Sen. Rand Paul took a strong stance against the NSA at CPAC today, bringing a whole room of attendees to their feet—something which ten years ago would have been unimaginable. “Generalized warrants that don’t name an individual go against the fabric of the Fourth Amendment,” he said.
Although Paul’s speech was primarily intended to sell a liberty-centered conservatism, it also served as a dress rehearsal for the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nominee, specifically between frontrunners Paul and Governor Chris Christie. Yesterday, Christie marked himself as a proponent of a tough national defense. Paul countered by railing against the NSA on moral grounds:
We will not trade our liberty for security…Our rights are inherent. They are inseparable from our person…They come from our Creator and no government can take them away from us. The Constitution merely codifies what exists before time.
Political philosophy isn’t the only area of dispute. Whereas Christie identified himself as an outsider to an inept Congress, Paul defended his accomplishments in the Senate: “I took a stand. I filibustered…I sued the president.”
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