Obama and Durbin

Another reason I'm living in Illinois and not Texas is that my Senators are going to be Dick Durbin and Barack Obama. Now, if only Danny Davis could denounce his Moony folly, and return to being a centrist Democrat, I'd be happy. In Austin, there was Lloyd Doggett, and and and, well Ann Richards used to be Governor, even though she wasn't really all that liberal.

Anyway, from TalkLeft, one of the good lawyers....
TalkLeft: Interviewing Senators:

"Wednesday night, just before John Edwards spoke, a group of bloggers were invited to interview Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL). We jumped at the chance since we think Durbin has introduced some of the best legislation in the past year and opposed some of the worst.


He has been a strong critic of the Patriot Act. He introduced an anti-torture amendmant. He co-sponsored the Civil Liberties Restoration Act. He fought for (and lost) proposed amendments to Sen. Feinstein and Hatch's terrible Anti-Gang bill.


Durbin has been in the forefront of the fight to protect our civil liberties. "

...and

I led off, first commenting on how much I appreciated his legislative efforts, and asked him if he thought John Kerry would be a strong defender of our rights and liberties, and how John Kerry would differ from Bush in this area. His answer was that the biggest difference between John Kerry and George Bush would be in their judicial selections. Judges are lifetime appointees. Their impact can last 40 years or more. Kerry will preserve the independence of the judiciary and appoint highly qualified judges. We must take back our courts.

Needless to say, this was music to my ears. Senator Durbin's expressed these views very forcefully. He sits on the Judiciary Committee. It's a view TalkLeft shares, and has expressed many times. See, for example, here and here.

Byron of Burnt Orange Report asked Durbin about Obama. Durbin had nothing but praise for him. Ezra of Pandagon noted that Durbin had served on the Judiciary Committee with John Edwards, and asked him what he thought of Edwards' work on the Committee. Durbin said Edwards was great on the Committee because he had such a direct and insightful way of asking questions and getting to the heart of the matter very quickly, probably a skill he developed in his trial practice. American Amnesia asked a question about foreign policy. Natasha of Pacific Views asked a question about farmers and big agricultural companies.

Durbins' answers to all questions were excellent.