We've said it before: electing the "right" officials will not stop federal abuse of power. As Breitbart reports, that principle was clearly demonstrated yesterday in the Senate:
The PATRIOT Act filibuster that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) led on Wednesday evening has proven one big thing: that his colleague from Kentucky, the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, agrees with his predecessor that there shouldn’t be open process or debate when the Senate considers major pieces of legislation.
Before Paul forcibly took control of the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)—who supports the National Security Agency (NSA) spying program that Paul is filibustering the PATRIOT Act over—had planned on having U.S. Senators vote on Obamatrade on Wednesday evening. The vote was supposed to happen as early as 8 p.m. on Wednesday but before 1 a.m. on Thursday–and now has been bumped at least as far back as 10 a.m. on Thursday. Paul relinquished the floor just before midnight on Wednesday, speaking for more than 10 and a half hours.
What’s perhaps most interesting about both issues—the NSA program that section 215 of the PATRIOT Act allows, which is what Paul is highlighting with his filibuster, and the Obamatrade deal that McConnell is trying to ram through Congress—is that McConnell is acting like former Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) on both, by not allowing an open amendment process on either.
Click here to read more from Breitbart News.
Whatever your views on the Patriot Act or Sen. Paul's protest, Sen. McConnell has no right to use his position to unfairly advantage legislation he happens to agree with.
Unfortunately, federal officials abusing their power is nothing new, which is why a Convention of States is so crucial at this point in our nation's history. A Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that limit the power, scope, and jurisdiction of these officials.
