Listen to the people, Sen. Durbin
Dick Durbin is, presumably, the second-most influential person in the U.S. Senate, the assistant majority leader, sometimes referred to as the majority whip, at a time when the Democratic Party holds one of the strongest majorities in decades. On paper, at least, he's an extremely powerful guy.
And yet, Sen. Durbin won't hold a town-hall meeting - not one - on health care, one of the pre-eminent issues of 2009.
Durbin clearly cares about health care. He's the author of legislation to create the Small Business Health Options Program, a laudable bipartisan attempt to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses and the people who work for them. His Senate Web site includes health care "horror stories" from small businessmen including one from Rene Apack, an insurance broker and small business operator from Libertyville who saw his insurance premiums skyrocket because of a pain medication prescription his doctor gave him after a car accident just in case he'd need it. Clearly, Durbin cares about health care.
And yet, Sen. Durbin won't hold a town-hall meeting - not one - on health care, one of the pre-eminent issues of 2009.
Durbin has been crisscrossing the state for, essentially, invitation-only "round-table" meetings with health-care practitioners. In one case earlier this month in Decatur, a city councilman expressed outrage that Durbin had swept in, received banner news media coverage, but never announced his visit to the public, or even to the city council.
And yet, Sen. Durbin won't hold a town-hall meeting - not one - on health care, one of the pre-eminent issues of 2009.
Ask Durbin about his accomplishments in Washington, and he'll quickly get to his health-care resume. He authored legislation in the House to ban smoking on aircraft and moved in the Senate to protect children from smoking. He's worked to prevent childhood asthma, increase immunizations, expand medical research, combat AIDS, increase organ donations. The American Lung Association gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Public Health Association named him its Legislator of the Year in 1999 and the American Medical Association presented him with its Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service in 2001. He'll be happy to tell you all this.
And yet, Sen. Durbin won't hold a town-hall meeting - not one - on health care, one of the pre-eminent issues of 2009.
Instead, when talking to thinkprogress.org, a friendly political blog, Durbin described the town hall meetings as a "sucker punch" being manipulated by health insurance companies and "people like them."
We don't doubt that the health-care debate is being orchestrated - by both sides.
But it also seems like it's such a transcendent issue for all of us that our representatives in Washington ought to make an attempt to listen to their constituents. It also seems to us that any public hearing could be controlled easily enough by rules of decorum that are stated in advance and then enforced. Local government does this all the time.
Sen. Durbin is, presumably, the second most powerful person in the U.S. Senate.
If that's the case, what is he afraid of?