By Mark Rhoads
As pointed out in the post below by George Dienhart, a trip to Peru, Bolovia, and Ecuador at this time is a curious priority for the U.S. Senate Democratic leaders even if President Ford had not died Dec. 26. Curious, that is, unless one understands that the real reason for this trip is so that Senators Reid and Durbin can have a photo opportunity in the Inca ruins pictured above at Machu Picchu, the ancient capital city of the Incas in the mountains of Peru. This photo op is already on their schedule. Likely the PR folks for Reid and Durbin must think since they cannot get as far as the Great Wall of China on this trip, the ruins at Machu Picchu must be the second best visual for their next commercials that try to dress up lawmakers with little foreign policy experience. This photo op will take the better part of a full day on the schedule because of its remote location.
One of the very few times since statehood in 1818 that Illinois did not carry for the winning candidate for president was in 1976 when Jimmy Carter won the national contest but Gerald Ford carried Illinois. President Ford was well-liked in Illinois. Dick Durbin at that time (1974-1977) was a staff aide to the Judiciary Committee of the Illinois State Senate and the Senate parliamentarian with Democrats in the majority. So if you think Sen. Durbin's priorities are misplaced, fear not. Its true there is no diplomatic reason for this trip to South America. But his political priorities are in focus. The photo op at Machu Picchu is the reason for this trip and those photos will appear on Sen. Durbin's web site in the near future.
