Democrat Senator Dick Durbin: "Reading Bills is a Total Waste of Time."

Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat from Illinois, doesn't think reading pieces of legislation prior to voting on them is a worthy endeavor. I wonder why? The other day he said "Reading bills is a total waste of time," and yesterday he went on a little rant making fun at Republican's for wanting the omnibus spending bill read aloud by the clerk. Durbin paid lip service to the importance of a timely passage of the bill of course, but there is more afoot here than some might suspect.

The reality is the spending bill is chock full of goodies, pork, earmarks, pet projects, schools being named for various benefactors, etc. I wonder if the fact that in the omnibus bill Democrat Dick Durbin has a $52 million dollar stake in his 106 earmarks make any difference in his opinion about reading bills before being voted upon? Could that be, ya wonder?

Durbin stood in the well making snide remarks about Republican's wanting the bill read. In fairness there is some concern that Republican's may be using a stalling tactic. But considering the new Congress, the Republican controlled new Congress, will be seated in three weeks, is it any wonder why Republican's might want to have some say in next fiscal year's spending? I believe there is some real validity to that position.

Is it fair a lame duck Congress, and one where the majority flipped, gets to slip by an emergency appropriation just days before the new Congress is sworn in? This is a progressive tactic for getting the things they could not otherwise get - pure and simple!

If doing the nation's business were the real goals of the angry and petulant progressives, ya know, the losers in the election 6 weeks ago, the Congress could pass a stop gap measure for say 60 days to keep government running, although I would think the nation would be saved if DC folded up and went away for a few months, but that's just me. Such stop gap measures have been taken before. This is just an attempt to take one last swing at power by the outgoing Democrat majority.

Is Durbin just carrying the progressive water on this one, or is he hoping to not have his 106 earmarks - $52 million dollars worth mind you, read in the well of the Senate? I think it's likely a bit of both.

What happened to the adage about reading a contract before signing it? Aren't we always admonished before one signs a contract they need to read all the "hitherto" and "wherefores" yet when a legislative body writes spending legislation effecting 300 plus million citizens, well it's just foolish to read it before one casts a vote.

Forget that the other legislators know what's in the bill...what about the openness of full disclosure for the citizens? Is it better if 300 million are to read it on their own, or is it better to have it read in one central location for the media to give us a head's up as to what is in the damned thing? I mean if media were square with us and didn't have their own progressive dog in the fight?

Can one hear future Democrat's now, in the new Congress? They will defame Republican's for passing this pork-laden spending measure and never admit any of their own duplicity in the event, even though it is being undertaken when Democrats sit in the majority in the lame duck session.

And Durbin and his fellow Democrats claim this is Republican's playing politics? But it's not Democrats playing politics by trying to shove this through as an emergency, ya know, like Obamacare? Oh, that's right...we need to pass the bill to see what's in it. I could swear I've heard that somewhere before....

SOURCES: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/255488/durbin-reading-bills-waste-time-robert-costa

http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2010/12/durbin-earmarks-in-reids-omnibus-bill-exceed-52m.html