Rand Paul’s Audacity of Nope: Suing Obama Over Domestic Surveillance

[DonViejo]

The senator plans to make protecting civil liberties the cornerstone of his potential presidential campaign.

Rand Paul got a little wild Friday night.

Kentucky's junior senator went on national television, announced he was suing the president of the United States, suggested the Director of National Intelligence and the nation's most prolific sharer of secrets share a prison cell, and took a step closer to the Republican nomination for the president.

So while most of America was thinking TGIF, Paul went on Hannity and announced that he and about 250,000 Americans are suing President Barack Obama and the NSA over the agency's collection of data through domestic surveillance, returning to the issue arena and theatrics that caused his profile to explode less than a year ago.

Paul loves to be underestimated, and he has demonstrated that he knows when and how to maneuver while his opponents are busy counting him out.

So despite whatever scars he has from 2013's plagiarism scandal, Paul's move Friday night could well keep him in 2016 GOP frontrunner neighborhood.

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/06/rand-paul-s-audacity-of-nope-suing-obama-over-domestic-surveillance.html

[geek tragedy]

1. lol this will be fun.

Especially when Obama proposes changing the NSA laws to protect privacy* and the entire Republican party goes back to "Obama is too soft on terrorists" mantra.


*Whether such reforms prove to be meaningful or merely window dressing is immaterial for this discussion.

[Thinkingabout]

2. Rand Paul opens his mouth and crap comes out. The TP is really trying hard to do harm.

He would like to trash the GOP and DNC in favor of the libertarian party. I would hope those who lean libertarian would not see Paul as a leader.

[bemildred]

3. I'll say it again: the Democrats better take this issue away from Paul while they still can. nt

[sendero]

4. Finally..

... a sane post in this thread.

Anyone that thinks I think much of Libertarians should read the sig line I've been sporting for a very long time. But they are right on this issue and Americans are getting sick and tired of "terror" being used to make us do and submit to all kinds of stupid things.

When the NSA foils a single bona fide terror plot, someone let me know. I'm not holding my breath because all the surveillance in the world cannot fix stupid. And liars are not worth much respect either, and the NSA has shown the lying is their main talent.

In the meantime , I'd prefer not to flush my civil liberties the founders so wisely fought for so the chicken littles of the world can crawl out from under their mommies' skirt and the MIC can have yet another method of cowing anyone that dares to point out how venal and stupid they are.

[bemildred]

5. They will kick our asses with it if we let them. This is not the year for that.

Our "Democratic" leaders need to get over their fears of populiam and get out in front while they still can.