While you slept, the Republican party defined itself, and some of its leaders, for the next quarter century

and the Constitution became cool again--libertarian ideals set Twitter on fire;

and a new bar was raised for the filibuster--phone book-toting pols need not attempt; better have a 12 hour civics lesson that will keep people glued to CSPAN or you'll be shut down by your own party;

and Rand/Lee/Cruz presented a Republican future that gave White House-dining Republican Senators indigestion before coffee and dessert; and send staffers scrambling to get R Senators on the floor in hopes of salvaging their own political futures.



A few of the many links, below:


http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsoutofcontext/55966631-64/trib-bill-utah-committee.html.csp

News round: D.C.'s real-life West Wing episode

Published on Mar 7, 2013 06:04AM

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http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/03/rand-pauls-filibuster-poses-a-good-question.html

March 7, 2013

RAND PAUL HAS A GOOD QUESTION

Posted by Amy Davidson

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/03/rand-pauls-filibuster-poses-a-good-question.html#ixzz2MrKnh7UI

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http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/happening-now/blog/2013/03/07/thursday-march-7-2013-happening-now

Thursday March 7, 2013 Happening Now

Posted by Clint Henderson | March 07, 2013

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/happening-now/blog/2013/03/07/thursday-march-7-2013-happening-now#ixzz2MrL8c9p6

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http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/03/07/17223003-opportunistically-standing-with-rand?lite

Opportunistically standing with Rand

By Steve Benen

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Thu Mar 7, 2013 8:00 AM EST

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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/03/cliffs-notes-for-the-filibuster-rand-paul-in-his-own-words/273787/

Cliffs Notes for the Filibuster: Rand Paul in His Own Words