Editor,
Our junior senator, Mike Lee, joined Rand Paul in a filibuster designed to slow confirmation of John Brennan. The excuse for this exercise in futility
and obvious waste of time is their opinion that the president’s current “drone use policy” can be used to violate the Constitution’s guarantee of due process. Senators Paul and Lee apparently hold the belief that no American should be subject to a drone strike without judicial process. Despite the president’s assurance that such action has never been used in the United States and is highly unlikely to be used, these senators can not conceive of a circumstance that might meet the policy’s standard.
Even as a liberal, I admit that this power seems extreme. I don’t support the death penalty and I abhor our participation in wars I believe to be unneccessary and unjustifiable. That said, could I have ordered a drone strike to take out Timothy McVeigh and his van before he destroyed more than 300 men, women and children in Oklahoma City? I freely admit I could. There are times when extreme measures should be taken and the president’s oath to protect and defend the Constitution and the citizens of these United States should and does extend that far.
Harold Stephens
Liberty
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