Last night, Rand Paul changed american politics. His filibuster was a stroke of genius. While Lindsey Graham and John McCain were dining with Obama, Rand Paul reminded us all of the power of principle over politics. He simply and eloquently said you either believe in the constitution or you don’t. He did this so well that liberal and progressive Senators were stunned. Dick Durbin even asked him questions that made the impact of the filibuster more signficant. By acknowledging that Rand Paul was asking a seriious question and by engaging in a serious conversation with him, Durbin made Rand Pauls comments impossible to ignore. It is hard to argue with his point that the President of the United States doesn’t have the power to just kill American citizens in the United States just because he thinks it’s a good idea.
Rand Paul did not shout. He did not make outrageous attacks. He even said a couple of nice things about Obama. Yet, with his quiet, but reasoned performance, he delivered a devastating rebuke to the Obama administration. The quieter he spoke, the louder he was heard. Even die hard liberals are having a hard time arguing with Rand Paul this morning.
But an even more important star emerged with the public unveiling of Ted Cruz. I thought Ted Cruz was just another Tea Party candidate. The main stream media has painted him as another light weight swept into power by over enthusiastic Tea Party supporters. But after I watched Cruz eviscerate Eric Holder during his cross examination I decided it was time to research this man. It turns out that Ted Cruz is one heck of an attorney. Cruz graduated from Yale and Harvard and unlike Obama his academic performance at Harvard is well documented. He “earned” a position as editor of the Harvard Law Review, he was an executive editor of the Harvard Law & Policy Review and he founded the Harvard Latino Law Review. He is also a brilliant debater and twice was voted the speaker of the year at national debate conferences. As a private attorney he argued cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and he was the Solicitor General for the State of Texas. That is the kind of position you give to a real attorney, rather than the political position of Attorney General. This is one of the most intellectually capable people in the United States Senate and no one should make the mistake of underestimating him. Eric Holder finally came face to face with a real live capable attorney and the result was devastating.
Both John McCain and Lindsey Graham responded by ripping Rand Paul this morning in speeches to the entire senate. It was a huge mistake:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2013/mar/7/graham-mccain-blast-paul-filibuster/
The Republican Party hasn’t seen this kind of talent in decades. Ronald Reagan was the great communicator, but Ted Cruz is a great communicator who gradued Magna Cum Laude with a JD fromHarvard. Rand Paul is a medical doctor, a man of principle with a rare ability to make arguments that are compelling even to political opponents. While McCain and Graham were dining with the President, liberal Senators were being mesmerized by the rarest sight in Washington, a man standing firm and alone, on a matter of principle refusing to be intimidated. McCain and Graham would have been wise to applaud such courage rather than to try and suppress it.
Lindsey Graham and John McCain are acting this way because they know they have just been pushed off the public stage by Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. When politicians have to try and explain to people why they are important, it is because they aren’t. The torch has been passed. The RINO leadership of the Republican Party was blown off the national stage by the soft but eloquent words of Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. It’s a beautiful thing.
UPDATE. While Lindsey Graham and John McCain were explaining why Rand Paul was so naive and stupid, Eric Holder was busy caving, because it worked:
Graham and McCain just embarrassed themselves.
TDM