MY THOUGHTS ON THE FILIBUSTER

Senator Rand Paul is one of the very few in the current crop of Senators that I still trust and respect.  I do like the two Senators from Oklahoma, and agree with them on most issues.  However, they did not vote against giving the F-16s to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and I would have thought that would have been a no-brainer.

I really like the way Senator Paul used the filibuster to force a reply from the White-house.  I’m not much of a conspiracy theorists, well, at least not without good cause.  However I must admit it really made me cringe to hear the Attorney General of the United States claim that the President has the constitutional right to kill any American without due process of law within the borders of the United States?

Holder’s reply to Paul’s question about whether President Obama has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial was. “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.”

I am disappointed but not at all surprised that there are news media talking heads and writers on the Left who agree with Holder and believe Obama should have the power to whack anyone whom he believes to be an enemy of the state.  Also, I saw a survey taken by MSNBC that indicated the majority of their viewers believe Obama should have that power.  That speaks volumes about the people who watch that network.

Of course such an action would be in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh amendments of the Constitution, as they guard against illegal searches and seizures, forbids punishment without due process of law and guarantees that the accused can face his accusers in open court, guarantees a speedy public trial and assures that trial by a jury of one’s peers, respectively.  One would think that would make it a no-brainer.  But if this administration is eager and willing to ignore the Second amendment, why wouldn’t they believe they could ignore them all?

I was just listening to Shepard Smith on the Fox News going on and on about what a total waste of time the filibuster was.  I totally disagree with him.  I think it was necessary to get it on the record just exactly what this administration believes that can and cannot constitutionally do to American citizens.

This Attorney General, Eric Holder, who said he believes that the president is legally entitled to kill any American that he in his judgment believes is as enemy of the state, is the very same Eric Holder who refused to prosecute clear examples of voter intimidation and voter fraud on the part of the New Black Panther Party caught on camera in Philadelphia during the 2008 presidential election.

 I do not believe that a person with such little understanding or respect for the Constitution, which is the legal basis on which the United States exists, is qualified to be Attorney General, and I believe forcing him to clarify his statement was the proper thing to do.