more ATF agents,

But it is clear that those around Bush misled him, and misled the American people indirectly, by making certain that there were claims made that couldn't be backed up with evidence.

And in terms of the capability of the Iraqis to fend for themselves, defend their country, there's been no clear indication from this administration that they have the stand-up capability to do that. And until that happens, there is no end in sight,

just plain wrong, and repeated.

This administration portrayed a situation in Iraq that was not true. It was not accurate, ... They need to be held accountable. We're going to continue to press forward on this.

At a time when we see around the world the violent consequences of the assumptions of religious authority by government, Americans may count themselves fortunate. Our regard for constitutional boundaries has protected us from similar travails while allowing private religious exercise to flourish. Those who would renegotiate the boundaries between church and state must answer a difficult question Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly.

There was nothing that we heard today to suggest that we are coming out of Iraq soon. There is no indication from the president or the leadership that they have a plan that will bring our troops home soon.

The White House wants to expand that power in so many areas. Clearly, Congress is holding back.

The time couldn't be better to move this forward, because we've now moved our focus from food safety to include food security,

The administration has some explaining to do, ... Fox News Sunday.

We feel that there are at least four Republican senators who feel as we do and we feel that there are several who are making up their minds at the last moment, ... It is a critical question and it's one that goes to constitutional values.