Rand Paul will and should run in 2016

[deep]

like him or not, he will have more influence than his father

second, right now he is doing an honest, legit filibuster

Rand Paul Launches Filibuster – The Talking Kind – Against John Brennan - ABC News

“I will speak until I can no longer speak,” Paul said. “I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court.”
Paul began his filibuster at 11:47 a.m. Eastern time. Around the one-hour mark, he acknowledged “I can’t talk forever” and said his throat was getting dry.

“When I asked the president, can you kill an American on American soil, it should have been an easy answer. It’s an easy question. it should have been a resounding and unequivocal, “no.” The president’s response? He hasn’t killed anyone yet. We’re supposed to be comforted by that. The president says, I haven’t killed anyone yet. He goes on to say, and I have no intention of killing Americans. But i might. Is that enough? Are we satisfied by that? Are we so complacent with our rights that we would allow a president to say he might kill Americans? But he will judge the circumstances, he will be the sole arbiter, he will be the sole decider, he will be the executioner in chief if he sees fit. Now, some would say he would never do this. Many people give the president the — you know, they give him consideration, They say he’s a good man. I’m not arguing he’s not. what I’m arguing is that the law is there and set in place for the day when angels don’t rule government.

Paul noted that he has voted for Obama’s previous Cabinet nominees, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and suggested his cause was not partisan.

“I have allowed the president to pick his political appointees,” Paul said. “But I will not sit quietly and let him shred the Constitution. I cannot sit at my desk quietly and let the president say that he will kill Americans on American soil who are not actively attacking a country.

“I would be here if it were a Republican president doing this. Really the great irony of this is that President Obama’s opinion on this is an extension of George Bush’s opinion.”

 

[deep]

eight hours now, he is talking against endless war, his Libertarian views do resonate with many, he is making a lot of sense.

 

[INDY500]

He makes no sense.

He keeps throwing out terms like "unconstitutional" as if we don't have "a living & breathing constitution" that can be reinterpreted to fit the needs of whomever happens to occupy the White House, Congress or the Supreme Court.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

the filibuster has got to be one of the most frustratingly useless features our country offers. sorry, no.

 

[deep]

you do realize that this filibuster is not the type of filibuster that is over-used and abused.



Filibuster Reform Makes A Comeback | TPMDC

Merkley agreed, “I certainly share Senator Durbin’s statement that if this is going to be the Republican behavior, we’re going to have to review the agreement that was struck so recently,” he said. “Unless there is a dramatic turnaround, folks will soon be concluding that there’s no intention to honor the spirit of the agreement. … We as senators have a responsibility to the American people to have this chamber function.”

The Oregon Democrat spoke to TPM while Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was mounting an hours-long talking filibuster on the nomination of John Brennan for CIA director. He said that’s how all filibusters should work.

“Rand Paul is saying ‘I have the courage of my conviction, I’m taking a stand and I want the people of America to know it.’ And that’s the way it absolutely should be if you’re working to block a nominee. You should be taking that responsibility,” Merkely said. “And I applaud him for doing that.”

 

[deep]

This filibuster last only as long as this man is standing and talking on the Senate floor.
He has been doing that for 10 hours straight.
I do not believe he has left to eat or use the bathroom.
He is doing a better job than Jimmy Stewart did in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.


I do not support many of his positions. But, my respect for him has gone way up.

 

[deep]

Kos weighs in,
not sure how twitter is breaking
perhaps John Stewart will give this a good spin

Daily Kos: So it turns out a talking filibuster is actually pretty darn good idea after all

 

[indra]

If you are going to do a filibuster, I think it damned well better be a talking one.
At least with this guy it's coming out of his hide.
Also I would think people who are want other parties at the federal level would also want this. Let's face it, a third (or fourth or more) party senator or representative isn't going to have much clout if his/her positions are truly different than those of the two current parties, so a filibuster might be one of the few ways to actually get real coverage of those differing positions. So yeah, an honest to goodness talking filibuster is clearly obstructionist, but it's also a way of getting minority views heard.

 

[deep]

These types of filibusters, and I can't remember seeing one before, have an ending.
Also the politician has to have the courage of his convictions. The written ones are crap.

I am tired of the tea-party blowhards, Cruz-TX and Lee-UT. But at least one Dem did lend some support.

Also, this cause about drone use, has always left me uncomfortable. More light on it is good.

 

[deep]

Ted Cruz - TX

is reading Shakespeare - Henry V speech

this guy is the worst


Now he is doing George C Scott - General Patton
and now praising Code Pink at the Holder hearings, today.

 

[deep]

trending on twitter

Zaid Jilani ‏@ZaidJilani
I'm ashamed of US progressive movement and Democratic Senators for letting the far-right be the leaders on #drones. #StandWithRand

735
RETWEETS
121
FAVORITES

 

[maycocksean]

I do feel that those of us who have been generally supportive of Obama have been soft on his handling of aspects of the "war on terror"

I'm inclined to agree with Rand on this one.

 

[digitize]

If I were in the Senate right now, I have no idea if id vote for cloture or now. On one hand, I pretty much agree with Rand Paul. On the other hand, I hate the filibuster, and using it against presidential nominations sets a rather scary precedent for even more gridlock.

I do respect Rand Paul for making his filibuster an actual filibuster instead of just the threat of one. Or maybe his threat was just not taken seriously.

 

[Rachel D.]

It's terrifying that someone has to point out that we shouldn't be killed with drones in our own country. What is going on?

 

[deep]

I would not care if they all had to talk 24 hours around the clock. I know they could do it tag team style.
But it would have a cost and not be used as much as the written one, or threat of one.

 

[deep]

It's terrifying that someone has to point out that we shouldn't be killed with drones in our own country. What is going on?

that's it, but once you start discussing it, it gets real messy

can you drone Americans outside of the country? If yes, and we have droned
them in the middle east and africa, can we drone them in S America? Mexico, Canada?

Code Pink says 3 of the 4 Americans droned have been mistakes, one was a 16 year old boy.

R. Maddow went down a bit tonight, she made a partisan attack on Paul.
Like his father Ron Paul, he is Libertarian and did not support the Iraq War or funding for it. They have been critics of the War on Terror. And Rand Paul broke with tea-party types and voted for Chuck Hagel to be Defense Secretary

 

[deep]

he is done

I think he went about 13 hours, he had to use the bathroom

I am sure he made a few fans and gained a lot of respect.

Again, I think all filibusters should be done in person on the Senate floor.

Also, I am not a fan of one Senator putting a hold on an appointment. At the very least they should have to go to the floor and announce it, and it should expire in a certain time period.

 

[Pearl]

Filibuster or not, I'm glad that someone in Washington spoke up about the drones. They are scary and do sound like a tyrannical government is doing this.

What could happen is a home grown terrorist attack or something could respond to these tactics. The Oklahoma City bombings were the result of the Waco incident. Why wouldn't some angry radicals want to retaliate against the drones?

 

[Jive Turkey]

How are drones any different from a fighter plane launching an air to ground missile? There's literally no difference. You'd think there are robots flying around by the paranoid reactions to them

 

[Irvine511]

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.

Sincerely,
Eric H. Holder, Jr.

.

 

[deep]

sometimes it is better not to address every issue

Earlier John McCain said, as Business Insider reported:

"Calm down, Senator," McCain said, in an admonition to Paul. "The U.S. government cannot randomly target U.S. citizens."

McCain argued that Paul's warning that the Obama could target would U.S. citizens in "cafes" on American soil, and his related "Jane Fonda" analogy, bring the debate into the "realm of the ridiculous."

"If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids," he said. "I don't think what happened yesterday is helpful to the American people."

The Republican Party is at war, folks.

 

[anitram]

I respect that he initiated a real filibuster and stood up there. And it's an issue that is worthy of both attention and discussion. Somebody commented the other day that Rand Paul sounded like MoveOn circa 2003, which is an interesting observation.

But let's not get too carried away with this guy, who has shown himself to be astoundingly stupid on many other issues. Did we forget his calls to end the Department of Education because, as he put it "I don’t like the idea of somebody in Washington deciding that Susie has two mommies is an appropriate family situation and should be taught to my kindergartner at school"? Is that now a libertarian view?

 

[INDY500]

Sens. McCain and Graham lambast 'ridiculous' drone filibuster by Paul - The Hill's DEFCON Hill

Two senior GOP Senate defense hawks say Sen. Rand Paul "cheapened" the debate over drone policy by making "ridiculous" arguments in a talking filibuster.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) sternly criticized the statements that Paul made on Wednesday in his attention-grabbing filibuster of CIA nominee John Brennan, which lasted for more than 12 hours.

"All I can say is I don’t think that what happened yesterday was helpful for the American people," McCain said.

I understand Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are now "an item" around D.C.; dining out together, appearing on television together, going to the Senate Men's room together, you get the picture, but this conservative is sick of 'em.

 

[BEAL]

I think this was more about Rand Paul's brand name than any sort of outrage. He's going to make a run in 2016 and this is his start

 

[the iron horse]

I respect that he initiated a real filibuster and stood up there. And it's an issue that is worthy of both attention and discussion. Somebody commented the other day that Rand Paul sounded like MoveOn circa 2003, which is an interesting observation.

But let's not get too carried away with this guy, who has shown himself to be astoundingly stupid on many other issues. Did we forget his calls to end the Department of Education because, as he put it "I don’t like the idea of somebody in Washington deciding that Susie has two mommies is an appropriate family situation and should be taught to my kindergartner at school"? Is that now a libertarian view?

I don't know the source of your quote by Ran Paul, but as a Libertarian and a public school teacher I agree.

The Department of Education is worthless.

 

[deep]

again, I will say I expect Rand Paul to have more impact than his father, certainly one to watch

Paul opened his speech with what he admitted was “spanglish,” proclaimed his love for Latin culture and the works of Pablo Neruda and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and discussed his youth in Texas at length.

“I wondered what circumstances must have been like in his country to choose an admittedly tough life in the shadows,” Paul said after recounting working alongside an undocumented immigrant who was making only $3 a day. “Growing up in Texas, I never met a Latino who wasn’t working.”

Read more: Rand Paul to ‘find a place’ for illegal immigrants - Kevin Robillard - POLITICO.com

Rand Paul Calls for Immigration Reform - US News and World Report

 

[Irvine511]

The GOP civil war is a thing to behold.