Every Democrat in the Senate has refused to acknowledge Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin’s comments calling Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s police reform legislation “a token.”
In a speech Wednesday on the Senate floor, Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, said let’s not do something that’s “a token, half-hearted approach” when speaking about Scott’s legislation. The Daily Caller contacted every Senate Democrat’s office asking them if they would condemn his comments, giving them more than several hours to respond, however not one responded.
Here Are All The Senate Democrats Who Have Refused To Comment On Durbin’s Comments:
- Tammy Baldwin
- Michael Bennet
- Richard Blumenthal
- Cory Booker
- Sherrod Brown
- Maria Cantwell
- Ben Cardin
- Tom Carper
- Bob Casey
- Chris Coons
- Catherine Cortez Masto
- Tammy Duckworth
- Dianne Feinstein
- Kirsten Gillibrand
- Kamala Harris
- Maggie Hassan
- Martin Heinrich
- Mazie Hirono
- Doug Jones
- Tim Kaine
- Amy Klobuchar
- Patrick Leahy
- Joe Manchin
- Ed Markey
- Bob Menendez
- Jeff Merkley
- Chris Murphy
- Patty Murray
- Gary Peters
- Jack Reed
- Jacky Rosen
- Brian Schatz
- Chuck Schumer
- Jeanne Shaheen
- Krysten Sinema
- Tina Smith
- Debbie Stabenow
- Jon Tester
- Tom Udall
- Chris Van Hollen
- Mark Warner
- Elizabeth Warren
- Sheldon Whitehouse
- Ron Wyden
- Independent Sen. Angus King
- Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders
Durbin’s communications director responded to the Daily Caller when asked if the Senator regret what he said on the Senate floor, saying Durbin was not calling Scott “a token” and that he has apologized to Scott.
“The minute Sen. Durbin heard that he had offended Sen. Scott, he sought him out on the floor and apologized. What Sen. Durbin took issue with in his floor speech was not Sen. Scott’s bill, but that the Senate Majority Leader would short circuit this critical debate and fail to make the changes needed to prevent the killing of Black Americans by police officers. Addressing systemic racism and changing policing in America requires and deserves more than one Judiciary hearing, one floor vote, one conversation. As Sen. Durbin stated on the floor, let’s not do a half-hearted approach. This deserves the full and bipartisan attention of the Senate,” Emily Hampsten, Dubrins communications director told the Daily Caller.
Scott slammed Durbin for referring to his police reform legislation as “a token,” hours after it was introduced Wednesday, asking him if his Democratic colleagues are “still wearing those kente cloths over there.”
Scott’s tweet comes after a fact-checker said Tuesday that the kente cloths that Democrats wore after George Floyd’s death were “historically worn” by an “empire involved in [the] West African slave trade,” according to USA Today.
Scott responded June 10 to the criticism he has received for drafting police reform legislation after the death of George Floyd. (RELATED: Sen. Tim Scott Fires Back At Those Calling Him A ‘Token’ For Drafting GOP Police Reform Legislation)
“Not surprising the last 24 hours have seen a lot of ‘token’ ‘boy’ or ‘you’re being used’ in my mentions. Let me get this straight … you DON’T want the person who has faced racial profiling by police, been pulled over dozens of times, or been speaking out for YEARS drafting this?” Scott said on Twitter.
“And don’t throw ‘you’re the only black guy they know’ at me either. There are only two black Democratic Senators, stop pretending there’s some huge racial diversity gap in the Senate. Ask my Dem colleagues what their staffs look like … I guarantee you won’t like the answer,” Scott continued.
Scott and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced the legislation in a press conference Wednesday morning, which comes just one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on police reform. (RELATED: Sen. Tim Scott Slams Dick Durbin For Calling His Police Reform Bill ‘A Token’)
McConnell appointed Scott to lead the party’s effort in passing a police overhaul bill before July 4. The South Carolina senator ruled out including a revision to qualified immunity — a key measure supported by Democrats and others. (RELATED: Sen. Tim Scott Fires Back At Those Calling Him A ‘Token’ For Drafting GOP Police Reform Legislation)
The group of Republican senators who worked on the bill includes Scott’s fellow South Carolina senator, Lindsay Graham, as well as Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia.