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.”
