Thursday, March 07, 2013

Filibuster +12 hrs: High Drama in the Senate

It's past midnight here on the right coast and Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) is continuing his historic filibuster. It has been over twelve hours since he seized control of the Senate floor and announced that he would not yield it until either his voice failed or the White House definitively answered the question which can be summed up as "Does the President believe he has the legal authority to assassinate American citizens on US soil without trial?"

The galleries are reported to be packed with spectators including many members of the House of Representatives who have come over to witness this rarest of congressional spectacles. For the first time I can remember, excepting votes or quorum calls, the floor of the Senate chamber is crowded with Senators from both parties, some of whom have been making lengthy remarks thinly disguised as questions in an effort to give Senator Paul a break from the long ordeal of continually standing and speaking.

True filibusters are exceedingly rare and one of this duration has not been seen in decades. And yes they actually have records of the longer ones and Senator Paul has a ways to go if he wants to break the records for any of the five longest filibusters...

5. Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.): 4 a.m.
4. Sen. Robert La Follette (R-Wis.): 6:11 a.m.
3. Sen. Wayne Morse (I-Ore.): 10:14 a.m.
2. D’Amato: 11:18 a.m.
1. Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-S.C): 12:06 p.m

Stand with Rand!

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