Democratic Senate leader Dick Durbin says "everything is on the table" in coming budget cut talks

[Better Believe It]

Meet the Press transcript for April 8, 2012

Excerpt from assistant majority leader and Democratic Senator from Illinois

SENATOR DICK DURBIN:

Listen, there's a lot we need to learn across America. But let me tell ya: I was a member of President Obama's bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission. That commission of course ended up with 11 of 18 of us voting in favor of it. That included Senator Tom Coburn, a very conservative Oklahoma Republican, and myself. It was a bipartisan statement that we need to combine, put everything on the table, and combine revenue with spending cuts.

Now look at the Paul Ryan budget, and let me start by saying Congressman Ryan voted no on the Simpson-Bowles bipartisan deficit commission. The Ryan budget, which Mitt Romney called marvelous, ends up giving a tax break to the wealthiest people in America of $150,000 a year. Governor Kasich, we can't do that.

We have got to use that money to reduce the deficit. We've got to cut spending and put everything on the table.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46987096/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/t/meet-press-transcript-april/

[msongs]

1. typical cowardly democrat, for repubs they will take the entire table and STILL give zero

in return

[RKP5637]

2. +1, n/t

[coalition_unwilling]

3. Will they cut the defense and intelligence budgets????? How about raising taxes on anyone making

more than $250,000\year???????? Durbin should just STFU with his silly cliches and dead metaphors, imho.

[Better Believe It]

7. Congress spends money for intelligence? They need to spend more since they don't seem very smart!

[coalition_unwilling]

9. Hah! Reminds me of one of my favorite oxymorons: "Military intelligence" (2nd only

to 'Athletic Scholarship' and possibly 'Genuine Vinyl'

[MannyGoldstein]

4. More bipartisan attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

Awesome.

Fucking awesome.

[MrSlayer]

5. We're going to get fucked again.

And by "our own", again. Every time we compromise with these assholes people get hurt for real and our party moves to the right. All in the name of this phoney, bipartisan bullshit. I'm sick to death of the traitors on the hill.

[dflprincess]

8. And the apologists here will tell us how Obama and the "new Democrats" had "no choice"

and that we should just smile and take it because the Republicans would be ever so much worse.

[ProSense]

6. Durbin

voted for Bowles-Simpson so this is no surprise.

Remind me again how the President has this liberal/progressive Congress. I mean, Wyden attached his name to Ryan's plan.

[russspeakeasy]

10. Durbin is for anything that enriches Durbin.

He is a chunky Joe Lieberman...........

[Kalidurga]

11. Time to run some real Democrats I guess.

I think 2012 will be seeing a lot of Republicans looking for work. So, in the next four years we should be letting the Blue Dogs know that their time is limited as well and they will be replaced by a real Democrat if they don't get it together and vote in the best interest of people rather than in what they think is their best political interest.

[saras]

12. Everything? The TSA? Homeland Security? The CIA? The NSA? Start cutting, boys. Use my chainsaw.