While many Republican Senators joined Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) 13-hour filibuster Wednesday to demand President Barack Obama or Eric Holder state in writing that the administration would not unilaterally bomb non-combatant American citizens, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) sided against Paul’s filibuster on Thursday morning, condemning the marathon talk as not “helpful to the American people” — even though it led to Paul getting an answer from the White House.
The Arizona Senator said on the Senate floor that Paul “should know better” and called his concern “unfounded.”
“Somehow to allege that the United States of America, our government, would drop a drone Hellfire missile on Jane Fonda borders on the ridiculous,” McCain said, referencing an imaginary example of an unconstitutional drone strike that was repeatedly used by Paul in his filibuster.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also criticized Paul, saying that although he did not support President Obama, he felt Paul’s question was “off-base” and didn’t deserve an answer.
“To my Republican colleagues, I don’t remember any of you coming down here suggesting that President Bush was going to kill anybody with a drone,” Graham said in his remarks on the Senate floor.
Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh interviewed Paul on his show Thursday afternoon and asked the Kentucky Senator to respond to McCain and Graham’s attacks, specifically Graham’s remark that he would be voting for CIA Director nominee John Brennan in direct response to Paul’s filibuster of his confirmation.
“This has never been about Brennan,” Paul responded. “This has been about the President and whether or not he will respond to the request I’ve made. And the request is very simple. Can you kill Americans not engaged in combat in America with a drone strike? The answer’s got to be an unequivocal ‘no.’ Brennan may win over my objections, but I’m going to ask this question of the president. I’m going to keep asking this question until I get an answer.”
Paul did get his answer, straight from Attorney General Eric Holder, in the form of a very succinct letter Thursday afternoon.
Consider that an “unequivocal no,” Sen. Paul. Brennan was eventually confirmed by the Senate 63-34. Paul, of course, voted nay.
