Originally posted at Rhinehold's Blog.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is filibustering the Brennan nomination live on C-Span. Much more than the fact that he has decided to filibuster is what he saying and why he is filibustering. I recommend everyone watch what he is saying today, he intends to speak for as long as he can. Sen Paul did vote for other Obama nominations, this is not a ‘oppose Obama at all costs’ filibuster threat, this is a person who is sincerely concerned about liberty in the US, the accumulation of power by the President to be prosecutor, judge and jury on who should be killed and restraint on the abuses of power of the government.
From Sen Paul’s Facebook page:
Over the next few hours, I will be speaking on the Senate floor to discuss at length my opposition to John Brennan’s nomination to be director of the CIA, as well as my concern over the constitutionality of the use of drone attacks on Americans and on U.S. soil.
See Paul’s inquiries to Brennan about domestic drones here, here, and here.
A excerpt from a Paul press release:
Attorney General Holder stated in a letter to Sen. Paul dated March 4, 2013: “It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States.”
“The U.S. Attorney General’s refusal to rule out the possibility of drone strikes on American citizens and on American soil is more than frightening – it is an affront the Constitutional due process rights of all Americans,” Sen. Paul said.
Sen. Paul also received a letter in response from Mr. Brennan, clarifying the CIA does not have the power to authorize such operations. Notably missing from Mr. Brennan’s response are answers to the myriad other questions Sen. Paul posed to him in previous correspondence.
