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Image Source: CNN
BY ALEX MALLIN
A winter storm wasn’t the only thing keeping Senators stranded in the nation’s capitol
as Senator Rand Paul began an old school “talk-til-you-drop” filibuster.
“I will speak until I can
no longer speak. I will speak as long as it takes until the alarm is sounded from coast
to coast that our Constitution is important.”
[via ABC News]
The filibuster’s focus: John
Brennan, Obama’s pick to head the CIA. Paul launched his protest in response to a Justice
Department memo claiming the U.S. could use drones against American citizens within the
U.S. in extreme circumstances.
He started a little before noon eastern time, and showed
no signs of slowing as several colleagues lended a helping hand.
Paul has been
a vocal opposition to the domestic use of drones, and received a letter last week from
Attorney
General Eric Holder, who said the use of drones should be available in the theoretical event
of a 9/11-style terrorist attack.
Paul spoke to Fox News’ Sean Hannity earlier
and said that response wasn’t good enough.
“His response is we haven’t killed any Americans
yet, we don’t intend to, but we might. And that’s pretty disturbing.”
Paul even
tweeted at the start of his speech using the hashtag “filliblizzard” which trended
nationally shortly after.
In the event Paul sits down, he would lose control of the
floor, but he is getting some help from his colleagues.
Texas Republican Senator
Ted Cruz spoke as well as Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who even threw in a water-bottle
joke in reference to an awkward moment during his State of the Union response.
Almost
five hours in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to stop the debate but Paul refused.
Reid now says a vote on Brennan’s confirmation won’t be taking place Wednesday.
As
of 6 p.m. eastern, Paul is still on the Senate floor. But he has a ways to go if he wants
to pass up former Sen. Strom Thurmond, who set a record in 1957 after filibustering for
24 hours and 18 minutes.