I can't believe I have to address this nonsense...
Actually... strike that.
What I can't believe is that Drudge gave the scumbags
over at Foreign Policy Magazine's "Flagship" Blog -
"Passport" - an audience for their unethical and unprofessional
attacks on Senator Rand Paul.
Here's the headline:
Ron Paul's Friends Furious Over Rand Paul's Drone
Flip-Flop
First of all, there was no flip-flop. That's first and
foremost.
As to Ron Paul's Friends... all I can tell you is that
I'm a Ron Paul fan... I'm a Rand Paul fan... and if any of Ron's
"friends" actually bought Passport's deliberate misanalysis of what
Rand Paul most recently said about the use of drones...
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
...then all I can do is lament that a politician can't
always pick his or her self-described friends.
Passport opines:
Ron Paul's vibrant fan base is in open rebellion today
over Rand Paul's perceived reversal on domestic drone strikes.
(Nice of Passport to throw "perceived" in there
- but that's only to cover their own asses in advance of people like me
slamming them. No... the whole tone of the Passport piece is that Paul
flip-flopped.)
Quoting Passport:
The Kentucky senator, whose famous 13-hour Senate floor
filibuster did much to strengthen his ties with his father's hardcore
following, told Fox Business Network on Tuesday he's OK with drone strikes on
American citizens who, for instance, rob a liquor store.
What follows is a passive-aggressive column that at times
contradicts the notion that Paul flip-flopped...
(For example: "While it's true that Paul has always
made an exception for 'imminent threats...'")
...even as the entire general thrust - and ideological
and partisan usefulness - of the column is to make the case that Paul has
flip-flopped.
Disgusting, folks; absolutely indefensible both as
journalism and punditry.
Folks, read the full Passport piece. (Take your time... I'll wait. Done? Good...)
I'll tell you what Paul's position was and is... because
it's what my own was and is!
Forget the weapon. Forget whether we're talking a
sniper's bullet or a hellfire missile.
The point that Rand Paul - and I - have been making all
along is that no president... not a President Obama... not a President Bush...
not a President Reagan... has or has ever possessed the Constitutional
authority to order the assassination of an American citizen - particularly an
American citizen on American soil.
(I'll leave it to another time and place to open a
discussion as to whether the goal posts of the Constitution can legitimately be
"moved" when it comes to what actions a president can order against
individuals... American citizen individuals... permanently or temporarily
residing outside the territory of the United States or even simply traveling
outside the territory of the United States.)
A President doesn't have the power to supersede the
Constitutional Protections of American citizens; certainly absent martial law
being legally in effect.
Nor does Congress. (Not the House... not the Senate...
not the full Congress!)
And as for the Supreme Court... no... they have no such
power... nor can they delegate such power to either of the other two branches
nor even to the other two branches working in accord to administer such
(non-existent) power.
On the other hand, returning to the alleged Paul
"flip-flop," where and when normal police actions are being taken, it
matters not whether a SWAT team member uses a sniper rifle and a bullet to
"take down" a suspect during a confrontation where the use of deadly
force is acknowledged to be legal or whether an unmanned radio-controlled drone "takes
out" the LEGALLY targeted suspect.
Yes, folks... legally targeted SUSPECT.
Obviously in the midst of a ongoing crime - be it a shoot
out, armed robbery, hostage situation, or other circumstance where the
"suspect" represents a clear and present danger to innocent life - law
enforcement (and even citizens in self-defense or clear defense of others) have
a right - and in the proper circumstances indeed a duty - to "take
out" a suspect. It doesn't matter what the "method" is.
Obviously limiting - totally limiting - "collateral damage" is a key
priority... but in the final analysis the point Paul has made is correct;
namely, that it's not the "method" of targeting a suspect after the
targeting is legally made that determines the legality of the targeting, it's
the circumstances behind the targeting!
So... to conclude:
Assassination of American citizens... UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
"Taking out" a suspect during the course of an
otherwise legal police action... CONSTITUTIONAL.
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