Clarence Page: Sen. Dick Durbin's departure stirs a scramble amid a new generation
As President Donald Trump's polling takes a tumble 100 days into his second term — and Illinois' Dick Durbin, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, announces his retirement, a very old hit tune sung by Ethel Waters comes to mind: 'There'll Be Some Changes Made.'
I'm gonna change my way of livin', and that ain't no bluff
Why, I'm thinkin' about changin' the way I gotta strut my stuff
Because nobody wants you when you're old and gray
There's gonna be some changes made today.
Oh, really? Democrats have been grappling with their own version of that resolution, especially ever since the disastrous defeat of their party's presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, in November.
'If you're honest about yourself and your reputation, you want to leave when you can still walk out the front door and not be carried out the back door,' said Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate's powerful Judiciary Committee after three decades in the upper body.
The 'Biden Effect' is the label Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker applied to the wave of goodbyes now rolling through the Senate, as some longtime stalwarts show signs of getting too long in the tooth.
Having covered Durbin numerous times during his tenure, I'll miss him. He had a masterful command of the issues, whether I agreed with him or not, and I often learned a lot from him — which is more than I can say for a lot of other lawmakers in the Machiavellian mud wrestling that too often gets in the way of the government's ability to help real people with real problems.
However, I also find a lot of agreement with those who say too many senior lawmakers are simply too reluctant or stubborn to step aside and give some of the younger whippersnappers a chance.
That's where, as the old song reminds us, some changes may need to be made.
If there were a complaint about Durbin that resonated with me it was his reluctance to put pressure on Supreme Court justices for some questionable ethical practices. If nothing else, Durbin was an institutionalist, which is not always bad but also has its limits when changes need to be made.
His exit comes at a time when the tide seems to be turning against Trump.
Even Fox News, known for finding even the tiniest silver lining in any Trump tempest, offered little relief to the president's MAGA supporters in light of recent polls. As the 100th day of his second term approached, a Fox News survey found voters approved of the job Trump was doing on border security, but were displeased with just about every other issue — including inflation.
Remember the inflation consternation that dogged the Harris and Biden campaigns?
'Voters remain gloomy about the economy, as 71% rate economic conditions negatively and 55% say it is getting worse for their family,' Fox reported.
Voters' assessments of the economy have improved slightly since December, before Trump took office, but only 28% think the economy is improving under Trump. Additionally, 51% believe his policies are hurting the country, compared to 40% who say they're helping.
That's been a big challenge for the Democrats lately and has caused schisms along the lines of the generation gap.
The younger generation, as my own parents and grandparents soon learned, can be a lot less patient with the problems their elders tolerate.
For example, about half of Americans approved of the job Trump was doing a week after he took office, according to The New York Times average of dozens of leading polls. About 40% disapproved.
However, by the 100 days mark, his approval rating had fallen to around 45% and more than half of the country disapproved of his performance.
Trump manages to eke out a net positive rating among voters on border security (55%), but on immigration voters disapprove at a rate of 48%-47%. On the economy generally, his showing is 38% approve to 56% disapprove.
'His worst ratings,' Fox concluded, 'are on inflation (33% approve, 59% disapprove), followed by tariffs (33%-58%), foreign policy (40%-54%), taxes (38%-53%), and guns (41%-44%).'
With much more drama coming down the pike in Trump's global trade war, and as the deleterious effects of DOGE's monkey-wrenching of the federal government begin to dawn on the public, it's hard to imagine that voters will look more favorably on Trump or on the Republican majorities in Congress that have let him go unchecked.
Yet what voters need to hear is a clear and persuasive alternative to Trump's framing of the problems facing the nation. The Democrats seem still to be struggling with strategic direction: Should they revive the 'resistance' or (to quote Clintonista James Carville) 'play dead.' Young Democratic insurgents have suggested a wave of primarying to get rid of feckless incumbents, and the old guard has bitten back.
In short, both parties show signs of unease with their current leadership. We may need a new generation of leaders to step in, but, first, we need to look for ways to give them some help.
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