Rand Paul's filibuster: Can the GOP begin a comeback as the civil liberties party?
Senate Television, via Associated Press
As I write this, Senator Rand Paul's filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nomination reaches the twelve hour mark. Republicans do not have the 41 necessary votes to block the nomination, and Paul himself has stated that the filibuster has nothing to do with who is being nominated, but needs clarification on one simple point from the administration, at which point he will gladly yield the floor for a vote: Does President Obama believe that he has the Constitutional authority to kill non-combative American Citizens on American soil without due process?
When the Democratic Party lost its billing as America's "conservative" political body, a movement to take up civil liberties as their cause took hold as a way of continuing their assumed role as the "voice" of the little guy. Somewhere along the way, during the 80's, 90's and beyond, the "little guy" was no longer trusted with his firearms, freedom of speech (when it didn't jive with Marxist theory), and now his right to due process.
Neither of the big two parties has had the greatest record (on much of anything) since the end of the Reagan era, the Republican Party having begun its slide into neo-conservatism during the George H.W. Bush presidency. But perhaps, at least on civil-liberties, the GOP is about to make a comeback under the direction of Dr. Rand Paul and friends and their war on drones.
In true "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" form, Paul, and a whole host of liberty loving colleagues from both parties in Washington gave a virtual Constitutional law course on C-SPAN2 and beyond for the whole world to see, and all the Senator asked was for a response to his simple question. As #StandWithRand trends at or near the top on Twitter, the filibuster continues even as I write these words.
With the Democrats fighting tooth and nail against the Second Amendment, and now remaining silent as their Nobel Peace Prize winning President is hush hush on his stance on due process (Fifth Amendment), the GOP is on the verge of regaining their street cred as a party that cares about more than just gun rights.
How long will the blockade last? Will the President respond?
