In a secret ballot vote, Senate Democrats have approved a plan to let Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois lead the party on the Senate Judiciary Committee for the next Congress. The move was made possible after Senator Dianne Feinstein of California chose not to remain in that leadership position.
It’s not clear to me whether Durbin will be much of a change from Feinstein, whose recent tenure was marked both by moments of embarassing partisanship and sensible statesmanship. But Durbin cannot be worse (I hope) than his primary rival for the position, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. A valuable friend to the federal courts not too long ago, Whitehouse approached the lunatic fringe as of late, threatening the Supreme Court directly and ranting about dark money funding of judicial nominees. Let’s hope Durbin (or someone) can exert control and insist that Senators live up the standard of decorum and reasoned debate that the American people rightly expect of them.
The Interdependent Third Branch 