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A Further Perspective
Rand’s Band of Brothers
Senator Paul Rand stages a filibuster — and is joined by a happy few comrades.
Whatever his ideological leanings, surely Shakespeare would have raised an eyebrow at the political scene Wednesday, if only for the content it would have stirred in his creative mind. Though Rand Paul spearheaded an epic 13-hour filibuster, he didn’t fill that time alone. Fourteen other Senators total — including one Democrat — offered him a respite along with comradely, thought-provoking questions, and humor, to boot.
In an effort to delay the inevitable nomination of CIA Director John Brennan, Paul decided to utilize the old-school filibuster and draw his attention to an issue of utmost importance to him. According to filibuster rules, if you yield the floor your filibuster is complete. Three hours in, Paul yielded, but only to take questions, from mostly Republican colleagues and appeared thankful for and rejuvenated by their input.
The Republican senators who participated in the filibuster with Paul included Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).
Some comments, or technically questions, were in part to pass the time, but many managed to raise spirits by quoting movies, musicians, famous authors, or regular supporters. Sens. Cruz, Scott, and Flake are all freshmen. Traditionally, their first speech on the Senate floor would have been on something of personal importance, but instead they helped Rand further his filibuster. Since cell phones are banned on the floor, Cruz offered to read series of Tweets so Paul could see what was going on in the outside world — the “Twitterverse” — encouraging Paul (and supporters).
Others left humor or inspiration out of the equation and immediately addressed the issue at hand. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) was the only Democrat to join the actual filibuster. (Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) spoke but not as an official part of the filibuster.) Wyden said while he would ultimately vote for Brennan, he also believed, in what appeared to be a sudden, rare moment of transparency, that Mr. Paul “has made a number of important points” about the drone program. “[T]he executive branch should not be allowed to conduct such a serious and far-reaching program by themselves without any scrutiny, because that’s not how American democracy works.”
During his time to ask Paul a question from the floor, Senator Marco Rubio blended music, film, and politics into his speech. He referenced a “modern-day poet” rapper Wiz Khalifa and his song “Work Hard Play Hard.” Said Rubio with a grin: “You look at the time, I think it’s a time when many of our colleagues expected to be home, back in the home state playing hard, but I’m happy we’re here still working hard on this issue.” He quoted another rapper, Jay-Z, and a few lines from The Godfather to make his point and then became more serious. “What’s really stunning to me…is how simple and straightforward this issue is and how easily it could have been resolved.…If we are laying the groundwork here today making mistakes by not asking certain questions history will hold us accountable for that…all of us…we have a right to ask these questions and get these questions answered…”
For those counting, there are 45 Republicans in the Senate and only 13 showed up to support a fellow Senator standing firm on an issue that inherently affects the civil liberties of every person in America. While the band of brothers on the floor were in relatively good spirits, yesterday, a couple curmudgeons — Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) — showed short-sightedness by attacking Rand for his filibuster. Holding up a chart, Graham said he was more worried about al Qaeda than about drones because there was no proof the latter had Americans on U.S. soil. If Rand and his band are the Churchills of today, where does that leave McCain and Graham?
To be honest, even after 13 hours, I wasn’t entirely convinced Paul cared about drones. I’m not sure his band of fellow politicians — those rapper-citing, Shakespeare-reading, and Patton-quoting colleagues — did either. They were unified on this, though: It doesn’t matter if the issue is about the White House authorizing drones to kill unarmed, noncombatant, Americans without due process or the White House authorizing every American to eat a doughnut once an hour, every day until their death. Civil liberties and basic constitutional rights matter and must be protected.
Sure, Brennan was confirmed as CIA Director, so technically the filibuster was a bust. But think about it: How much do you know about him? Now, thanks to Rand Paul and his comrades, whenever you hear about a drone strike in the news, you’ll remember Paul’s filibuster, think twice about the program, and wonder about your civil liberties. As King Henry V said in Shakespeare’s famous play before telling his men they were his band of brothers: “If we are mark’d to die, we are enow to do our country loss; and if to live, the fewer men, the greater share of honour…That he which hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart; his passport shall be made…this story shall the good man teach his son.”
About the Author
Nicole Russell writes from Northern Virginia.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (41) | Leave a comment
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Aristocat| 3.8.13 @ 6:28AM
Pretty sad that 32 Republicans were no-shows.
Sadder still that dinosaur RINOs went on record opposing the brave Senator from Kentucky. Is it going to take a 13-hour filibuster to get an answer every time we have a question for the President?
TLP| 3.8.13 @ 1:23PM
A Record 89,304,000 Americans are 'Not in Labor Force' -- 296,000 Fewer Employed Since January, out of 239,618,000 Working Age Americans,
That's around 25%.
Ergo - 1 in 4 Americans of Working Age are Out Of Work.
Yet, the Stock Market is experiencing Multiple Orgasms, on a Daily Basis.
Hello?
Appleby| 3.8.13 @ 6:43AM
Probably it will be made into a TeeVee Movie at some point, in which there will be a number of sidebar stories including sex with young and lucious interns, to keep the masses entertained. By the way, it would now be a good idea for some channel to show "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" just for contrast. There are at least 3 generations who have no idea who Jimmy Stewart was, and many of their parents think he was a late night talk show host.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 3.8.13 @ 6:43AM
"What difference does it make?"
jothepro| 3.8.13 @ 7:45AM
You make me laugh Bill...
TLP| 3.8.13 @ 3:50PM
Contest at yesterday's Homecoming Dance.
Arnie| 3.8.13 @ 7:52AM
That was a lot of whinging, windbagging, showcasing, and crying over a simple question.
Holder's response was a appropriate.
Dear Senator Paul:
It has come to my attention that you have now asked an additional question: "Does the President have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil?" The answer to that question is no.
Nancy in NC| 3.8.13 @ 8:06AM
It took him awhile to come to that conclusion, and he hedged it for some time. As usual, your comments are misleading and biased. And just because he said no doesn't mean it will be followed. You do trust the Fed. gov. quite a lot. Did you feel the same when Bush was in office?
Moe Blotz| 3.8.13 @ 9:23AM
Senator Cruz was the one who wheedled the "No" answer out of Atty Gen. Holder when grilled about the constitutionality of drone strikes on Americans. The official White House response was in the form of a letter subsequent to Senator Paul's filibuster. The whole news cycle could have been avoided if the prevaricators had answered the question forthrightly.
TLP| 3.8.13 @ 2:55PM
Contest at yesterday's Homecoming Dance.
chuck| 3.8.13 @ 8:08AM
Arnie,
We know you come from Europe, and with its long and storied history of tyrants, Kings, and dictators, you are probably comfortable with the Dictator du jour randomly killing whomever falls out of favor.
However, in this country, we are armed, are willing to die on our feet rather than live on our knees, and we will do everything necessary to make sure that the government never gets away with randomly killing its citizens.
If the idiot Attorney General had just answered the question in the negative to begin with, instead of the usual double-speak, this would not have been an issue.
Now please, go find a German jack-boot to go lick, you damned cheese-eating surrender monkey.
Nancy in NC| 3.8.13 @ 8:12AM
chuck, your reply to arnie was sweet. You did forget gun dropping however...cheese-eating gun dropping surrender monkey. Perfect!
Arnie| 3.8.13 @ 8:42AM
Sorry Chuck, but people like you and Bush and Cheney and company are the goose stepping thugs that consider some Americans not to be real Americans, and love to invade other countries. Sound familiar?
Hitler rounded up a bunch of communists. Wouldn't you and the Rush & Beck crowd like to do the same? Sorry buddy, but it's your party that is full of authoritarian personalities.
TLP| 3.8.13 @ 1:29PM
They SHOULD be Rounded Up.
They're here ILLEGALLY.
The Jews were in The Countries they were Rounded Up in, LEGALLY, and had Committed No Crimes.
I know that you don't understand the difference between the two, but it's there, just the same.
Maybe after you suffer a Home Invasion by some of these Undocumented Invaders, it'll sink in?
Maybe.
Butch| 3.8.13 @ 4:46PM
You're not as armed as you think you are, Chuck. Tried to buy ammo lately?
Anthony| 3.8.13 @ 11:54AM
If there is a god Arnie, hopefully, you will end up as "collateral damage" from one of Obozo's drone attacks, which apparently, you are ok with.
You are more concerned about Paul bringing this to the attention of the American people then your are that the Muslim Marxist thinks he has the authority to do this. Are you people truly this unhinged??
At least vtwin woke the hell up, what's your pathetic excuse?
Arnie| 3.8.13 @ 12:04PM
Anthony, you have to realize, you're just a dimwitted moron that likes Sarah Palin.
I don't like drone attacks at all anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, about 80% of the military could be done away with. My views on that are very similar to that of Ron Paul.
But I realize also what game the Republicans are trying to play - that Obama is some type of tyrant that wants to kill Americans in their beds.
I know a sucker when I meet one, and you definitely fit the profile.
Anthony| 3.8.13 @ 1:52PM
So pray tell moron, WHEN in our history has a president of the United States suggested that he has the power to use military assets against an American citizen on American soil without due process of law?
Even the sociopath Clinton used the pretense of alleged child abuse and neglect to justify Waco.
Are you that unhinged as a lefty that your partisanship so blinds you to this insane kneejerk anti-Republican diatribe of yours?
TLP| 3.8.13 @ 3:52PM
Contest at yesterday's Homecoming Dance.
GODDAMN IT, come to The Contest, ya Wilton Snob.
Anthony| 3.8.13 @ 7:00PM
As I suspected, troll Arnie has no answers so he has slinked away like the leftist worm that he is.
Oh, and Arnie, despite your smug leftist distain for Sarah Palin, who albeit, attended a college of lesser pedigreed than our Muslim Marxist president, Gov. Palin, despite not attending Harvard Law School and being an adjunct professor of Constitutional law at the Univ. of Chicago, would never have suggested that a president has the authority to use military assets on an American, on American soil, without due process of law.
Wow! for a dumb broad, Palin has a broader understanding of the Constitution in her little pinky, than our Harvard education Muslim Marxist president has in his entire leftist body.
Imagine that!!!
Where are Obozo's dones when we need them???
Sturmudgeon| 3.10.13 @ 7:08PM
yeh, and no doubt we can access HER school records!
Butch| 3.8.13 @ 4:51PM
Senator Paul had done us all the great favor of getting the first acknowledgement of citizen sovereignty yet made by this administration.
Nancy in NC| 3.8.13 @ 8:08AM
I sent my senator, Burr, an e-mail asking why he wasn't there aiding Paul. Now I find he was having dinner with obama. Figures.
Personally I'm now glad McCain was beaten by obama. He's just as bad if nor worse. He pretends to be an ally, but is truly in the enemy camp. A pox on him and Lindsay Graham too.
Al Adab| 3.8.13 @ 8:21AM
After reviewing the list of those who participated and the list of those who had dinner with the president it becomes clear that we we sorely need is fewer old bulls or Senate lions and more young turks. Maybe somewhere in this newer group there is reason for hope. There is at least some semblance of courage.
Russel| 3.8.13 @ 9:19AM
Yep , here we finally have someone who has the balls to take it to King Notme and gets attacked by the Rino's . Those elitist DC insiders who go along to get along . I curse the day McCain was ever elected . Their days are numbered .
SUBVET| 3.8.13 @ 8:50AM
I herd that dinner was on OUR dime.......what's new.
SUBVET| 3.8.13 @ 8:52AM
McCain & Graham......... friendly fire I say.
thirty3na3rd| 3.8.13 @ 10:42AM
Thank you, Nicole!
Anthony| 3.8.13 @ 11:48AM
So let's get this all in perspective. Obozo declares that he has the right use drones on Americans on American soil, in certain circumstances, without due process of law.
It takes his corrupt Attorney General, Holder, under withering examination by Sen. Cruz, apparently, the only senator who knows how to act like a REAL LAWYER and ask pointed questions, to admit the president does not have this authority under the Constitution.
Sen. Rand, who like all thinking conservatives, is appalled by Obozo's blatantly unconstitutional attack on Americans, holds a filibuster to bring this issue to the attention of the American people.
Only 13 R senators support his efforts, while the corrupt old guard, McLame and Grahaminsty, have dinner with Obozo.
McLame attacks Rand, as opposed to attacking Obozo for this impeachable concept. Yet had Bush proposed this same thing, McLame would be on national Tv. condemning it.
That sums thing up.
Grzmlyk is indeed correct, the country is almost lost. Save for a handful of brave thinking senators, the rest of Washington is corrupt beyond salvation.
Flush the bastards out, totally and completely, or else we are doomed.
RichTex| 3.8.13 @ 11:50AM
I’m proud to say that both of my senators joined with Sen. Paul. Texas is the only state where both senators did join. Maybe it had something to do with it being the anniversary of the falling of the Alamo and its reminder of how precious our freedoms are and how easily they might be taken away by a tyrannical regime.
Actually, I think the election of Ted Cruz was the best thing to happen to John Cornyn in a long time.
Al Adab| 3.8.13 @ 12:13PM
Lets take the Alamo analogy a little further Tex. While Paul and the others realized it was "A Time to Stand" (title of the Walter Lord book) the others were having dinner with Santa Anna. What are we, as free men, willing to do when our own government becomes a threat to liberty and "destructive of these ends"?
March 6th should always be remembered.
loulou| 3.8.13 @ 12:52PM
I love Ted Cruz.
Brilliant and effective.
TLP| 3.8.13 @ 2:55PM
Contest at yesterday's Homecoming Dance.
Louis Jenkins| 3.8.13 @ 2:21PM
Wow. Nicole, you look, well, kinda hot! America, at least the true conservatives, have at last found their hero. And the fellows who helped him out, they too are honest and America is blessed. We see who is and has the best interests of the American voter in mind. Graham and McCain view the world as a battlefield filled with countries yet to be bridled and led like livestock. Ryan sees the American as first under his watch, and we appreciate his and his fellow Senator's 13 hour ordeal.
TLP| 3.8.13 @ 2:56PM
Contest at yesterday's Homecoming Dance.
Job| 3.8.13 @ 2:47PM
Holding up a chart, Graham said he was more worried about al Qaeda than about drones because there was no proof the latter had Americans on U.S. soil??
i don't get it...
TLP| 3.8.13 @ 2:56PM
Contest at yesterday's Homecoming Dance.
Robert| 3.8.13 @ 4:10PM
Nicole Russell...or is it Russell Nicole? Were you - or was it the AS editor - dyslexic when transposing Rand's first and last names in the sub-heading?
Although I do not have it on firsthand report, I would not be surprised if father Ron exalted the influence of Ayn Rand on libertarianism in naming his son Rand.
Oh, the danger of naming progeny with two first names! And that of Anna Rosenbaum renaming herself upon arriving in the free world after a typewriter, causing all this confusion in the first place!
Purp| 3.8.13 @ 4:53PM
"Civil liberties and basic constitutional rights matter and must be protected." - Couldn't agree with you more... when every woman, black, hispanic, asian, gay and any other minority (altho women are THE majority, guys) are treated equally, then you are saying something. That includes voting rights, abortion, marriage equality to name a few.
If that's what you're saying, I'm with you.
Is that what you're saying?
FeFe| 3.9.13 @ 6:37PM
"...I wasn’t entirely convinced Paul cared about drones. ... It doesn’t matter if the issue is about..." fill in the blank.
Are you saying this was just a lesson in herding? You sound like a woman in search of a shoe on sale. Details matter and never more so than when a temporary government in power determines just who the enemy is along with the Rules of Engagement. These men did not stand to raise their celebrity profile or elevate buzz on drones but to reinforce our founding principles as Reagan held aloft that we are a people with a government and not the other way around. That the media neglects or censors such a principled stand from the public at large spotlights the greedy and pernicious nature of journalists and conglomerate princes with good news. Let us not be shy in proclaiming joy in the substance of Rand's Band of Brothers argument.
homme nike air max BW | 3.11.13 @ 5:24AM
Fourteen other Senators total — including www.shoxinfr.com/nike-free-40-c-37.html one Democrat — offered him a respite along with comradely, thought-provoking questions, and humor, to boot.