It is interesting to hear you say that. I have seen Durbin make some stunning errors in judgment that make me think he cares way more about insiderism than he should.
One thing was his support for releasing Governor Ryan from jail. He did back off that after people became very angry with him. He had gotten to know Ryan's wife when he worked on a committee with her. He felt Ryan's release would be compassionate for both of them, since she was dying.
He also meddled far too much in the 17th District Congressional primary. I know quite a few of the people involved. Since redistricting, some of those people used to be in the 16th District, where I am, but that has changed now. He supported Cheri Bustos, and made sure he threw his weight behind her so she got union endorsements and financial support that she would not have received without his urging (IMO). He didn't do this because she is a phenomenal politician, but because she is a family friend. George Gaulrapp would have been the better choice.
Also, Durbin's wife runs IWIL, a program that trains women to take on leadership roles. It is run through Illinois Democratic Women. One year they took over so much of the IDW convention that I swore I would never attend again. The whole convention was one big advertisement of Loretta Durbin's program. It was insulting.
We have someone in my county who is a graduate of that program. She is sloppy, lazy, and untruthful, but Durbin is very high on her and does not see it. Her "leadership" consists of being a queen bee, as in "Queen Bees and Wannabees," the book by Wiseman, about mean girls. This woman is in her fifties, but behaves just like the teenagers in the book. Durbin does not see it.
There are many, many good things about Durbin, and we need him in Washington. But I have seen another side.
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