Top Democrat draws line in sand in budget fight

[steve2470]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/06/us-usa-budget-congress-idUSTRE7252IY20110306

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON | Sun Mar 6, 2011 5:46pm EST

Assistant Senate Democratic leader Dick Durbin drew a line in the sand on Sunday in his party's budget battle with Republicans, who are pushing deep spending cuts to trim the federal deficit.

Durbin, one of President Barack Obama's top allies in Congress, said he opposed going beyond the $10.5 billion in domestic, non-defense discretionary spending cuts that Democrats have backed.

Republicans want $61 billion in spending reductions.

"I think we've pushed this to the limit," Durbin told the "Fox News Sunday" television program as Congress and the White House prepared for another week of showdowns that threaten a government shutdown.

[bluestateguy]

1. I wouldn't take anything said by Durbin very seriously

This is the guy who can be made to start blubbering on the floor of the Senate, apologizing for telling the truth when it makes radio talk show hosts mad.

[Scuba]

2. Sad day when the Assistant Senate Democratic leader is the "top Democratic" to take a stand.

[karynnj]

4. The President has said things very similar to what Durbin did

The fact is that Durbin is a better spokesperson than Reid - especially on economic issues.

[karynnj]

3. Not fair at all - He is a proud, good, decent man, whose words were horribly twisted

and the story would not die - and was being used against all Democrats. Listen to what he really said when he "apologized". He spoke because they needed closure on this - and he disputed that what he said in anyway called Americans Nazis - he didn't. This was a terrible moment because of what it said about the power of talk radio and the fact that many Republican Senators, who personally knew Durbin well enough to know how untrue the lies were, had joined in.