Posted on 03/08/2013 3:42:57 AM PST by Moseley
The political world changed its orbit Wednesday as Rand Paul seized the spotlight in his March 6 filibuster. Rand Paul -- not this author's favorite before -- is probably now the 2016 front-runner for president. But the difference results from fundamental changes in substance.
How can one day be that big of a deal? Because Rand Paul demonstrated a reproducible, winning formula. It was as if Ronald Reagan were granted just one day to come back to Earth to remind the Party of Lincoln of "how it's done." Rand demonstrated a repeatable formula that all Republicans can copy. It is the template that is significant.
But was March 6 "Republicans' Last Stand" or "Rand's First Stand?" What is most optimistic as the basis for this analysis is that Republican senators started showing up. The Senate floor was more crowded at 10:00 and 11:00 PM than it was at 6:00 PM. They felt it. They saw it. They "got" it. (Excepting one superannuated senator from Arizona.) It clicked. In other words, Republicans might possibly do more of same. If Rand disappears back into the woodwork, then March 6 will have meant nothing.
Freshman Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz "got it." Cruz was all over it. Cruz gave voice to the moment best of all. Cruz threatened to go way over the top, reading from the movie "Patton" and Henry the Fifth's St. Crispin's Day speech on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt. Yet somehow, flirting with serious rhetorical dangers, Cruz captured the moment just right. Like a roller coaster, you gripped the car fearing Cruz was going to fly off into mid-air, yet to our great surprise Cruz hit his mark. He grasped the significance, to put it mildly.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Sheesh, where have you BEEN?
It’s all over EVERYWHERE!
“I won’t vote for Rand Paul either!”
Is there anyone out there that you do like? Anyone?
I finally found someone more frustrated than I am. :-)
If I had time, I would Photoshop McCain and Graham’s head onto the burning monk photo so you could displace some of that pent-up anger. Maybe we can just do some mental-imagery together instead. ;-) Have a nice day, fellow old-timer.
If the tactic is not repeated — relentlessly — (not necessarily as a filibuster but the process of making a point) then March 6 meant nothing.
The biggest impact of March 6 in my opinion is SHOWING THE WAY for other Republcians to follow.
if they don’t follow, it means nothing.
If March 6 was the equivalent of shouting “CHARGE!” and Republicans follow the example, then the political world just changed.
To make Sen. Cruz’s presentation absolutely perfect, he could have read the last letter from Wm. B. Travis, Commander at the Alamo. It would have been very appropriate.He did.
“If they don’t follow, it means nothing. If March 6 was the equivalent of shouting “CHARGE!” and Republicans follow the example, then the political world just changed.”
Nice job of putting into words the symbolism of what March 6th, 1836 meant to Texians as they charged at San Jacinto.
REMEMBER THE ALAMO! REMEMBER GOLIAD! REMEMBER THE FILIBUSTER! !!
I wish just one of them had Ronald Reagan's wisdom and guts.You can count on Rubio shilling for amnesty at the expense of US citizens.
Here's what Rand Paul did with his LollaPaulooza yesterday:
He engaged the country in a serious discussion of first principles. You may not agree with him, but he did it. The Constitution was actually discussed on the Senate floor for more than a dozen hours. Incredible.
He put the president on the defensive, using the force of argument to penetrate the White House's standard operating procedure of never engaging its critics on a serious level. Eric Holder, the hapless AG, came away scorched.
Rand Paul also took an old, old device and married it to the new communications technology, instantly generating hundreds of thousands of messages about him and his argument which spread across the Twitterverse and associated platforms at an astonishing speed.
The Kentucky senator also accepted help from a key band of GOP senators who marked themselves out in the eyes of the millions of grassroots faithful who were watching very closely. These key senators --Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Marco Rubio, with assists from Saxby Chambliss, John Cornyn, Mark Kirk, Jerry Moran, Pat Toomey and the leader Mitch McConnell. It was a marker for many to have helped Rand Paul in his epic talkfest, and astonishing that some GOP senators were not alerted by their staffs to the event unfolding and its significance online.
Brietbart's Larry O'Connor has a list of the GOP senators who were no-shows. I expect the message will get through to all but the oldest of the old bulls that the grassroots expects the Senate GOP to act as a team when one of its members takes on the president over a matter of principle, even if there is disagreement in their ranks.
Eight hours into the filibuster I spoke with RNC Chair Reince Priebus, who had already gotten the RNC online staffers into support mold, and who encouraged GOP support for what was an unexpected opening to move the public opinion ball on many fronts. (The transcript of my interview with Priebus is here. We also talk about his efforts to get control of the 2016 debate schedule now.) Priebus' response was nimble and a demonstration of how the RNC must be ready at a moment's notice to take advantage of openings in the wall of media flunkies surrounding the president.
Finally, Paul demonstrated that it is possible to use the very old rules of the Senate to effectively counter the nonsense -- and the nominations -- flowing out of the White House.
Some will now warn that it was a one-time event, that the novelty has already worn off and it cannot be repeated. That warning will come from the White House's palace guard -- think Politico and Buzzfeed -- members of which in effect put up at a Bat Signal last night for lefty alums of Journ-o-list to rush online to disparage Paul when the Twitter tide rolled in behind the Kentucky senator just as it did to slice and dice Bob Woodward the week before.
But while such events cannot be a weekly thing, the use of the filibuster and the audience it brings if married to a real issue with real substance, and if done with the support of a handful of talented orators as Paul had around him last night, could become a powerful weapon in the messaging wars. Senators Cruz, Lee, and Rubio are the sort of skilled talkers that the other side does not have and which we should hope take full use of their floor privileges.
More opportunities will arise. Look down the road, for instance, to the nomination battle over Gina McCarthy to lead the EPA. The EPA has been in key respects a lawless agency for her entire tenure there. If her nomination survives committee hearings and then gets past cloture, the stage will be set for another "teach-in-by-filibuster." More such opportunities will arise, and the GOP ought not to be shy in using them.
Senator Paul changed quite a few things yesterday, all for the good.
He got the administration to admit that they lack the power to do something, and made them look really bad in the process. He also made McCain and Graham look bad, and gave the lie to the idea that you can’t take on the President. Another benefit is that this whole ordeal put four Republican Senators into the limelight who seem to be unique amongst their colleagues: they can spit out a coherent sentence without falling down.
What does a good jab in the first round of a fight do? What does a base hit in the first inning do? What does a first down do?
I know what you are saying but here is a bit of anecdotal evidence, someone on our side was lurking on DU during the filibuster. Initially, of course, the comments were all negative, filled with vulgarities, etc. As RP kept going, some actually listened and, in the end, many found that they agreed with him. Some may begin to see that Dear Leader has feet of clay.
Bump for this list
Bump adding to list
Thanks for posting! I made a similar observation as the writer in that this was a rejeuvination of good Conservative ideology trumpeting liberty and freedom, or possibly one of its last best death throws as I watched Rand Paul for just over 8 hours.
I’m optimistic again, and its like I feel re-energized. I think we’ve witnessed a rebirth of sorts, not sure how else to capture it in words. It’s like our freedoms and liberty have been in a coma these last five or six years and it just woke up ......
If it was no big deal, why was the Administration so hesitant to the answer the question, and why are McCain and Graham going to such pains to attack him?
Of course this has to be followed up on several fronts. You are underestimating how many people took note of the filibuster. You can laugh at Twitter and Facebook (both used to good effect by Sarah Palin) all you like, but there was an impact. And a lot of middle of the road types actually get their news from sources like The Daily Show, and the filibuster was covered there. There are even some leftist pundits who are a little embarrassed that nobody on their side seems to be worried about civil liberties and the rule of law.
It was a good shot at Obama, and it came on the heels of a week in which the administration was seen threatening journalists. Maybe the fact that Rand Paul is still standing today will show some in the GOP that they too can stand up. He and Cruz do not care what the Establishment thinks.
Seems to me that some of those trying to downplay this have more of a problem with the messenger than anything else. The guy took control of the news cycle by talking truthfully about the Constitution. I don’t care who his father is. It’s a shot in the arm to the Tea Party movement, which is the only viable vehicle that will advance the agenda you claim to want.
You remind me, somehow, of Salicous Crumb.
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