Topic: GOP - Rand Paul's Presidential Highlight Reel w/ his Libertarian Twist - page 38. (Read 205816 times)

People who are "pushing a conspiracy theory" should never be proven correct, since it will only encourage them to come up with an endless flow of even crazier theories! 
Oh, did you hear the confirmed reports about Jeb and 'W' doing coke at Camp David when Daddy was President?

Stop the NSA’s spying on Americans - by Rand Paul and Rep. Mark Sanford

There is always a balance between security and liberty, and the American tradition has long been to err on the side of liberty.

America’s founders feared a government powerful enough to commit unreasonable searches and seizures and crafted a Constitution designed to protect citizens’ privacy.

Today, many Americans keep their daily activities and personal information on their cell phones.

We believe that as technology evolves, our constitutional rights should endure. The Fourth Amendment protects our right to privacy and we should never let a government entity run roughshod on our rights.

When we took office, we vowed to uphold and protect these rights.

This is precisely why we vehemently oppose the renewal of the Section 215 of the USA Freedom Act.

Section 215 allows for secret court orders to collect “tangible things” that could be relevant to a government investigation — a far lower threshold and more expansive reach than a warrant based on probable cause.

The list of possible “tangible things” the government can obtain without a warrant is seemingly limitless and can include things like driver license records and Internet browsing history.

Ironically enough, the court of appeals for the Second Circuit deemed this bulk collection of data to be illegal.

Yet just a week later, the House of Representatives voted to turn this illegal act into law.

While we believe U.S. intelligence should keep a close watch on suspected terrorists, the U.S. Constitution should not be trampled in the process.

This administration and some government officials think that violating American citizen’s right to privacy is essential for national security and that proves just how out of touch and out of control our government has become.

It should be said that we do not believe the vast majority of NSA agents and contractors are using these programs for pernicious purposes. They love their country and are simply trying to protect it with the tools that they have been given.

But the NSA is just one more example of a tool used by a president who has abused his executive authority time and time again.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and trusting unlimited power is not an American strength.

Should our civilization move in that direction, it would represent an American vice.

As Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

We should never give up our freedoms for a false sense of security and we will continue to do all we can to protect our nation without infringing upon our constitutional rights.
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More...http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150521/PC1002/150529911

Sens. Rand Paul & Mark Warner Introduce the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mark Warner (D-VA) today introduced the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015. This bipartisan legislation will empower those on the front lines of federal spending to find efficiencies and improve productivity to return value to the taxpayer in the form of deficit reduction and less government borrowing. Building on the current federal law, the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act would allow a U.S. government agency’s inspector general to pay a bonus of up to $10,000 when a federal employee identifies surplus or unneeded funds. Cosponsors of the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015 include: Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Mike Enzi (R-WY).

“Under the current law, federal employees have a perverse incentive to spend all of their agency’s annual budget before the end of the year, and subsequently, bonuses will reverse the incentive to the benefit of the employee and the taxpayer,” said Sen. Paul. “The Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act will reduce the federal deficit and reverse the trend toward agency bloat, by combating inefficiency and mismanagement of funds in the government.”

“This bipartisan proposal encourages federal agencies to return unused funds instead of rushing to spend-down their appropriations at the end of every fiscal year. When we empower federal employees to identify surplus funds instead of encouraging the ‘use it or lose it’ mentality, we are better stewards of taxpayers’ dollars,” Sen. Warner said.

“Giving federal employees more of an incentive to identify and call out unnecessary spending within the federal government has the potential to save taxpayers millions of dollars and make federal agencies run far more efficiently,” Sen. Gardner said. “I’m proud to support this bipartisan effort, and will work to ensure its passage.”

http://www.paul.senate.gov/news/press/sens-rand-paul-and-mark-warner-introduce-the-bonuses-for-cost-cutters-act-of-2015

New York Times editorial board stands with Rand on filibuster

He may have annoyed Senate colleagues by seizing the floor for a marathon monologue on Wednesday, but Senator Rand Paul did Americans a singular service by forcing attention to the fact that their civil liberties remain at stake as Congress drifts toward a renewal of the Patriot Act that is likely to do too little to rein in government surveillance programs.

“Are you really willing to give up your liberty for security?” Senator Paul asked in his unexpected, 10-and-a-half-hour quasi-filibuster.

The Kentucky lawmaker candidly linked his floor speech to his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, where he is determined to make more of a public issue of government intrusion into the private lives of Americans after the 9/11 attacks. This is to be welcomed, particularly since so many of his rivals prefer to slide off the issue by endorsing a compromised and faulty renewal of the Patriot Act as it expires on June 1.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/opinion/rand-pauls-timely-takedown-of-the-patriot-act.html

PATRIOT Act on life support after Rand Paul stymies renewal efforts

The Senate plunged into chaos Saturday as Republicans found themselves tangled over the PATRIOT Act, Rand Paul repeatedly stymied his leaders, and senators left town with critical national security programs about to lapse.

In a rare early morning Saturday vote, the Senate blocked a popular House bill that would rein in controversial government surveillance programs. The vote was 57-42, and it needed 60 votes to advance. Immediately after that vote, the Senate also rejected a straight 60-day extension of the Bush-era national security law on a 45-54 vote — leaving the Senate with no immediate options to ensure the programs don’t expire before the end of the month.

Paul, the libertarian firebrand and GOP presidential hopeful, pushed the Senate into the wee hours of Saturday to protest the bulk collection of phone records, as weary and recess-hungry senators trudged through a packed to-do list — finishing trade legislation but getting stuck on the PATRIOT Act issues.

“It’s not about making a point, it’s about trying to prevent the bulk collection of data,” Paul told reporters after the Senate floor drama. When asked whether his objections were a fundraising tactic, Paul responded: “I think people don’t question my sincerity.”

After the two failed votes early Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to swiftly pass shorter and shorter temporary reauthorizations of the PATRIOT Act — extending it to June 8, June 5, June 3 and then June 2 — but he was blocked by Paul, as well as two Democratic senators.

After being stiff-armed at every turn, McConnell announced that the Senate would be back in session on May 31 to resolve the PATRIOT Act standoff — just hours before the critical provisions are poised to sunset.

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http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/mitch-mcconnell-criticize-house-surveillance-bill-118211.html

Christie slams Paul for Patriot Act failure

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) took a shot Saturday at his potential 2016 presidential rival, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), for blocking renewal of the Patriot Act.

In a statement from his political action committee, Christie slammed “misguided ideologues” with “no real world experience in fighting terrorism” for “putting their uninformed beliefs above the safety and security of our citizens.”

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Christie, who is seeking to run as a Washington outsider, cast the Patriot Act vote as another example of congressional dysfunction.

"The Senate's failure to extend the Patriot Act is a failure of the U.S. government to perform its most important function — protecting its citizens from harm,” he said. “This dysfunction is what we have come to expect from Washington, D.C., but usually it does not have such dangerous and severe consequences."

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/243024-christie-slams-paul-for-patriot-act-failure

Feud between John McCain and Rand Paul worsens after NSA reform fiasco

The feud between John McCain and Rand Paul worsened on Saturday morning after the presidential candidate successfully held up a temporary extension of controversial provisions of the Patriot Act.

McCain, a leading GOP hawk and Paul, the leader of his party’s libertarian wing, have never exactly seen eye to eye. But the relationship became even more toxic after Paul successfully blocked the Senate from extending NSA surveillance programs for even one additional day.

After the votes, McCain expressed his frustration with the Kentucky Republican, saying there were “99 people [in the Senate] who were basically willing to have this put off for a period of time so there could be negotiations and one person decided that he didn’t want to have it happen”.

The Arizona Republican went on to suggest that Paul’s filibuster of over 10 hours on Wednesday was simply a fundraising ruse while also casting veiled barbs at Texas Republican Ted Cruz as well.

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http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/23/feud-between-john-mccain-and-rand-paul-worsens-after-nsa-reform-fiasco

Rand Paul was right: Rifles, RPGs and missiles flowed from Benghazi to ISIS ports

Rand Paul asks Hillary Clinton if the US is Shipping Arms from Libya to Turkey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg4aL3SUb0w

The U.S. watched as rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and missiles flowed from Benghazi to Syrian ports where they would become part of the Islamic State's arsenal of weapons, a Defense Intelligence Agency memo reveals.

Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied any knowledge of this when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky asked her about it during a Benghazi hearing in January 2013. Think Progress said Paul's questions were "pushing a conspiracy theory."


The Oct. 5, 2012, DIA memo, penned before the Benghazi attacks, makes it clear that the U.S. was watching as weapons were transferred from Benghazi to two Syrian ports.

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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/rand-paul-was-right-rifles-rpgs-and-missiles-flowed-from-benghazi-to-isis-ports/article/2564816

NY Times: 2016 Prospect Rand Paul in New Book: GOP Willing to Change

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul reaches out in his most direct way yet to African Americans in a new book that highlights his libertarian policies on government surveillance, the economy and criminal justice reform.

"My party has let the bond it once enjoyed with minorities fray to the point that it is near beyond repair," the Kentucky senator writes in "Taking a Stand: Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America," set to be released later this month. He continued, "My Republican Party, the Republican Party I hope to lead to the White House, is willing to change."

Paul, 52, has made reaching out to racial minorities a centerpiece of his political brand as he embarks on his 2016 campaign for president. More than a decade has passed since the Republican Party last won a presidential contest, due in part to the GOP's struggle with minority voters, a growing segment of the population that has overwhelmingly favored Democrats in recent years.

More...http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/05/21/us/politics/ap-us-gop-2016-paul-book.html?_r=1

Rand Paul's Smedley Butler Dog Whistle to the Antiwar Libertarians

Amid lots and lots of interesting, and wonderful to hear on the floor of the Senate, stuff from Rand Paul in his just-concluded talk about all the reasons why the Patriot Act needs to go and the USA Freedom Act needs to be amended before it's passed was a quick quote from a name that doubtless most people hearing didn't recognize: Smedley Butler.

The quote was either a direct statement or paraphrase of Butler's "There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights."

But that Paul had the nerve to mention Butler in a positive way was a great, if obscure and possibly easy to overinterpret, sign for those who love Paul for his tendencies toward reining in America's tendencies toward war.

Butler, himself a highly honored major general in the Marine Corps, is author of an incendiary tract called War is a Racket in 1935, beloved of antiwar folk ever since. Christopher Coyne summed it up for us here at Reason nicely back in 2012:


Indeed they haven't, which is why it's great, even though the words "war is a racket" in their full Butlerian meaning likely never won't come from Rand Paul's lips, to hear Butler's name mentioned in the filibuster-ish peroration today. (Paul similarly named a more thoroughly libertarian secret hero, Lysander Spooner, in his 2013 anti-drone filibuster.) These sort of reminders that Rand Paul comes from the curious and unique background of radical anti-state and anti-war thinking are always nice for those of us who hope for a Rand Paul who doesn't forget the rich heritage of libertarian and libertarian-ish thought. And today's Rand Paul was a pretty pure hero.
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http://reason.com/blog/2015/05/20/rand-pauls-smedley-butler-dog-whistle-to

I sent tweets to not only my own schmucks but also cruz/lee and a few others for their help of Rand. What did you do?

I'm with your salient points bro but Rand did such a great job today/night and am glad that you support him over his pursuit of busting up the NSA's bulk collection concept.

Hes not lonely! I support him as well. I'm sure most of america does as well.
Most limited government voters should probably support him as well. /r/politics is blowing up right now over that, Rand has 4 of the top posts right now, hopefully Rand won't be hidden like his dad was.

Calling this a "lonely fight" is a benchmark for how far off target we are.
Many of our country's founding fathers would want to have almost the entire congress charged with treason, or they would take the direct approach and grab some tar and feathers:



How can so much Gov't power be accepted so easily?

JUSTICE: NSA MAY HAVE TO WIND DOWN BULK COLLECTION THIS WEEK

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department warned lawmakers that the National Security Agency will have to begin winding down its bulk collection of Americans' phone records by the end of the week if Congress fails to reauthorize the Patriot Act.

Faced with the expiration of the law on June 1 and uncertainty on Capitol Hill, the department circulated a memo on Wednesday that described the powers that will lapse and the actions NSA will have to take in advance to avoid legal challenges.

The House overwhelmingly passed a bill to end the bulk collection and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said the Senate will act on the issue before beginning a Memorial Day recess scheduled for week's end.

Final congressional approval before the deadline is no certainty, though. Controversy surrounding the issue flared in the Senate when Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and 2016 presidential candidate, plunged into a lengthy speech declaring the Patriot Act unconstitutional and opposing renewal of the program.

"I will not let the Patriot Act, the most un-Patriotic of acts, go unchallenged," Paul said as he commandeered the floor.

Officials said it was possible the White House contender would hold sway until midnight or later, but his office offered no word on his plans after he started speaking at 1:18 p.m. EDT. Paul's campaign sent out a fundraising appeal while his longstanding opposition to bulk collection, a pillar of his campaign, stirred social media.

The issue has divided Republicans and Democrats, cutting across party lines and pitting civil libertarians concerned about privacy against more hawkish lawmakers fearful about losing tools to combat terrorism.

Among the other Republicans eyeing the White House, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina favor extending the program while Ted Cruz of Texas supports a version of the House bill.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NSA_SURVEILLANCE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-20-15-08-36

On Wednesday afternoon Kentucky senator Rand Paul, a Republican presidential candidate, began what he's calling a filibuster of the Senate's renewal of the PATRIOT Act.

Watch his speech live at C-SPAN's website.

Paul is in opposition to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, another Kentucky Republican who is supporting Paul's bid for president. McConnell supports the renewal of the PATRIOT Act and its provisions on surveillance of terrorist suspects.

This isn't the libertarian Republican's first stab at a long, uninterrupted speech on the Senate floor. In March 2013, Paul engaged in a filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to the top post at the CIA in proest of the practice of drone strikes on American civilians who were engaging in acts with known terror groups overseas.

More...http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/rand-paul-begins-filibuster-patriot-act-renewal_951500.html

Rand Paul’s lonely NSA filibuster

Live on the Senate floor right now and on CSPAN

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Sen. Rand Paul announced Wednesday afternoon he’s attempting to filibuster the extension of the Patriot Act, vowing to use all his legislative powers to try to end the snooping law.

The Kentucky Republican’s speech, which began at 1:18 p.m., is not technically holding up any legislation because the Senate is actually currently debating a trade bill, but Mr. Paul said his move was a filibuster nonetheless, as he vowed to hold the floor until he couldn’t go any longer.

“It’s time to end the NSA spying,” his official Twitter account said in a post at 1:36 p.m., as he was on the floor.

Mr. Paul is waging a lonely fight, demanding that the government stop snooping without probable cause or a warrant. That’s a step beyond even some of his other erstwhile civil libertarian allies who want to curtail the Patriot Act’s bulk collection, but would still allow government agents to go after the records of individuals without first seeking a warrant.


Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/20/rand-paul-filibusters-against-patriot-act-nsa-snoo/#ixzz3aiUkoLjC

#StandWithRand

Rand Paul interview at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia - town hall style hosted by Dom Giordano from WPHT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=484&v=U7rzGvPb0x0

Rand Paul Makes Curious Abortion Comment That May Make Some Pro-Life Voters Nervous

There is no doubt that Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is pro-life on the issue of abortion, but he has made some curious remarks over the years about may make some pro-life voters doubt how fervently pro-life he really is.

In comments to the press on Monday, Paul said he didn’t enter politics to take on abortion but, rather, was more interested in tackling the national debt. The Daily Caller has a transcript about what Paul said when asked whether he would go out of his way to talk about abortion during the presidential campaign nd if he thought abortion should be handled by the states or federal government.

The comments come after Paul did a remarkable job turning a media question about abortion on its head by asking if Democrats would support aborting a 7 pound baby.

“You know … I will answer the question as honestly as I can,” Paul replied. “I didn’t run for office because of this issue. It wasn’t what got me to leave my practice. And I ran for office mainly because I became concerned that we’re going to destroy the country with debt. That we would borrow so much money that we would just destroy the currency.”

“I think best by the states,” Paul replied.

More...http://www.lifenews.com/2015/05/19/rand-paul-makes-curious-abortion-comment-that-may-make-some-pro-life-voters-nervous/

Rand answered this in that the big issue is the fiscal destruction of this country and not the paramount of abortion or other social issues and now they're trying to strike a wedge between social conservatives and fiscals. You won't get social w/o the fiscal at this point. It's all meant to purge him of any evangelical/socon support and throwing that elsewhere to keep him down or so. And duh, the debt and the finances are what make the socials a sideshow at this point and that is likely what he's trying to convey here. But they keep propagandizing.