Senator uses old-style filibuster on CIA nominee
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican senator and tea party favorite from Kentucky used an old-style filibuster lasting nearly 13 hours to take control of the chamber and block Senate confirmation of John Brennan’s nomination to be CIA director.
Sen. Rand Paul ended his filibuster Thursday shortly after midnight, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, also a Kentucky Republican, said he would continue to oppose Brennan’s confirmation and resist ending the debate on President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the spy agency. SOURCE
All I can say is this; it’s about damned time that someone had *the stones* to actually stand up and tell it like it is! Apparently Sen. Rand Paul IS that someone and I have to give him kudos for doing so!
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, read Twitter messages from people eager to “Stand With Rand.” The Twitterverse, said Cruz, is “blowing up.” And as the night went on, Cruz spoke for longer periods as Paul leaned against a desk across the floor. Cruz, an insurgent Republican with strong tea party backing, read passages from Shakespeare’s “Henry V” and lines from the 1970 movie “Patton,” starring George C. Scott.
I also have to say “OH HELL YEAH, you get em Ted, kick ass and take names” to Sen. Ted Cruz for his participation in this effort, but I also want to offer a bit of advice; this ‘TEA Party Favorite” thing could very well work against you, be very careful. The TEA Party has strayed from its founding principles and could cause some folks to not take interest in the fight! I think the media is well aware of that and keeps tacking it on to every story in an effort to denigrate you and Sen. Paul.
Not all Republicans were as enthusiastic about Paul’s performance. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the prospect of drones being used to kill people in the United States was “ridiculous” and he called the debate “paranoia between libertarians and the hard left that is unjustified.”
Lindsey Graham is a RINO, he is the definition of RINO and if the good citizens of South Carolina had a lick of sense they would dump this whiny crybaby and get someone to take his place that was a real Conservative and had FORTITUDE!
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, echoed Graham. He said it is unconstitutional for the U.S. military or intelligence agencies to conduct lethal counterterrorism operations in the United States against U.S. citizens. Suggesting they can or might, Rogers said, “provokes needless fear and detracts attention from the real threats facing the country.”
Rep. Rogers, I know it’s unconstitutional, YOU know it’s unconstitutional, but do you even remotely believe that Barack Obama and Eric Holder give a DAMN about what is or is not constitutional?
Would Obama ever direct the use of drones against American citizens on U.S. soil? Some seem to think so while others say no. Personally, I believe that Obama and his band of crooks, liars and tax cheats would do anything they thought they could get by with in order to keep Obama in power, up to and including killing Americans that stood in their way! Holder: Yep, Obama could kill Americans on U.S. soil
How can you be sure that Sen. Rand Paul is doing the right thing?
ACLU Backs Paul’s Filibuster
On Wednesday afternoon, Christopher Anders, Senior Legislative Council at the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington D.C., spoke with Breitbart News exclusively about Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster of the John Brennan nomination to CIA director over the administration’s failures to answer questions about domestic use of drones. Anders backed Paul to the hilt, and was highly critical of the Obama administration. SOURCE
I never thought there would be a time when I was in agreement with the ACLU. Maybe someone needs to check and see if HELL has frozen over.
Fred, I don’t trust Rand any further that I can throw him. I feel it’s all “smoke and mirrors” to placate the “sheeple” and keep them out of the loop… Speaking of trust, I no longer trust my government period.
Here’s a copy of my letter to my congress folks and Sentators.
RE: Sequestraion : The proposed furlough is necessitated by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, (“ATRA”) (P.L. 112-240) and the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25) which implements across-the-board spending cuts (also known as “sequestration”) by program, project and activity within a budget account. This furlough is proposed to promote the efficiency of the service by avoiding a deficit of funds in Fiscal Year 2013.
We plan to apply the following procedures and conditions related to the furlough:
The furlough will be on discontinuous days, beginning on or about April 7, through September 30, 2013. Full time employees will be furloughed no more than eleven (11) workdays or eighty-eight (88) hours. If you are a part-time employee, your furlough time off will be prorated, based on your work schedule. You will need to follow your supervisor’s instructions or comply with applicable collective bargaining agreements regarding a specific schedule for furlough time off.
All the above while Secretary of State John Kerry is guaranteeing countries like Syria, $60 million of our tax dollars, and Egypt a further $250 million in foreign aid?
If our government is willing to allow our own citizens to suffer while throwing our tax dollars at our enemies, then our priorities are grossly out of order. As a retired military veteran, I know very well how to do “more with less”. And I don’t mind doing my part. But the idea that our government is willing to support foreign governments BEFORE its own citizens is unconscionable.
I don’t care about conservative or liberal agendas. I care about my country. I believe that when it comes to our tax dollars, our country and its citizens should come first. If Congress needs to cut my pay by 20% to help pay down the debt, then I am willing to do my part. I won’t like it, and I don’t deserve it, but I’ll deal with it. But if you’re going to do that, at least have the courtesy to stop wasting additional tax dollars on pointless foreign aid to countries that hate us.
Sir, I don’t mind taking food from my table so that my own countrymen can eat. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to be happy about taking food from my table to feed my country’s enemies.
Smoke and mirrors it may be, but trust, and taking this nation back has to start somewhere… Maybe yesterday was the *warning shot* that has been long over due…
“Personally, I believe that Obama and his band of crooks, liars and tax cheats would do anything they thought they could get by with in order to keep Obama in power, up to and including killing Americans that stood in their way! Holder: Yep, Obama could kill Americans on U.S. soil” … Your words and my thoughts as well. When a man does nothing but lie and voted several times to let babies (yes, humans) born ALIVE die, we had better believe he will kill us for his own benefit and agenda.
The wheel started to turn with Woodward, and the wheel turned a bit more with Paul yesterday. The journey starts with just one step.
Fully agreed… We didn’t get IN this mess overnight, we won’t get OUT of it overnight either…
McCain took a moment to mock Rand today, and Graham flipped as well, reafirming whom we know as RINOs
Paul, whether a sneaky bastard or not, did something noteworthy, and some of his “fellow” Replublicans hung him out to dry.
piss on ’em!
Rand Paul did it for show. He voted for Brennan and just did it to make a point about drones. Personally if Rand Paul is the nominee, I’ll vote for who ever the Democrats are running.
Well shit, he DID vote for him… Doesn’t that just make you wonder what the hell kind of idiot he REALLY is?
McCain and Graham simply need to go. I am SO tired of them.
But here’s where I spill the beans: the underlying subcurrent is that Hillary Clinton is going to be OUT for 2016 due to various health issues. The Subtext Birdie indicates that funding and power is already lining up to back Michelle Obama in 2016.
BZ
No plans to kill Americans? UN-Constitutional? Can anyone here say “Fast and Furious?” Like the obananites give a damn about the Constitution. The only smoke and mirrors is that being dished up by the MSM. Putting up RINO’s as supposed conservatives. That, and branding some people with balls “TEA party favorites.” When they are as aware as any of us how the TEA Party has gone astray. They are in my opinion, as bad as the current crop of libertarians. Who most certainly are not of the Libertarian stripe that Reagan called the heart and soul of conservatism.
I do not trust the government at this time. Not at all.