Two veteran GOP senators say Sen. Rand Paul "cheapened" the debate over drone policy with "ridiculous" arguments in his filibuster on Wednesday.
A day after the Paul filibuster made headlines, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) sternly criticized his arguments on drone policy, which Paul made in an effort to block a confirmation vote on CIA nominee John Brennan.
McCain said Paul's argument that the administration might use a drone to kill Jane Fonda was "ridiculous," while Graham said he had cheapend the debate.
“To infer that the president is going to kill someone like Jane Fonda or someone who disagrees with him is simply ridiculous,” McCain said on the floor Thursday.
“If someone is an enemy combatant, that enemy combatant has no where to hide, not even in a café.”
“To infer that our government would drop a Hellfire missile on Jane Fonda brings the conversation to a ridiculous tone,” he continued.
Paul brought up Fonda during his more than 12-hour talking filibuster on Wednesday.
“Is objection to the policy of your government sympathizing with the enemy?” Paul said Wednesday. “Are you just going to drop a Hellfire missile on Jane Fonda?” referring to the actress’s prominent anti-war stance during the Vietnam conflict.
Paul has asked President Obama to clarify if he believes he has the authority to launch a drone strike against a U.S. noncombatant on American soil.
“This president is not going to use a drone against an innocent person sitting at a café because it would be illegal,” Graham said Thursday. “It would be murder.”
For more on McCain and Graham's comments, click here.
