Dick Durbin is a great man I knew he'd say no to Alito

[DanCa]

I was readding with great pride that my Senator Dick Durbin will say no to Sam Alito? How I met him last year durring my (dirty word) lobbying trip to Washington. See it was late in the day and there was a scheduling snyphoo and Durbin was overbooked. After his last appointment he graciously gave us a half an hour as opposed to fifteen minutes normally alloted for lobbying. He also met with us personaly and didn't refer us to an aide as senator obama and jesse jackson jr did.

About halfway thru the meeting i starting shaking pretty bad, and the dyskensia in my hands was so bad I looked liked one of Glady's Knights Pips members on speed. To my surprise Senator Durbin removed the Democratic Donkey and American Flag pin from his lapel and gave them to me. I remember him saying "You deserve these more than I do." And pinned them on my collar.
I know the pins are probably gift store pieces of custome jewlery but I consider them my most prized possession. I am waitting on news again for a pan scholarship so that I can go down and lobby again in Februrary because I want to thank Senator Durbin for his no vote.

Inconclusion I wanted to write this because I wanted to let you know why I am a Democrat.
Senator Durbin showed me a great kindness and proved to me powerful man dont have to be loud potty mouths. And to return his kindness I will never quit the party, and I will follow him to hell and back He truly is a great man and as long as he's in the party, I know it's the place to be.
Sincerly yours Danny.

[renate]

1. what a wonderful story!

I've always liked him; thank you for letting us know that he's good and kind in person, too.

[DanCa]

2. your welcome :D

[channa18]

3. Great story.....

one can only hope the rest of the senate shows spine.

[Tinksrival]

4. Dan,

My family has also been on the receiving end of Senator Durbin's kindness. To make a long story short, my husband was accused of an awful crime he did not commit while serving in the Army. A crime in which there was sufficient DNA evidence. Because this crime involved an officer's wife there was allot of pressure for a quick arrest. My husband was taken in just because he was working at the hospital on base and was leaving the parking lot when and where the crime allegedly took place. This officer's wife picked him out of a photo line-up.
This being a terrible mistake, we couldn't believe what was happening and thought it would be cleared up in a matter of hours or a day or two.
Boy were we wrong. There is no due process in the military. You are guilty before proved innocent. My husband was going to be held until proved otherwise. Our on post housing searched and ransacked by MP's. His name and picture was run in three different area newspapers with allot of speculation and misinformation. One week went by.....then two....by the third I had lost my job because my husband was not there in the evenings to watch our son. I couldn't get answers from the Army and they stopped letting me see him. My husbands parents drove over 600 miles and were allowed fifteen minutes. Then they decided to transfer him to Fort Cambell to be held till evidence was processed. This was a whole different state and a four hour drive for me to see him. Now we are going into the sixth week of confinement with the Army not answering our questions and even his Company Commander didn't return my calls and would literally turn and run the other direction when he saw me.
We needed help. My mother in law and I contacted Dick Durbin and our other elected officials in Illinois. Senator Durbin was the only one to talk to us. He immediately called and wrote official inquiries to the status of the investigation. He poked and prodded till he got answers and time frames in which these DNA test would be complete. He also arranged extended visiting time for my husband parents while they had traveled back to Fort Cambell. By the end of the seventh week the test came back conclusive that it was impossible for my husband to have committed this crime. The military police and investigators had egg on their face and the officers wife did latter admit to knowing her attacker.
But in my heart I know they realized they did not have the right guy but had painted themselves in a corner with the brass. I believe if it weren't for Dick Durbin standing up for the rights of his constituent and his family, this could have had a very different outcome. It truly was a nightmare. I am so very grateful to my Senator, Dick Durbin, one of the most decent, caring, dedicated politicans....ever.

[renate]

6. Wow. One person can make such a difference

And I'm willing to bet that there are many, many, many stories like yours about a man whose stock has just gone up 10,000 points in my book (it was already pretty darn high before).

I'm so sorry you and your husband had to endure that ordeal, and so very glad that everything turned out okay in the end (although that's not the same as getting back to normal, of course--that kind of experience can't just be erased from your memory banks, and it cost you your job, too). Seven weeks of hell.... I can't imagine.

Without being able to deduce the whole story from your post, it looks like not only the woman's attacker committed a crime but even the woman herself committed a terrible wrong against your husband (I can only assume she had her reasons, however misguided?); thank goodness for the decency of Senator Durbin to counteract that.

I wonder how the nasty politicians can sleep at night, but Dick Durbin must sleep like a baby.:loveya:

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. He really is a kindhearted soul.

:loveya: I adore the guy. You can see his kindness in his eyes. Just look at him and you know what kind of person he is. I met him too at a rally at a nearby town and some RW, wacko nut job fundie INTERRUPTED my conversation with him to discuss his pro-choice stance. She was carrying the most disgusting poster covered with fetuses. He was SO SWEET to the old hag. He told her they would just have to agree to disagree on the issue because he feels it's a woman's right to choose and the MAIN thing should be that abortions are legal, RARE and safe. This was the same old bag who said to me, "Just think of all the aborted babies that can't be at this rally." My response to her was, "Just think of all the poor babies who are living and starving on our streets as we speak. You people only care about a fetus until it's born." She responded with, "Oh, well, they should be taken care of too." Riiight. :eyes: ANYWAY, Durbin was as sweet as can be to that weirdo.
We are so lucky to have him as our Senator!

[cynatnite]

7. Wow! Such touching stories from someone I knew so little about...

This is why I'm proud to be a democrat and will always be.

Thank you for sharing!

[TheUnspeakable]

8. I knew he was a great senator...

I email him from time to time to express my support, but it's so nice to know he's also a great man! I'm so proud to be from Illinois. Thanks for the post!