Politics

Pat Buchanan understands the real significance of Rand Paul's filibuster.

"By the time he sat down, 13 hours later, Paul had advanced to the front rank of candidates for 2016, and established himself as a foreign policy leader whose views must be consulted equally with those of John McCain."

He also differentiated himself from establishment favorite Marco Rubio.

"To see these new Republicans standing by Rand Paul presented the image of a band of brothers standing up for principle. Rarely has this Republican Party looked better than it did on Wednesday."

"What made Rand’s presentation so appealing was that he began it alone, inviting the mockery of the media. Second, it was done with simplicity and dignity, without histrionics or demagoguery.
Third, it was evident that a genuine principle of Rand’s philosophy was at stake. Finally, like his father Ron and Jimmy Stewart, Rand has a bumpkin quality that fairly drips honesty and sincerity."

Bumpkin? Wow. Buchanan would have done better without using that word.

"Paul’s victory was conceded when a letter arrived from Holder conceding that he and the president now agreed with Sen. Paul."

That's a stretch. The letter was worded to leave any attack on any American open. It was designed to shut Paul up without conceding anything, and that's just what it did.

"Paul himself handled McCain’s insults well. “I treat Sen. McCain with respect,” he told Mike Huckabee. “I don’t think I always get the same in return.”"

As far as the substance of the argument, Thomas DiLorenzo is right; Lincoln long ago murdered any constraint the US Constitution put on the president's ability to kill Americans on American soil.

This guy gets it.

"What did Paul actually get from the Obama administration? Unfortunately, not as much as he thinks. The problem is with Holder’s response is the phrase "not engaged in combat." Of course, the George W. Bush administration pioneered the concept that terrorists, who were deemed given the designation "enemy combatants" had brought the battlefield to American soil. Because the Obama administration has adopted most of the Bush administration’s questionable policies on terrorism and civil liberties, Holder and company could just say that any American they killed – even while sipping tea at a café – was a terror suspect plotting combat (that is a terror strike) against the United States."

Exactly. All Paul got was a big boost towards the 2016 nomination. And he knows it. It was all about politics. Never about substance. It was another, but beautiful and well executed, political calculation.