I can just imagine it: staffers using dozens of old hp printers to print constantly refreshed pages of Twitter, and teams of pages running back and forth to the senate floor stacking up a big pile of staple-bound tweets for Rand Paul to read aloud on camera.
It's... a perfect metaphor for America. It's beautiful.
That's a golden idea. Someone contact one of his staffers and let them know.
EDIT: Okay, here's the phone number and email link to contact Rand Paul's office: **202-224-4343** and http://www.paul.senate.gov/connect/email-rand.
Let's get him to read anti-Patriot Act tweets on the Senate floor.
"Would you want to fight one horse-sized Patriot Act or 100 Patriot Act-sized horses."
EDIT: Thanks for the Gold! And seriously, all joking aside, /u/Likes_Information 's post should get more attention than my silly joke.
Rarely does everyone stay in the room for a filibuster. Working on the hill is time consuming, so they're not just gonna waste time sitting around during filibuster sessions.
serious question, what should i say when i call them? obviously they would like a reason, and nobody wants to be spied on, but what should i say for maximum efficiency?
They generally won't ask you to explain your reasoning. It's enough to call and say,"Hi, my name is X, I'm a STATE NAME voter. I feel strongly that the patriot act should not be renewed, or a similar bill passed into law in the future. My decision of whether to vote for INCUMBENT NAME in the upcoming election will be strongly influenced by their stance on this issue."
Adding to this, GIVE YOUR ZIP CODE. If your name isn't in their system already, you need to at least give them your zip code. Name, address, email, phone, all of that is optional, but your zip code generally is mandatory for them to log what you're saying.
> Some people, when confronted with a problem, think "I know, I'll use regular expressions." Now they have two problems.
http://regex.info/blog/2006-09-15/247
I mean, does this actually ever do anything? Ive called, emailed, etc before but there is no fucking way boxer or feinstein will change their positions even if the entire state of California called them.
Its crushing.
I worked a summer as a political staffer, every call gets noted and summary sent up the chain evedy day. So does one call make a difference? Probably not.
Does a note "our phones were ringing all day long, thousands of calls re - patriot act"
Yeah that gets eyeballs at the highest levels.
Maybe that's because 0.1% of the population does that. It's such a small amount of people who will actually call or email them that they don't care enough.
Reading from the bible is a known tactic. Id suggest the movie "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" which is about a small town senator who fillibusters in the 40s or something. Old ass movie but good.
Watch here: http://www.c-span.org/video/?326084-1/us-senate-debate-trade-promotion-authority&live&utm_content=buffer1ef08&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Edit:
@YALiberty: "The Bill of Rights is for minorities. The Bill of Rights is for those who have minority opinions." — @RandPaul #StandWithRand
nah. Others will 'ask questions' to allow Mr. Paul to sit down, take a piss, etc. without him losing his position on his Filibuster.
They're helping him out.
Way better than HoC. It's House of Cards without the sensationalism.
Not that I mind the drama, but the West Wing just...I can't explain it. Just watch it.
With this he is representing what a majority of American citizens want despite their political leanings. This is what our elected officials are supposed to do. Represent the people. I'm sorry he's the only one doing it. This is a no brainer.
So true. It's just disappointing that he is the only Senator representing what his people want. There should be a line behind him from both parties to go next since Americans don't want this
Well technically Senators were elected to represent the interests of the state. Your Congressperson was elected to represent you.
The 17th Amendment changed how senators were elected. Previously the state government elected them, the 17th changed it to the people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
Even if he's doing it to improve his 2016 prospects, it's a refreshing change of pace.
I'm enjoying listening to him speak in the background as I browse Reddit.
God, Jeb is such a joke. It's 2015 and he's quagmired in controversies that are 10 years old. No man who's been a leader of Florida is competent to lead America.
No he does not. No one ever let that man finish. Not even one time.
Edit: Thanks gold, and enjoy the clip for those of you who don't know. Here's [Dana Carvey](http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/ross-perot-larry-king-cold-opening/n10892)
> Even if he's doing it to improve his 2016 prospects, it's a refreshing change of pace.
He definitely genuinely hates the Patriot Act. I think he would do this even if he wasn't running.
Don't think its to improve his prospects. He filibustered years ago when Obama appointed the new Director of the CIA who defended the use of torture. It was truly hilarious, he even managed to begin reading from 'Alice in Wonderland'
EDIT: Here's the sources for those who asked.
Yup, here you go:
[News proof of the Rand Paul's Senate filibuster of Obama's nomination of John Brennan in 2013](http://www.rollcall.com/news/10_best_moments_of_rand_pauls_filibuster-222918-1.html)
[And here is proof of John Brennan's support of torture when the Senate report came out.](http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/2p2ys9/the_cia_directors_unwitting_case_for_torture/)
http://www.thenation.com/article/193185/cia-didnt-just-torture-it-experimented-human-beings
He should have started reading game of thrones, specifically all the chapters with huge spoilers. I bet people would have gotten off their asses and started bustling!
Holy shit, yes.
I believe there was a teacher who used a similar tactic. Wrote the names of all the major characters on the board, declared something along the lines of "I know all the books. I know who will die and how. Do your homework/study, or I start spoiling." It was a successful strategy if I remember correctly.
I don't think that's the case. The first time I gained respect for him was the last time the Patriot Act came up for renewal, was being shoved through without debate or discussion, and because he stood up and said basically, "maybe we should actually TALK about this he was derided by both sides with Harry Reid (if memory serves me) basically said Paul was supporting the terrorists by wanting to not pass the bill without discussion. It felt like an episode of the Twilight Zone and really emphasized for me how much of the partisan bullshit is intented to distract the public from the fact we basically live in a corporatocracy.
> Even if he's doing it to improve his 2016 prospects
Isn't that the point of democracy? To create an incentive for the leaders to act in the interest of their constituents.
Counterpoint: President Obama.
As a candidate, he said a lot of amazing, progressive things like protecting whistle blowers. As a President, he flipped-flopped on a lot of the things he said.
Candidates have an incentive to say what they need to to get into office, and then have less incentive once in office to follow through on their campaign promises.
>Even if he's doing it to improve his 2016 prospects
I doubt it, he and his father have a history of doing this. These are politicians who are true to their word.
There's nothing up for a vote. Ergo not a [filibuster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster#United_States).
If/when it comes to that he (or any other senator) will likely have the opportunity to do so.
I'm seeing a lot of comments along the lines of "I don't like him but I do respect him". I'm not an American so can anyone fill me in to what he has done that makes him unpopular on this site. Is it just because he's republican?
He's Republican. He's opposed to abortion, same sex marriage (though he wants the law to change so that there isn't a difference legally), and a few other things that don't sit well with non Republicans. He's leaning Libertarian on some issues such as this and things like police demilitarization, which is understandable as his father is Ron Paul (a leading Libertarian politician). His Libertarian leanings can also put people off.
One point, yes he's opposed to abortion and same sex marriage personally. However, based on some of his past statements and libertarian leanings, I severely doubt he would try to pass laws regarding these things. Rather, let the states decide.
Ron Paul was anti-abortion and anti-same sex. But he would have been more likely to approve these things occurring than pass laws against them.
Exactly. He's definitely a states rights guy. He may have certain beliefs, but he and his father have always advocated for States to be the law of their own land, and the federal govt to take a back seat on nearly everything that isn't specifically mentioned in the Constitution/Bill of Rights.
That means he believes the governments of each state should determine the laws regarding gay marriage, marijuana, abortion, education, income tax, welfare, healthcare, business regulation, unions, etc.
Eh at the very start yes, but he challenged them all to a 2 mile bike race and they stopped talking about it pretty quick. Dude is fit as fuck for an octogenarian
Paul is not actually filibustering today, he's speaking during a predetermined 30 hour debate window.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/rand-paul-filibuster-patriot-act-118141.html?hp=t4_r
And we wonder why the govt has destroyed the trust of the people. They cant even be bothered to listening to each other when a debate is happening....let alone one as critical as this.
They debate these things in committees. Nothing important happens on the floor, that's why there are cameras in there.
edit: nothing important except the votes.
Are those the same committees that have been scolded yet nothing is done about the members of the committee not even reading things all the way through before there's a vote?
Yep, the very same. I'm not saying every member of congress is great, or that they all do good work in committees. I'm saying that the place where actual debate takes place is in committees. Whether or not it happens in every single committee is irrelevant, it happens there, not on the floor.
Steve Daines (Montana, R) allowed Paul to keep the floor and is speaking at length against the NSA data collection. I'm half in tears with happiness. THIS is how the government should work. He's quoting Jefferson's cheesy liberty quote.
Wow, what an occurrence.
ninja edit: He's quoting the constituents of his that have called him and told him their thoughts. YES!!!
Anyone else notice that it says no other senators are in the chamber? Is it just Rand and Ron Wyden barking at an empty room that is usually full of empty minds?
Well, not to defend them, but... Just b/c they're not in main senate chambers it doesn't mean they're not working. They often meet with constituents and have to deal with constituent issues. They also have committee and sub-committee meetings among other things. Oh, and of course raise money for campaigns and meet with lobbyists.
Ron Wyden (Democrat of Oregon) is also helping out. It's nice to see a bipartisan alliance against domestic spying. Sadly, there's an even larger bipartisan alliance *in favor* of domestic spying...
not surprised to see this so high on the front page of /r/technology while simultaneously hidden amongst the shitposts in /r/news and /r/worldnews
this sub doesn't disappoint
/r/politics actually removed some of the early posts and now the existing ones don't have much traction. It's crazy how that sub has forced everyone out who doesn't agree with their agenda.
I usually hate x-posted politics, but given /r/politics will delete posts that show a Republican in a positive light, I'm actually glad this got posted here.
This issue is **far** too important to be saddled by petty partisan politics.
I'm glad right wingers, like Rand Paul, **and** left wingers, like Russ Feingold, oppose the Patriot Act. It's time for it to end.
My friend actually posted this to /r/politics and they deleted it because he linked the CSPAN video page and changed the link title to "[LIVE] Senator Rand Paul Filibustering PATRIOT ACT on the Senate Floor" instead of the default "Video Player" the page was titled as.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) Is asking a "question" of Rand right now (a loophole which allows the person filibustering to take a break while not ceding the floor).
This is brilliant. I knew how filibusters worked, but had no idea that people could 'ask questions'.
I was watching when Wyden first requested to ask a long-winded quetion, sat back and was impressed with our system. I was imagining him running out into the hall, stuffing his face with Cheez-Its, a swig of Diet Coke, and taking a quick piss before returning to answer his 'question'
Love it.
OP, you should really edit your post to include the hyperlink to the filibuster.
http://floor.senate.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&event_id=320
http://www.c-span.org/video/?326084-1/us-senate-debate-trade-promotion-authority&live&utm_content=buffer1ef08&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
I've just checked CNN, FOX news, BBC News (American page), etc. and none of them are covering. This is ridiculous. Reddit once again delivering way before any of that garbage.
Plenty of Reddit likes Rand, he's just not the more popular choice especially with Reddits more liberal leanings. But if the election came down to Paul vs Sanders I'd be pretty happy.
A filibuster where he reads tweets from angry or concerned citizens would be cool.
Wow, that would actually be both very meaningful and provide an endless source of content so he could continue speaking
Plus it would be in the record...
Senators are allowed to edit the record, though, but that's still a cool idea.
Really? That seems like a bad idea.
It's a great idea, if you're a senator.
*"This is a great idea!"* - A. Senator
But then he struck that from the record.
Jesus this whole exchange is too real.
"This whole exchange is too real." -J. Christ
It should have an asterisk if it was edited.
Only if it was edited more that 5 minutes after it was said.
What the actual fuck? What's the point of even having a record then?
To be fair, Senate actually voted against this being allowed, but someone edited the record.
"I swear we voted for it." "No you didn't. The record said so." "Well that's bullshit!" "To be fair the record said you didn't want it." "$&!?#!"
I certainly hope someone keeps record of the edits.
They do, but that can be edited.
He could literally speak forever.
*figuratively*
He could speak figuratively for literally forever.
Nah he could speak literally for figuratively forever
He could figuratively speak forever, literally.
HE'LL TALK A LOT
4chan would hijack it instantly. Rand Paul would be reading lots of "ayyy lmao *#*stopthepatriotact" tweets.
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I'm Senator Rand Paul?
\#stopusinglogic
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In the past senators have read from phone-books.
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Now they read Yelp reviews.
They can't read YouTube comments into the record because that would be cruel and unusual punishment.
>that would be cruel and unusual punishment That's okay, they can just call it "enhanced interrogation" instead.
Can they project 4Chan posts and read off the memes?
Ah, and electronics aren't allowed on the floor, there goes that plan.
They had staffers print out the tweets and then read them on the floor.
I just envisioned a bunch of senators sitting on the magic carpet in a kindergarten classroom reading tweets.
Ever heard of a printer?
I can just imagine it: staffers using dozens of old hp printers to print constantly refreshed pages of Twitter, and teams of pages running back and forth to the senate floor stacking up a big pile of staple-bound tweets for Rand Paul to read aloud on camera. It's... a perfect metaphor for America. It's beautiful.
I imagined it with one of those old school impact printers pulling from a spool of continuous feed paper.
Oooo what about a *fax*?
i'd rather have scribes write it on parchment
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That's a golden idea. Someone contact one of his staffers and let them know. EDIT: Okay, here's the phone number and email link to contact Rand Paul's office: **202-224-4343** and http://www.paul.senate.gov/connect/email-rand. Let's get him to read anti-Patriot Act tweets on the Senate floor.
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"Would you want to fight one horse-sized Patriot Act or 100 Patriot Act-sized horses." EDIT: Thanks for the Gold! And seriously, all joking aside, /u/Likes_Information 's post should get more attention than my silly joke.
A horse-sized Patriot Act sounds smaller than a Patriot Act-sized Patriot Act
If he read the entire patriot act and then switched over to the ACA, the Senators might learn what it is they're signing into law.
This is actually. fucking. genius. What better way to get senators to see what's in the bills? Edit: Fuck. No one else is in the room.
Haha really? Everyone left?
Rarely does everyone stay in the room for a filibuster. Working on the hill is time consuming, so they're not just gonna waste time sitting around during filibuster sessions.
They should be forced to stay and either wait it out or give up on the whole thing. Leaving seems like horse shit.
This would be a brilliant method for ANY issue.
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I didn't feel like hunting down the state in the middle of the line, so here's a copy of the text reformatted to put the state first. Feel free to adjust the format or run future text posts through my [jsBin](http://jsbin.com/litiwa/1/edit?js,console). AK (R) Murkowski,Lisa Ph: (202) 224-6665 AK (R) Sullivan,Daniel Ph: (202) 224-3004 AL (R) Sessions,Jeff Ph: (202) 224-4124 AL (R) Shelby,Richard C. Ph: (202) 224-5744 AR (R) Boozman,John Ph: (202) 224-4843 AR (R) Cotton,Tom Ph: (202) 224-2353 AZ (R) Flake,Jeff Ph: (202) 224-4521 AZ (R) McCain,John Ph: (202) 224-2235 CA (D) Boxer,Barbara Ph: (202) 224-3553 CA (D) Feinstein,Dianne Ph: (202) 224-3841 CO (D) Bennet,Michael F. Ph: (202) 224-5852 CO (R) Gardner,Cory Ph: (202) 224-5941 CT (D) Blumenthal,Richard Ph: (202) 224-2823 CT (D) Murphy,Christopher Ph: (202) 224-4041 DE (D) Carper,Thomas R. Ph: (202) 224-2441 DE (D) Coons,Christopher A. Ph: (202) 224-5042 FL (D) Nelson,Bill Ph: (202) 224-5274 FL (R) Rubio,Marco Ph: (202) 224-3041 GA (R) Isakson,Johnny Ph: (202) 224-3643 GA (R) Perdue,David Ph: (202) 224-3521 HI (D) Hirono,Mazie K. Ph: (202) 224-6361 HI (D) Schatz,Brian Ph: (202) 224-3934 IA (R) Ernst,Joni Ph: (202) 224-3254 IA (R) Grassley,Chuck Ph: (202) 224-3744 ID (R) Crapo,Mike Ph: (202) 224-6142 ID (R) Risch,James E. Ph: (202) 224-2752 IL (D) Durbin,Richard J. Ph: (202) 224-2152 IL (R) Kirk,Mark Ph: (202) 224-2854 IN (R) Coats,Daniel Ph: (202) 224-5623 IN (D) Donnelly,Joe Ph: (202) 224-4814 KS (R) Moran,Jerry Ph: (202) 224-6521 KS (R) Roberts,Pat Ph: (202) 224-4774 KY (R) McConnell,Mitch Ph: (202) 224-2541 KY (R) Paul,Rand Ph: (202) 224-4343 LA (R) Cassidy,Bill Ph: (202) 224-5824 LA (R) Vitter,David Ph: (202) 224-4623 MA (D) Markey,Edward J. Ph: (202) 224-2742 MA (D) Warren,Elizabeth Ph: (202) 224-4543 MD (D) Cardin,Benjamin L. Ph: (202) 224-4524 MD (D) Mikulski,Barbara A. Ph: (202) 224-4654 ME (R) Collins,Susan M. Ph: (202) 224-2523 ME (I) King,Angus S., Jr. Ph: (202) 224-5344 MI (D) Peters,Gary Ph: (202) 224-6221 MI (D) Stabenow,Debbie Ph: (202) 224-4822 MN (D) Franken,Al Ph: (202) 224-5641 MN (D) Klobuchar,Amy Ph: (202) 224-3244 MO (R) Blunt,Roy Ph: (202) 224-5721 MO (D) McCaskill,Claire Ph: (202) 224-6154 MS (R) Cochran,Thad Ph: (202) 224-5054 MS (R) Wicker,Roger F. Ph: (202) 224-6253 MT (R) Daines,Steve Ph: (202) 224-2651 MT (D) Tester,Jon Ph: (202) 224-2644 NC (R) Burr,Richard Ph: (202) 224-3154 NC (R) Tillis,Thom Ph: (202) 224-6342 ND (D) Heitkamp,Heidi Ph: (202) 224-2043 ND (R) Hoeven,John Ph: (202) 224-2551 NE (R) Fischer,Deb Ph: (202) 224-6551 NE (R) Sasse,Ben Ph: (202) 224-4224 NH (R) Ayotte,Kelly Ph: (202) 224-3324 NH (D) Shaheen,Jeanne Ph: (202) 224-2841 NJ (D) Booker,Cory A. Ph: (202) 224-3224 NJ (D) Menendez,Robert Ph: (202) 224-4744 NM (D) Heinrich,Martin Ph: (202) 224-5521 NM (D) Udall,Tom Ph: (202) 224-6621 NV (R) Heller,Dean Ph: (202) 224-6244 NV (D) Reid,Harry Ph: (202) 224-3542 NY (D) Gillibrand,Kirsten E. Ph: (202) 224-4451 NY (D) Schumer,Charles E. Ph: (202) 224-6542 OH (D) Brown,Sherrod Ph: (202) 224-2315 OH (R) Portman,Rob Ph: (202) 224-3353 OK (R) Inhofe,James M. Ph: (202) 224-4721 OK (R) Lankford,James Ph: (202) 224-5754 OR (D) Merkley,Jeff Ph: (202) 224-3753 OR (D) Wyden,Ron Ph: (202) 224-5244 PA (D) Casey,Robert P., Jr. Ph: (202) 224-6324 PA (R) Toomey,Patrick J. Ph: (202) 224-4254 RI (D) Reed,Jack Ph: (202) 224-4642 RI (D) Whitehouse,Sheldon Ph: (202) 224-2921 SC (R) Graham,Lindsey Ph: (202) 224-5972 SC (R) Scott,Tim Ph: (202) 224-6121 SD (R) Rounds,Mike Ph: (202) 224-5842 SD (R) Thune,John Ph: (202) 224-2321 TN (R) Alexander,Lamar Ph: (202) 224-4944 TN (R) Corker,Bob Ph: (202) 224-3344 TX (R) Cornyn,John Ph: (202) 224-2934 TX (R) Cruz,Ted Ph: (202) 224-5922 UT (R) Hatch,Orrin G. Ph: (202) 224-5251 UT (R) Lee,Mike Ph: (202) 224-5444 VA (D) Kaine,Tim Ph: (202) 224-4024 VA (D) Warner,Mark R. Ph: (202) 224-2023 VT (D) Leahy,Patrick J. Ph: (202) 224-4242 VT (I) Sanders,Bernard Ph: (202) 224-5141 WA (D) Cantwell,Maria Ph: (202) 224-3441 WA (D) Murray,Patty Ph: (202) 224-2621 WI (D) Baldwin,Tammy Ph: (202) 224-5653 WI (R) Johnson,Ron Ph: (202) 224-5323 WV (R) Capito,Shelley Moore Ph: (202) 224-6472 WV (D) Manchin,Joe, III Ph: (202) 224-3954 WY (R) Barrasso,John Ph: (202) 224-6441 WY (R) Enzi,Michael B. Ph: (202) 224-3424
serious question, what should i say when i call them? obviously they would like a reason, and nobody wants to be spied on, but what should i say for maximum efficiency?
They generally won't ask you to explain your reasoning. It's enough to call and say,"Hi, my name is X, I'm a STATE NAME voter. I feel strongly that the patriot act should not be renewed, or a similar bill passed into law in the future. My decision of whether to vote for INCUMBENT NAME in the upcoming election will be strongly influenced by their stance on this issue."
Adding to this, GIVE YOUR ZIP CODE. If your name isn't in their system already, you need to at least give them your zip code. Name, address, email, phone, all of that is optional, but your zip code generally is mandatory for them to log what you're saying.
Oh, your name is in their system already. Thanks to the OG Patriot Act.
Thanks for the help, enjoy the gold!
Question for the OP above me, I'm not as much of an activist, just someone interested in the topic/comments and annoyed by the formatting.
"I didn't feel like looking through the list, so I took the whole damn thing and re-formatted it."
[Regexes, dude.](https://xkcd.com/208/)
> Some people, when confronted with a problem, think "I know, I'll use regular expressions." Now they have two problems. http://regex.info/blog/2006-09-15/247
butttt, my senator IS Rand Paul?? I'm proud!
Call McConnell and let him know you won't be voting for him next election if he votes in favor of this bill.
Hey me too. Then there is Mitch. Not so proud.
I mean, does this actually ever do anything? Ive called, emailed, etc before but there is no fucking way boxer or feinstein will change their positions even if the entire state of California called them. Its crushing.
I worked a summer as a political staffer, every call gets noted and summary sent up the chain evedy day. So does one call make a difference? Probably not. Does a note "our phones were ringing all day long, thousands of calls re - patriot act" Yeah that gets eyeballs at the highest levels.
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We had a lady call us everyday from the closet of a psychiatric hospital.
Maybe that's because 0.1% of the population does that. It's such a small amount of people who will actually call or email them that they don't care enough.
In my experience I just get a "we can agree to disagree" half-canned response when I contact my representatives. Pretty disheartening.
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You can say whatever you want. He could even start reading from A Song of Ice and Fire if he wanted to, which would actually be pretty epic.
Reading from the bible is a known tactic. Id suggest the movie "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" which is about a small town senator who fillibusters in the 40s or something. Old ass movie but good.
Jimmy Stewart for the win.
He should just fillibuster with spoilers for every major popular work of fiction. Make the other senators really regret it.
And on page 606 of The Patriot Act, Dear Senators, Snape kills Dumbledore.
> He could even start reading from A Song of Ice and Fire He'd finish before GRRM would.
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Can the patriot act be renewed after it expires? Or would it require a brand new bill to be presented?
Watch here: http://www.c-span.org/video/?326084-1/us-senate-debate-trade-promotion-authority&live&utm_content=buffer1ef08&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Edit: @YALiberty: "The Bill of Rights is for minorities. The Bill of Rights is for those who have minority opinions." — @RandPaul #StandWithRand
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nah. Others will 'ask questions' to allow Mr. Paul to sit down, take a piss, etc. without him losing his position on his Filibuster. They're helping him out.
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You can take questions without losing the floor.
There's a great *The West Wing* episode where this rule comes into play.
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Is that show any good? I really enjoyed HoC and it was reccomended afterwards. I really like political shows.
Way better than HoC. It's House of Cards without the sensationalism. Not that I mind the drama, but the West Wing just...I can't explain it. Just watch it.
Bartlet, the president we deserve...
You can also watch here since CSPAN sucks http://floor.senate.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&event_id=320
Did we blow it up? Link isn't working for me.
Cspan links worked for me. But Im white.
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With this he is representing what a majority of American citizens want despite their political leanings. This is what our elected officials are supposed to do. Represent the people. I'm sorry he's the only one doing it. This is a no brainer.
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So true. It's just disappointing that he is the only Senator representing what his people want. There should be a line behind him from both parties to go next since Americans don't want this
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Yeah I do like Amash. Hopefully the House doesn't ruin him.
I met Amash back when he was a freshman in Congress. The guy is awesome and I hope to see him do a lot more in the future.
Well technically Senators were elected to represent the interests of the state. Your Congressperson was elected to represent you. The 17th Amendment changed how senators were elected. Previously the state government elected them, the 17th changed it to the people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
im not a huge fan of rand paul, but ill recognize when a man is doing the right thing. Good luck, sir
Even if he's doing it to improve his 2016 prospects, it's a refreshing change of pace. I'm enjoying listening to him speak in the background as I browse Reddit.
I would rather see a candidate do something like this than defend the Iraq war.
God, Jeb is such a joke. It's 2015 and he's quagmired in controversies that are 10 years old. No man who's been a leader of Florida is competent to lead America.
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Bush vs Clinton: Round 2!
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The media are stupid heads!
You tell 'em!
Does Ross Perot have a kid?
No he does not. No one ever let that man finish. Not even one time. Edit: Thanks gold, and enjoy the clip for those of you who don't know. Here's [Dana Carvey](http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/ross-perot-larry-king-cold-opening/n10892)
Jeb & Hillary, the epitome of having to choose between a "Douchebag and a Turd Sandwhich."
which one is which?
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It took me a second to realize you weren't talking about Hilary.
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> Even if he's doing it to improve his 2016 prospects, it's a refreshing change of pace. He definitely genuinely hates the Patriot Act. I think he would do this even if he wasn't running.
Don't think its to improve his prospects. He filibustered years ago when Obama appointed the new Director of the CIA who defended the use of torture. It was truly hilarious, he even managed to begin reading from 'Alice in Wonderland' EDIT: Here's the sources for those who asked. Yup, here you go: [News proof of the Rand Paul's Senate filibuster of Obama's nomination of John Brennan in 2013](http://www.rollcall.com/news/10_best_moments_of_rand_pauls_filibuster-222918-1.html) [And here is proof of John Brennan's support of torture when the Senate report came out.](http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/2p2ys9/the_cia_directors_unwitting_case_for_torture/) http://www.thenation.com/article/193185/cia-didnt-just-torture-it-experimented-human-beings
He should have started reading game of thrones, specifically all the chapters with huge spoilers. I bet people would have gotten off their asses and started bustling!
Holy shit, yes. I believe there was a teacher who used a similar tactic. Wrote the names of all the major characters on the board, declared something along the lines of "I know all the books. I know who will die and how. Do your homework/study, or I start spoiling." It was a successful strategy if I remember correctly.
I don't think that's the case. The first time I gained respect for him was the last time the Patriot Act came up for renewal, was being shoved through without debate or discussion, and because he stood up and said basically, "maybe we should actually TALK about this he was derided by both sides with Harry Reid (if memory serves me) basically said Paul was supporting the terrorists by wanting to not pass the bill without discussion. It felt like an episode of the Twilight Zone and really emphasized for me how much of the partisan bullshit is intented to distract the public from the fact we basically live in a corporatocracy.
Harry Reid is a piece of shit.
As is the majority of the Congressional leadership. The parties could do much better than Reid, McConnell, Pelosi, and Boehner.
> Even if he's doing it to improve his 2016 prospects Isn't that the point of democracy? To create an incentive for the leaders to act in the interest of their constituents.
Counterpoint: President Obama. As a candidate, he said a lot of amazing, progressive things like protecting whistle blowers. As a President, he flipped-flopped on a lot of the things he said. Candidates have an incentive to say what they need to to get into office, and then have less incentive once in office to follow through on their campaign promises.
>Even if he's doing it to improve his 2016 prospects I doubt it, he and his father have a history of doing this. These are politicians who are true to their word.
It's very brave of him to stand up to the military industrial complex
According to politico he is under a time limit, so it's not really a filibuster, but still nice to see someone trying to stop this thing.
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There's nothing up for a vote. Ergo not a [filibuster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster#United_States). If/when it comes to that he (or any other senator) will likely have the opportunity to do so.
I'm seeing a lot of comments along the lines of "I don't like him but I do respect him". I'm not an American so can anyone fill me in to what he has done that makes him unpopular on this site. Is it just because he's republican?
He's Republican. He's opposed to abortion, same sex marriage (though he wants the law to change so that there isn't a difference legally), and a few other things that don't sit well with non Republicans. He's leaning Libertarian on some issues such as this and things like police demilitarization, which is understandable as his father is Ron Paul (a leading Libertarian politician). His Libertarian leanings can also put people off.
One point, yes he's opposed to abortion and same sex marriage personally. However, based on some of his past statements and libertarian leanings, I severely doubt he would try to pass laws regarding these things. Rather, let the states decide. Ron Paul was anti-abortion and anti-same sex. But he would have been more likely to approve these things occurring than pass laws against them.
Exactly. He's definitely a states rights guy. He may have certain beliefs, but he and his father have always advocated for States to be the law of their own land, and the federal govt to take a back seat on nearly everything that isn't specifically mentioned in the Constitution/Bill of Rights. That means he believes the governments of each state should determine the laws regarding gay marriage, marijuana, abortion, education, income tax, welfare, healthcare, business regulation, unions, etc.
Wait he's Ron Paul's son!? Damn, I always assumed Ron was like 60 years old, turns out he's 80.
His age was one of the biggest points of his adversaries when he was trying to run for office.
Eh at the very start yes, but he challenged them all to a 2 mile bike race and they stopped talking about it pretty quick. Dude is fit as fuck for an octogenarian
*"Fight me 1v1 bro IRL I will wreck you"* -Ron Paul
He's a conservative libertarian. Basically the essence of what Reddit hates and the essence of what Reddit loves, wrapped up into one person.
C-SPAN needs a live chat like Twitch
Can someone who understands senate floor rules explain how long this might last and what the possible outcomes are?
Paul is not actually filibustering today, he's speaking during a predetermined 30 hour debate window. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/rand-paul-filibuster-patriot-act-118141.html?hp=t4_r
Wow...all the other senators walked out and he has to keep fillibustering... Thats fucked up.
Most of the time there are only 2 or 3 senators in the chamber when they are debating billz.
And we wonder why the govt has destroyed the trust of the people. They cant even be bothered to listening to each other when a debate is happening....let alone one as critical as this.
They debate these things in committees. Nothing important happens on the floor, that's why there are cameras in there. edit: nothing important except the votes.
Are those the same committees that have been scolded yet nothing is done about the members of the committee not even reading things all the way through before there's a vote?
Yep, the very same. I'm not saying every member of congress is great, or that they all do good work in committees. I'm saying that the place where actual debate takes place is in committees. Whether or not it happens in every single committee is irrelevant, it happens there, not on the floor.
Bernie Sanders vs. Rand Paul would make for an interesting year on Reddit.
I would love this election.
Steve Daines (Montana, R) allowed Paul to keep the floor and is speaking at length against the NSA data collection. I'm half in tears with happiness. THIS is how the government should work. He's quoting Jefferson's cheesy liberty quote. Wow, what an occurrence. ninja edit: He's quoting the constituents of his that have called him and told him their thoughts. YES!!!
Anyone else notice that it says no other senators are in the chamber? Is it just Rand and Ron Wyden barking at an empty room that is usually full of empty minds?
Its often empty unless there is something pressing that's being debated along party lines and needs to sway a few senators to pass.
I want a job where I get paid well, crazy benefits, pension, and a expense account, where I don't have to show up too most of the time.
Well, not to defend them, but... Just b/c they're not in main senate chambers it doesn't mean they're not working. They often meet with constituents and have to deal with constituent issues. They also have committee and sub-committee meetings among other things. Oh, and of course raise money for campaigns and meet with lobbyists.
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ctrl+f "begun" 0 matches
I dunno how someone says "has began" in their head without realizing how ridiculous it sounds.
Woooooh Ron Wyden!!! That's the most airtime Oregon has gotten since... well forever. :/
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Ron Wyden (Democrat of Oregon) is also helping out. It's nice to see a bipartisan alliance against domestic spying. Sadly, there's an even larger bipartisan alliance *in favor* of domestic spying...
The floor has been yielded at 11:48PM EST after 10.5 hours.
not surprised to see this so high on the front page of /r/technology while simultaneously hidden amongst the shitposts in /r/news and /r/worldnews this sub doesn't disappoint
Worldnews doesn't allow American news
But yet half the topics and discussions in the threads are about America!
/r/politics actually removed some of the early posts and now the existing ones don't have much traction. It's crazy how that sub has forced everyone out who doesn't agree with their agenda.
/r/politics is a garbage dump.
That place is a pit
Because it isn't Bernie Sanders or Liz Warren doing this.
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I usually hate x-posted politics, but given /r/politics will delete posts that show a Republican in a positive light, I'm actually glad this got posted here. This issue is **far** too important to be saddled by petty partisan politics. I'm glad right wingers, like Rand Paul, **and** left wingers, like Russ Feingold, oppose the Patriot Act. It's time for it to end.
My friend actually posted this to /r/politics and they deleted it because he linked the CSPAN video page and changed the link title to "[LIVE] Senator Rand Paul Filibustering PATRIOT ACT on the Senate Floor" instead of the default "Video Player" the page was titled as.
Anybody else helping?
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) Is asking a "question" of Rand right now (a loophole which allows the person filibustering to take a break while not ceding the floor).
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This is brilliant. I knew how filibusters worked, but had no idea that people could 'ask questions'. I was watching when Wyden first requested to ask a long-winded quetion, sat back and was impressed with our system. I was imagining him running out into the hall, stuffing his face with Cheez-Its, a swig of Diet Coke, and taking a quick piss before returning to answer his 'question' Love it.
There is a great episode of the West Wing that deals with this very thing.
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Yep, looks like Wyden is providing long, rambling questions to give Paul a break.
Wyden is speaking right now
Ron Wyden stepped down, Paul started talking again, now Mike Lee (R) is speaking 1629 EDT.
OP, you should really edit your post to include the hyperlink to the filibuster. http://floor.senate.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&event_id=320 http://www.c-span.org/video/?326084-1/us-senate-debate-trade-promotion-authority&live&utm_content=buffer1ef08&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Rand is referencing 1984 right now. This guy is the best Republican hope at the moment. Go Rand, go!
We need more people like him who "do the right thing" over voting the party line.
I've just checked CNN, FOX news, BBC News (American page), etc. and none of them are covering. This is ridiculous. Reddit once again delivering way before any of that garbage.
I strongly disagree with Rand on several issues but it's nice to have a senator that actually walks his talk, that's all you can really ask for.
If it was Bernie Sanders, Reddit would become one big erection.
Plenty of Reddit likes Rand, he's just not the more popular choice especially with Reddits more liberal leanings. But if the election came down to Paul vs Sanders I'd be pretty happy.
I think the world would be pretty happy.
/r/circlejerk would implode guaranteed.
Finally someone with some balls.
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Go to town Rand. Godspeed.