Rand live on Tee Vee doing an old-fashioned filibuster

[phideaux]

He's objecting to the use of drones against US citizens, holding up the Brennan CIA nomination.

The news babe of Fox Tee Vee can't believe it.

[Garyw]

Rand says what we like to hear but I feel he is in the pocket of the republican party. I watched meet the press a week or so and Carl Rove the enemy said someone like Rand Paul will be our next president. I will not vote for him. I would vote for someone like Justin Amash instead.

[phideaux]

Rand says what we like to hear but I feel he is in the pocket of the republican party. I watched meet the press a week or so and Carl Rove the enemy said someone like Rand Paul will be our next president. I will not vote for him. I would vote for someone like Justin Amash instead.

I agree that Rand leaves a lot to be desired. I have been very critical of several of his recent statements and actions. I can never forgive him for endorsing Smittens Romney last year.

That said, despite his flaws Rand is the best there is in the Senate right now. and he is doing a lot of good.

[Tinbox]

Rand says what we like to hear but I feel he is in the pocket of the republican party. I watched meet the press a week or so and Carl Rove the enemy said someone like Rand Paul will be our next president. I will not vote for him. I would vote for someone like Justin Amash instead.

Considering who his dad is I think I will give him the benefit of the doubt on some issues. He may just be posturing to give himself a chance at being elected president, or maybe he really does differ on some big issues from his father.

I don't see why you wouldn't take the chance on him though if he had a chance at being elected.

That said, I don't think any change is going to come from within the system, it is probably too far gone to save.

[Dude]

I'm throwing all my weight towards Linus van Pelt, because you know where we are living...

[phideaux]

I'm throwing all my weight towards Linus van Pelt, because you know where we are living...

Why not the first female president, Lucy?

[specsaregood]

I agree that Rand leaves a lot to be desired. I have been very critical of several of his recent statements and actions. I can never forgive him for endorsing Smittens Romney last year.

That said, despite his flaws Rand is the best there is in the Senate right now. and he is doing a lot of good.

His book really cleared up for me, how/why he's been doing what he's been doing.

I was immediately summoned to a meeting. This meeting involved a senior Republican senator with an interest in the wetlands issue. It also involved the lobbyists for nearly a dozen interest groups. I already had the support of many of the members these groups purported to represent here, but I was in for a surprise.

I was basically told to sit down and shut up. Industry was not interested in fighting the battle, I was told. This particular senior senator told me there was no point, that we would lose. The old Guard and the Beseechers sensed someone messing with their turf.

I was having none of it. In fact, it just made me more sure what I was doing was right and more determined to take this battle forward.
--Rand Paul

Even the supposed lobbyists who should support his bills; didn't want him to do it. He figured out that a gradual incremental populist approach was the only hope to get anything done. Or at least make a lot of noise.

[specsaregood]

He's objecting to the use of drones against US citizens, holding up the Brennan CIA nomination.

The news babe of Fox Tee Vee can't believe it.

On cspan.
http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN2/

[<===Foolsgold]

I am listening right now, interesting and informative. I don't see how reasonable people could disagree with his position.

[GOLD DUCK]

QWAK,You can't PISS on a FOREST FIRE and put it out --- with enough people and equipment you MAY posably contain it BUT the FIRE will have to BURN it self out by runing out of fuel for the fire!

The FUEL for the FIRE is an unlimited supply of $$$ --- sucks but it's true!

the DUCK

[<===Foolsgold]

A democrat with some scruples getting into the act too.

[specsaregood]

I wouldn't go that far, watch as he twists to carry water for the executive branch.

A democrat with some scruples getting into the act too.

[Ishkabibble]

Considering who his dad is I think I will give him the benefit of the doubt on some issues. He may just be posturing to give himself a chance at being elected president, or maybe he really does differ on some big issues from his father.

I don't see why you wouldn't take the chance on him though if he had a chance at being elected.

That said, I don't think any change is going to come from within the system, it is probably too far gone to save.

Rand watched his father's political career and he learned. You have to blend in to have a chance at getting to the top. If he followed in his father's footsteps, he'd follow all the way out the door without ever sitting in 'the' chair. He knows it, I know it, and I think everyone here knows it. I likewise give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm betting the apple fell closer to the tree than it seems.

[pre-64']

http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN2/

[<===Foolsgold]

I wouldn't go that far, watch as he twists to carry water for the executive branch.

I was called to a meeting and had to stop listening during his talk. Thanks for keeping me informed.

[specsaregood]

Reid just tried to get Rand to put his filibuster on hold so they could vote. Rand told him if the administration would put in writing that they do not have the authority to kill us citizens in the US that he would. Reid said he didn't speak for the administration. Rand said, then I object. Reid then said, well we should all leave and come back tomorrow then. Tried to get everybody to leave, and everybody kinda looked at reid, like wtf are you talking about. It was kinda awkward.

[<===Foolsgold]

I am unable to watch, when you say Reid do you mean Harry Reid?

If you do F him that worthless POS.

[gringott]

I am unable to watch, when you say Reid do you mean Harry Reid?

If you do F him that worthless POS.

Harry Reid was pissed off. He wants Rand to STFU or they will drone him. What is this "Constitution" thing Rand speaks of, says Harry.

Rand says the President hasn't executed an American on American soil without trial by drone. YET.

[phideaux]

What happens when Rand has to take a pee break

[birddog]

What happens when Rand has to take a pee break

Others step in and talk till he gets back. Ted Cruz got in there a bit earlier.

Did anyone hear the bit when Cruz was pushing Holder to say that killing Americans with drones was unconstitutional? I need to find that and post it.....

[specsaregood]

Harry Reid was pissed off. He wants Rand to STFU or they will drone him. What is this "Constitution" thing Rand speaks of, says Harry.
Rand says the President hasn't executed an American on American soil without trial by drone. YET.

So, if Reid and gang goes home and Rand is still filibustering it means the senate is still open for business right? I wonder what he could do. Gonna have to look that up.

[specsaregood]

Still going strong. Had to drop his PAC a couple bucks.
http://www.randpac.com/

[SongSungAU]

Still going strong. Had to drop his PAC a couple bucks.
http://www.randpac.com/

yep. Like the Energizer Bunny... still going.
I missed seeing Ted Cruz but right now Mike Lee is speaking.





There are some good ones in the Senate. Things could be much worse... they could all be Harry Reids....

[gringott]

Here we are 9:42 Eastern, still going.

[phideaux]

Might as well put a ticker thing on the bottom of the screen:

"randpaul2016.com"

[specsaregood]

Its getting crowded on the floor now. The RNC put out a call for all GOP senators to show up and support Rand.

[Mr Paradise]

Rand Paul voted for the NDAA bill.

[chris_is_here]

Rand Paul voted for the NDAA bill.

Whoa, big fella.

Rand voted for the NDAA after he forced passage of a separate measure that stated that the indefinite detention provision of NDAA could not be applied to american citizens. While I still despise the NDAA, since the funding included in it will further the wars, I still understand Rand's position. He is not going to be able to be a one-man army against the looters; he did the best he could have done in that situation.

[Oldmansmith]

Go Rand GO!!!!!!!!

Funny my Massachusetts "liberal" senators think it is just fine and dandy to blow up Americans because Obama says they are "bad guys." Liberal like Stalin.

[Mr Paradise]

Rand Paul voted for Chuck Hagel as new Secretary of Defense.

[bemac]

Rand watched his father's political career and he learned. You have to blend in to have a chance at getting to the top. If he followed in his father's footsteps, he'd follow all the way out the door without ever sitting in 'the' chair. He knows it, I know it, and I think everyone here knows it. I likewise give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm betting the apple fell closer to the tree than it seems.

I hope that's the case, Ish.

Let's remember, his dad never really wanted to be at the top. He was too humble, too conservative, and I'm not using that word in the political sense. He would have been president only if the people actually pushed him there. He wasn't interested in actually selling the idea of him actually being president. His son seems to be more determined, more savvy, and more ballsy.

[Mr Paradise]

Rand Paul voted in favor of the $631 Billion defense budget. $88.5 Billion goes to ongoing wars.

[phideaux]

His son seems to be more determined, more savvy, and more ballsy.

... and also more willing to compromise and appease TPTB.

[Mr Paradise]

Rand Paul voted NO on GMO labeling.

[phideaux]

NY Times Op-Ed.

Talk Of The Town

By GAIL COLLINS

Published: March 6, 2013 120 Comments

Senator Rand Paul has his faults. Who among us can forget the time he ranted at a representative of the Department of Energy about the inadequacy of his bathroom plumbing? (“You busybodies always want to do something to tell us how we can live our lives better. ... I’ve been waiting for 20 years to talk about how bad these toilets are.”)




But you have to give him credit for effort. On Wednesday, the capital was under a snowstorm warning, and you know how wimpy people in Washington get when there’s even a hint of snow. Everybody wanted to get out and get home. Then Paul brought the Senate to a grinding halt by staging a filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan to be head of the C.I.A.

“I’m here today to speak for as long as I can hold up,” he announced. And off he went.

Paul had no particular problem with the nomination, which he acknowledged was going to pass once he stopped talking. But the debate over Brennan had brought up the question of drone strikes. The junior senator from Kentucky wanted President Obama to promise not to use drones to kill Americans on American soil. “At least we need to know what are the rules,” he said sometime during hour five.

Fair enough. The Obama administration had been unnecessarily dodgy on this point. The very fact that the president was ordering the death of American citizens anywhere without oversight was worrying. Shouldn’t there be a special court to sign off on these things?

“I really don’t think he’ll drop a Hellfire missile on a cafe in Houston,” admitted Paul. But he pressed for a clear line. In the process, he quoted from Alice in Wonderland, analyzed a Supreme Court ruling on birth control and expressed a negative opinion about Jane Fonda.

He was also frequently hard to take, especially when he got the occasional helping hand from a Tea Party supporter. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas enthusiastically noted that Paul was staging a rebellion on the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo and compared the filibuster to the famous letter from its commander, William Travis, which ended with “Victory or death.” This was the very same letter George W. Bush once quoted to American golfers battling for the Ryder Cup. Once in a while, it would be nice if a politician from Texas pointed out that it’s possible to stand up for principle without fatalities.

The whole drama was most important as a mirror to the way the Senate normally does business. Look at what happened on Wednesday, people, and you can see why Democratic reformers wanted to change the rules and bring back the talking filibuster. Compare Paul’s behavior to that of Mitch McConnell, the minority leader. Earlier in the day, McConnell had staged a filibuster under the usual system: He blocked the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to the D.C. circuit court by filing a piece of paper.

Halligan’s nomination has been moldering for two years now. Her fate is an excellent example of everything people hate about the way Washington works. She’s completely qualified, a former solicitor general for New York State. Nobody questions her character. But she cannot get an up-or-down vote. McConnell’s opposition is partly partisan (the Republicans want to keep majority control of the powerful D.C. circuit) and partly a bow to the National Rifle Association, which has recently gotten into the business of vetting major judicial nominations.

Would any Republican have spent a night fending off hunger, thirst and the need for bathroom breaks to stop Halligan’s nomination? We’ll never know. All McConnell had to do was just say no. Harry Reid, the majority leader, needed 60 votes to proceed. End of story. End of Halligan.

Paul has, in the past, been willing to work on that side of the road himself. His attempt to stop flood insurance legislation by demanding that it include a fetal-rights bill lives on in memory.

But his performance on Wednesday was different, an arresting combination of endurance, ego and principle. It was only the second filibuster speech to break the five-hour mark since 1992. The other was in 2010, when Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont led an eight-and-a-half-hour rant against the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Sanders and Paul have very little in common, but they are both men with very clear and consistent political philosophies.

You don’t want to get carried away with the romance of this kind of thing. The talkathon in 1992 was staged by the deeply pragmatic Al D’Amato of New York to save an upstate typewriter factory. Remember Strom Thurmond and segregation. And “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” was only a movie.

Still, after years of faux filibusters, it was a nice change of pace. Exhausting yourself and irritating your colleagues for a cause is way better than stopping progress without taking the least bit of trouble.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/op...it_th_20130307

[phideaux]

March 6, 2013, 10:01 pm2 Comments


Republicans, Led by Rand Paul, Finally End Filibuster

By ASHLEY PARKER



Alex Wong/Getty Images Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was shown on screen in the Senate Press Gallery during his filibuster on Wednesday.


1:27 a.m. | Updated WASHINGTON — A small group of Republicans, led by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, stalled the Senate on Wednesday by waging a nearly 13-hour old-school, speak-until-you-can-speak-no-more filibuster over the government’s use of lethal drone strikes — forcing the Senate to delay the expected confirmation of John O. Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mr. Paul, who opposes Mr. Brennan’s nomination, followed through on his plan to filibuster the confirmation of President Obama’s nominee after receiving a letter this month from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. that refused to rule out the use of drone strikes within the United States in “extraordinary circumstances” like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On Wednesday, Mr. Paul did exactly as promised, taking to the Senate floor shortly before noon and holding forth for 12 hours and 52 minutes.

Mr. Paul finally wound down shortly before 1 a.m. on Thursday, surrounded by a group of Republican senators and House members who had joined him on the Senate floor in a show of solidarity.

“I would go for another 12 hours to try to break Strom Thurmond’s record, but I’ve discovered that there are some limits to filibustering and I’m going to have to go take care of one of those in a few minutes here,” Mr. Paul said to knowing laughter as he referred to the legendary South Carolina senator known for his 28-hour filibuster. (Mr. Paul could not leave the floor to use the bathroom, making his filibuster at a certain point seem less a standoff between the senator from Kentucky and the administration than a battle between Mr. Paul and his own bladder.)

After almost 13 hours, Mr. Paul offered his final words: “I thank you very much for the forbearance, and I yield the floor,” he said, to loud applause.

Earlier in the evening, as the filibuster moved into its 11th and 12th hours, the mood grew increasingly punchy, with Mr. Paul’s Republican Senate colleagues — who had joined him on the Senate floor periodically throughout the event — making repeat appearances and quoting liberally from pop culture and literature.

Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, at one point seemed to stage a mini-filibuster of the filibuster, reading from Shakespeare (“Henry V”) and quoting from “Patton.”

Not to be outdone, Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, took to the floor for his second appearance of the filibuster, quoting the rapper Wiz Khalifa, as well as “that modern-day poet by the name of Jay-Z.” Mr. Rubio also quoted from “The Godfather” three times — including, he said, a quote that never made it from the script into the movie. (“A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than 100 men with guns can steal.”)

“I don’t know how that’s relevant to this,” Mr. Rubio admitted, “but I thought I’d bring it up.”
At a certain point, as the hour edged closer to midnight, participating in the filibuster seemed to become the gold standard among Senate Republicans, with a parade of Republican senators — Jeff Flake of Arizona; Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader in the Senate; and Tim Scott of South Carolina — emerging for the first time to show their support for Mr. Paul’s cause, not to mention the C-SPAN cameras.

Mr. McConnell even made some news of his own Wednesday night, when he stated on the Senate floor that he planned to oppose Mr. Brennan’s nomination.

“At whatever point we get to a cloture vote to extend debate on the nomination of Brennan, it is my view that cloture should not be invoked,” Mr. McConnell said. “This is a controversial nominee. Should cloture be invoked, I intend to oppose the nomination and congratulate my colleague from Kentucky for this extraordinary effort.”

The filibuster started just before noon on Wednesday, with Mr. Paul ostensibly objecting to Mr. Brennan’s nomination. But in fact, Mr. Paul’s main concerns were those of the civil liberties and Constitutional rights, which he said are under attack by the administration’s potential use of unmanned drone strikes on American citizens on United States soil. (By Mr. Paul’s own admission, Mr. Brennan, who as the White House counterterrorism adviser was the chief architect of the largely clandestine drone program, served as a good proxy.)

“What will be the standard for how we kill Americans in America?” Mr. Paul asked at one point. “Could political dissent be part of the standard for drone strikes?”

Referring to Jane Fonda, who went to North Vietnam during the war there to publicly denounce the United States’s presence in the country, Mr. Paul added: “Now, while I’m not a great fan of Jane Fonda, I’m really not so interested in putting her on a drone kill list either.”

Repeatedly, Mr. Paul explained that his true goal was simply to get a response from the administration saying it would not use drone strikes to take out American citizens on United States soil.
Unlike some historic filibusters, in which senators have read from the phone book or recited the Declaration of Independence to kill time, Mr. Paul kept the focus squarely on drones, using most of his time to discuss questions of actual policy.

Still, as the filibuster dragged on, it began to resemble a Shakespearean drama, complete with cameos from other A-list actors (a group of more than a dozen senators who periodically joined Mr. Paul on the floor); a title all its own (the “filiblizzard,” a nickname courtesy of Twitter users); and some willing extras (eager Senate pages, purposefully striding across the stage to deliver Mr. Paul fresh glasses of water.)
Although he never yielded the floor — a move that would have effectively ended his talkathon — Mr. Paul did, with some apparent relief, yield periodically to take questions from his Republican colleagues.
Mr. Cruz, who was a repeat guest at the Rand Paul filibuster show, began his first question by making the obvious allusion, referring to Mr. Paul as a “modern-day ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,’ ” joking that his effort would “surely be making Jimmy Stewart smile.”

And, perhaps befitting of another public — but hopeless — stand, Mr. Cruz also took the opportunity to remind the chamber that Wednesday was the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, noting with some pride that Mr. Paul “is originally from the great state of Texas.”

Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, stopped by earlier in the day to offer some bipartisan support.
He said that while he had voted in favor of Mr. Brennan’s nomination on Tuesday at a Senate Intelligence Committee meeting and planned to vote for him again on the Senate floor, he believed that Mr. Paul “has made a number of important points” about the administration’s lethal drone program.

“The 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,” he said.
Other members who made cameos throughout the day — and night — included the Republican senators John Barrasso of Wyoming; Saxby Chambliss of Georgia; John Cornyn of Texas; Mark Steven Kirk of Illinois; Mike Lee of Utah; Jerry Moran of Kansas; and John Thune of South Dakota.

Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, presided over much of the filibuster, and even engaged Mr. Paul in a late-night debate over the Sept. 11 attacks.

The filibuster, which by its end had become must-watch reality television for much of the inside-the-Beltway crowd, offered its fair share of quirky moments. Mr. Paul, for instance, ate a “dinner” of a mystery candy bar, continuing his speech through mouthfuls of chocolate. And later, Mr. Kirk, who walks with considerable effort after a stroke in 2012, slowly made his way onto the floor with the help of a walker to place a thermos of green tea and an apple next to Mr. Paul’s desk.

Mr. Cruz also read from a list of Twitter messages in support of Mr. Paul’s filibuster. Though electronic devices are not allowed on the Senate floor, Mr. Cruz informed his friend that Twitter was “blowing up” over the day’s events. (“I was getting kind of tired,” Mr. Paul said, thanking Mr. Cruz for “cheering me up.”)

Shortly before 1 a.m., Mr. Paul was finally ready to yield the floor. The entire chamber erupted in applause — and Mr. Paul, presumably, headed off to find the nearest bathroom.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2...it_th_20130307

[Bushpilot]

Perhaps he should have been better prepared like the astronaut chic and wore a diaper to floor, he could have given old Thurman a run for his money.

BP

[specsaregood]

Perhaps he should have been better prepared like the astronaut chic and wore a diaper to floor, he could have given old Thurman a run for his money.

BP

They changed the rules since Thurmond's time. Thurmond was allowed to take an hour and half of breaks including time to sit as well as crap and piss.

[bemac]

[bemac]

[specsaregood]

Rand got his request, in writing. This is what he asked for at the beginning of his filibuster and said he would stop the filibuster if they would just answer the question.

[Josey]

His son seems to be more determined, more savvy, and more ballsy.

And I am betting that comes from his upbringing.

[birddog]

The problem as I see it, is WHO gets to define "engaged in combat on American soil". I'm sure they could justify killing us GIMers just be cause we say something against Lord 0bama.

[viking]

Rand got his request, in writing. This is what he asked for at the beginning of his filibuster and said he would stop the filibuster if they would just answer the question.

Holder, define "combat."

[Josey]

The senator "should know better," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said, arguing that some of the concerns raised about drone missile attacks on Americans -- like Paul's suggestion that the U.S. could have killed Jane Fonda when she went to North Vietnam -- were "ridiculous."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., displayed a sign that showed the number of Americans killed in the U.S. by Al Qaeda -- 2,958 -- versus the number killed in the U.S. by drones, which is zero.

^^ Just FYI ^^


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...#ixzz2Mtf2QvU4

Though Paul's 13-hour stand drew praise from all sides of the political spectrum

Instead of praising him they should have took their turn standing up until it hurt.

[bemac]

Graham and McCain can go F themselves for all I care. They're upset because Rand is bringing attention to the entirety of Obama's drone program, which those two support 100%.

[Josey]

Go to your senators FB page and read the comments LOL, after laughing let them know your feelings also.This could be the act that creates excitement in the Republican Party same as we seen grow with Barry and the Demoncrats in 08. Remember you can’t fool all the people all the time.

[phideaux]

The tone of that letter from Holder is just appalling and despicable. It shows nothing but contempt for the US Senate, Rand Paul and the US Constitution.

F U, Holder.

[smooth]

The tone of that letter from Holder is just appalling and despicable. It shows nothing but contempt for the US Senate, Rand Paul and the US Constitution.

F U, Holder.

But I'll bet it was very painful for Holder to write. Large egos dont like being forced to show their hand and the Husseins know that people are eating this up. Can you say "red ass"

[birddog]

The tone of that letter from Holder is just appalling and despicable. It shows nothing but contempt for the US Senate, Rand Paul and the US Constitution.

F U, Holder.

It does show that Holder and 0bama have some very thin skin. Lol, it sounds like something a grade school kid would say.....