[Vision2020] Rand Paul, one more time

[Joe Campbell]

So I've waited a few days and I've done a little bit of research and
my verdict thus far on Rand Paul is that the filibuster was not the
good deed some folks (Sunil, Paul) thought that it was.

In today's Washington Post, for instance, he says the following: "I
wanted to sound an alarm bell from coast to coast. I wanted everybody
to know that our Constitution is precious and that no American should
be killed by a drone without first being charged with a crime. As
Americans, we have fought long and hard for the Bill of Rights. The
idea that no person shall be held without due process, and that no
person shall be held for a capital offense without being indicted, is
a founding American principle and a basic right."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/sen-rand-paul-my-filibuster-was-just-the-beginning/2013/03/08/6352d8a8-881b-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394_story.html?hpid=z2

This -- the only substantive reason he gave for his filibuster in the
WP today -- has NOTHING to do with drone killings in other countries;
nor does it have anything to do with other kinds of civil liberty
violations, such as improper searches. Then there is the point that
Rose mentioned: How is killing someone with a drone more of a
violation of their Constitutional rights than merely shooting them,
which happens fairly regularly when police are trying to apprehend a
suspect?

I love Rand Paul's hair and I want to like him but he seems like a
fake. He raised the issue knowing it was vague and ambiguous to gain a
fair amount of support -- from well meaning people like Sunil and Paul
who are concerned about other important issue related to drones. But
he didn't talk about the other important issues.

And there is something particularly annoying about fiscal libertarians
who are anti-abortion. This isn't a real quote from Rand Paul but it
might as well be: "The government should stay OUT of your life --
unless it comes to my own personal beliefs, which you should be forced
to accept. And by the way, once you pop that baby out, you've got to
raise it on your own because I'm cutting all the government programs
which might have helped your baby."