Unlike cowardly California reps, the junior Senator from Kentucky defends Constitutional rights
Sentinel Editorial
While the simpering lickspittle politicians spend their time sucking up to corporate lobbyists at their endless round of fundraisers, a few brave souls in the United States Senate are actually on the floor of the Senate doing their job.
Bringing back the novel idea that a filibuster actually involves holding the floor and speaking — a spectacle last witnessed when Senator Bernie Sanders (Ind.-Vermont) held the floor for nearly a day to hold up Obama’s tax cuts for the wealthy in 2010 — the junior Senator from Kentucky took the floor this morning, and as of press time, has not relinquished it.
Rand Paul (Rep.-Kentucky) is holding up the confirmation vote on John Brennan, who served as a Central Intelligence Agency official during the George W. Bush administration, to be the director of said spy shack. Brennan’s role in the Bush-era launch of indiscriminate rendition and torture of suspects in the never-ending War on Terror is legendary, but Paul is specifically targeting the purported “right” of the Obama regime to used unmanned aerial drones to kill anyone on Earth, without judge, jury or conviction under any due process.
“The idea that you don’t get due process is really repugnant to the American people, and it should be,” Paul said on the Senate floor just minutes ago. “There should be a huge outcry, and the president should come forward and explain his position.”
“There are some rights that are so special that we aren’t willing to give up on these…it’s about principles that are bigger than the people involved. It’s about Constitutional principles.”
We couldn’t agree more. The power to kill at will is the power of a dictator, no matter how much Obama says he isn’t one.
Thankfully, there are a few brave Senators that agree, including Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas), Jerry Moran (Kansas), Marco Rubio (Florida), Saxby Chambliss (Georgia) and Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania). Oddly enough, all these men are Republicans, and several of them were silent when the Bush Administration promulgated the very Constitution-shredding policies that Obama has expanded.
Paul says he would be doing the same thing even if a Republican were in the White House, and we are grateful that somebody on Capitol Hill puts their oath of office ahead of their political party.
Somebody else up there is acting in a similarly honorable fashion: Ron Wyden (Dem.-Oregon), who has also stood up against the National Defense Authorization Act and various other attacks on civil liberties over the last several years.Nowhere to be seen, naturally, are Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California. Their lack of respect for the Bill of Rights and their disregard for the tyrannical direction of the federal government have been confirmed by their negligence — and in the case of Feinstein, active cheerleading for more police state powers to be concentrated in the Executive Branch.
Tune in to CSPAN-2 and see for yourself what a real American hero looks like. Rand Paul, we salute you, and we salute everyone who stands with the Constitution against its domestic enemies.
Sorry no one read this article, they were too busy commenting about pot and criminals on other blogs. This is one of the most terrifying and slow creeping things to be allowed to happen. I have been posting articles about the chain of events covering the drones for two years, and have alienated a few friends over this. what has happened to us as free people? Why is this OK? Where is the outrage? If it were a republican then maybe a yell from the left?
Thanks for the attempt to awaken us Humboldt Sentinel, may its just you and me paying attention to real stuff.
Well said, thanks for providing local commentary to a national issue.