We'll All Grow Old Waiting for Dems to Punish Durbin

William Kristol writes a piece in the Weekly Standard regarding Sen. Dick Durbin's ignorant remarks and the possible punishments that could come as a result. Some have suggested censure, but Kristol thinks Durbin's own party should do the punishing, as in the case of Trent Lott:

So what, if anything, is to be done? Newt Gingrich, my friend Hugh Hewitt, and others have suggested that Sen. Durbin should be censured by the Senate. His comments are, to be sure, deserving of censure. But is this the best action to push for? For one thing, Democrats can explain that resolutions of censure have typically been reserved for ethics violations, not for meretricious statements--thereby perhaps succeeding in confusing the debate and wriggling off the hook. And asking for passage of such a resolution puts the burden on the Republican majority to act--which raises the possibility, maybe a probability, that the attempt will seem partisan if pursued, and if Republicans at some point back off, will then make them look weak as well.

Why not put the burden on the Democrats? When Sen. Trent Lott made a far less damaging, but still deplorable, statement two and a half years ago, his fellow Republicans insisted he step down as their leader. Shouldn't Democrats insist that Sen. Durbin step down as their whip, the number two man in their leadership? Shouldn't conservatives (and liberals) legitimately ask Democrats to hold their leader to account, especially given the precedent of Lott?

If we're going to wait for the Dems to act, we'll all grow very, very old. The Dems will never remove Durbin from leadership because they know better than to shoot their own, no matter how grievous the insult to the country. The GOP, on the other hand, can't wait to punish other Republicans because they so fear the backlash from the media if they don't. If there's one thing the Dems to better than the GOP it's enforcing party discipline and standing up to outside pressure.

The GOP has such stars as Lincoln Chafee, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Mike DeWine, Susan Collins, George Voinovich, Chuck Hagel and others who feel free to desert the party whenever and however they want and thus thwart the desires of the GOP majority. So far the Dems have not had as many "mavericks", as the press loves to call disloyal Republicans.

My prediction - the Dems won't remove Durbin from his #2 position in the Senate, and the Senate won't censure him. He may apologize if the pressure keeps up, but that will be it.