After more than twelve hours of filibustering, it was only a matter of time before someone created a White House petition for President Obama to “Respond to Senator Rand Paul on Drone Strikes.”
The petition reads:
We the people request that you respond to Senator Rand Paul and the citizens of America on the issue of drone strikes on US soil with the potential to kill US citizens without a trial.
We request that you respect our freedoms and our rights as US citizens. Mr. President, as our elected leader, you are accountable to the people and so we ask that you address this important issue.
Respectfully,
A Citizen of The United States of America
Either this citizen, “S.H. from Orange, California,” really wants Obama to respond… or he was just ready for Senator Paul (R-KY) to sit down.
The Kentucky senator filibustered for more than 12 hours Wednesday, holding up a vote on President Barack Obama’s nomination of John Brennan for Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA.)
Paul started the filibuster around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday and promised he wouldn’t stop “until I can no longer speak” or until Obama finally addressed the constitutionality of the drone program — whichever came first.
“I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court,” he said on the chamber floor.
As of Thursday morning, the petition had reached more than 3,000 signatures, still a long way away from the 100,000 signatures required for the White House to issue an official response.
Luckily for Paul, U.S. citizens have until April 5 to sign the petition.
