Dick Durban Candidly Discusses His Respect For the Will of the People

"Of course we are."

That was the candid response Dick Durban delivered to Steve Inskeep today on Morning Edition. (Well, he did get candid enough after evading the question the first time.)

The question (at approx 4:00 in): "Are you prepared to go without them, and just pass this, even though people seem to oppose this?"

The answer: "Of course we are."

Thank you Dick Durban for legitimizing the Tea Party movement in a singular moment of candidness. Politicians are not necessarily recognized as being the most forthcoming of individuals, particularly when they are being monitored by a broad spectrum of voters. Maybe with the interview being on NPR he figured he was safe in that no conservative would be listening.

Durban knows that the current health care plans, that of the senate and that of the house, are widely unpopular. He does not even bother to argue with Inskeep over the semantics of his question. He responds, simply, after only a bit of prodding, "Of course we are."

And they easily could. They have big majorities in the house and the senate, and have the political maneuverability to pass the legislation after a compromise is reached between the two versions without one Republican signature and, as the polls show, without a majority of Americans supporting major portions of either bill.

Durban is willing, and he believes his fellow democrats are also willing, to ignore the opinions of a majority of Americans and pass legislation that would place an additional 1/8th of the US economy in the hands of the government.

Anger is brewing here in America even if the anger is largely scoffed at by the likes of Durban and the regular NPR audience.