By Wayne Allyn Root
Hugo Chavez just died and many of us said “Good riddance” to a tyrant who took advantage of his people, intimidated his political opposition, and left his country in disarray. Rand Paul seemed to be reminding us, “Why would we want a tyrant in America too?” That was the point of Senator Rand Paul’s nearly 13-hour filibuster on the U.S. Senate floor on Wednesday.
Yes Obama is cool, and hip, and a man of the people. But with each hour Rand Paul kept up his filibuster, you could feel Obama’s popularity melting away. Rand seemed to be saying, “Does it really matter if he’s hip, if he wants to kill you- an American citizen, on American soil? Does it matter if he’s cool, and the kind of guy you’d like to have a beer with, if he wants you dead without a trial?”
Heck, forget no trial, you won’t even get to hear the charges. Your President will just order a drone to hunt you down and blow up your car- with you in the front seat. You won’t ever know what hit you, you’ll never see your kids again, and you’ll never even know what you’ve done, you’ll never know who made the charges against you. Perhaps they were false charges. Perhaps it was over jealousy, or a grudge. Perhaps it was political. No matter. You’re dead because the President believes you had no right to a trial.
That was why Rand Paul stood on the Senate floor for 13 courageous hours embarrassing the President of the United States, with the whole world watching. Rand was daring Obama to end the filibuster by answering one simple question- “Do you have the right to order the killing of U.S. citizens, on U.S. soil, without arrest, without due process, without hearing charges, without a lawyer, without a trial?”
King Obama has become King George. Rand was reminding us this is why our Founding Fathers risked torture and death in the first American Revolution. This is why so many of our ancestors risked their lives to travel thousands of miles to a new country. For freedom, for rights, for due process, to escape tyrants.
As John Lennon might say, “Imagine with me.”
If George W. Bush, a Republican-conservative was President, and he refused to answer the question about whether he had a right to order the assassination of American citizens on American soil, what would liberals say? What would the media say? What would Michael Moore, George Clooney and Sean Penn say? What would Senator Obama say?
If a Republican President wanted to listen to our phone calls and read our emails without a warrant, what would the left say?
If a Republican President wanted to imprison you for a limitless period without ever telling you what you are charged with, what would the ACLU say?
If a Republican President was presiding over 14% black unemployment, what would Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson say? What would Senator Obama say?
If a Republican was President while homelessness reached the highest levels in New York City since the 1929 Great Depression, what would liberals say? What would New York clergy say? How about black leaders?
If a Republican President presided over the biggest drop in disposable income in 54 years (since record-keeping began in 1959), what would the media say? What would the left say?
If a pro business Republican President presided over record numbers of suicides, at the same time we were suffering the worst economic crisis since 1929, what would the media say?
If a Republican President presided over a country with 50 million people on food stamps, what would the champions of the poor say?
If a Republican President nominated a man for Treasury Secretary held his money in the Cayman Islands in a building liberals called “the world’s biggest tax scam”…what would Democratic U.S. Senator Obama say about that?
What if a Republican President sold guns to Mexican drug cartels that were then used to kill 300 Mexicans plus a U.S. Border Agent? What would the Democrat controlled Senate say?
What if a Republican President refused higher security for a U.S. Ambassador, then upon hearing he was under attack, refused to allow a rescue attempt, and then left for the night. Would the media have a problem with the image of a Republican President sleeping while our Ambassador and three American heroes were slaughtered, while waiting for help that never came? Somehow I think Geraldo would be up in arms.
What if a Republican President played golf with Tiger Woods at a luxury resort all weekend and refused media access, while Americans were suffering, and a sequestration crisis that could damage the economy was looming within days? What would the media say?
What if a Republican President named Bush was presiding over historic numbers of Americans under the age of 30 living in poverty, record numbers of college graduates in default on student loans, and record numbers of middle aged Americans raiding their retirement accounts out of desperation to survive? Do you think the media would report this economy is in “recovery?”
U.S. Senator Rand Paul has had enough. Yesterday he stood up to President Obama for nearly 13 courageous hours. For nearly 13 hours he showed America how a real United States Senator should act. For nearly 13 long hours he prodded a sleeping giant (the American public) to wake up and shout “I’m not going to take it anymore.”
Perhaps this was a moment that we’ll be reading about in the history books one day. This was certainly the moment we learned the emperor has no clothes…and he reserves the right to kill us, without charges, without lawyer, without trial.
Thank you Rand for reminding us what it means to be an American.
Wayne Allyn Root is a Capitalist Evangelist, entrepreneur, and conservative media commentator. He is a former Libertarian vice presidential nominee. Wayne’s latest book is out on April 15, 2013: “The Ultimate Obama Survival Guide: Secrets to Protecting Your Family, Your Finances, and Your Freedom. It is available at Amazon at: amzn.to/ZTZVLg.
