On Wednesday, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined nearly two thousand trade unionists, open communists, socialists, anarchists and illegal aliens at Chicago’s May Day march and rally.
Two large rally demonstrations that began at Union Park and Chicago’s Haymarket Riot monument converged into a giant march that shut down traffic for miles, and ended at Federal Plaza where they were joined by Senator Durbin.
Durbin made remarks to the red, yellow and black flag waving crowd about “immigration reform.” Opening with “My fellow immigrants,” Durbin told the crowd “this is a once in a lifetime chance” to get “immigration reform.”
Following his speech, I spoke to the senator about his participation:
(May Day is apparently also Law Day in America, but after covering the last three May Day marches in Chicago, I have never heard about Law Day, at any of the marches or elsewhere.)
Durbin then mounted a rather bizarre defense of his participation in the rally–on free speech grounds:
Rebelpundit: There is a large contingent of Communist Party USA, anarchists, international socialist groups here today that you just spoke to…
Durbin: How do you know that?
Rebelpundit: Because I’ve filmed them all day, and you just spoke to them, so I’d like to ask about your participation, why you decided to come out today?
Durbin: Well let me just say something, because [pause] I believe in the Constitution. Do you believe in it?
Rebelpundit: Because you believe in the Constitution you decided to come out to a rally full of communists and socialists?
Durbin: And you know why?
Rebelpundit: Why?
Durbin: Because we have freedom of speech in America, and that’s why you can record this and not be arrested.
RebelPundit: You think I should be arrested?
Durbin: No, not at all, you have a right to your constitutional rights, and I do, too.
Of course, Durbin could go to a Nazi or KKK rally, too–but does that mean, as a United States Senator, he should?
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