Sen. Rand Paul
Sen. Rand Paul staged a filibuster on the Senate floor to draw attention to the need to rein in the Patriot Act and the National Security Agency’s surveillance powers, but 10 hours and 30 minutes in, he quit.
Paul’s effort came two-plus years after he launched a 13-hour filibuster against drones.
“My voice is rapidly leaving, my bedtime has long since passed,” he said, in the final midnight moments of his speaking marathon. “The bulk collection must end and I think we have the votes to do it now.”
He thanked his colleagues and supporters.
“Thank you for staying and not throwing things,” he said, ABC News reported. “We will try not to do this but every few years. I want to thank the American people for considering the arguments and hopefully for helping us push this towards a reform where we all respect the Fourth Amendment and the Bill of Rights all again. Thank you Mr. President, and I relinquish the floor.”
Paul kicked off his speech by reminding of the perils of the Patriot Act and its massive data collection powers for the federal government.
“There comes a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow power to accumulate and liberty and privacy to suffer,” he said, shortly before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. “That time is now and I will not let the Patriot Act, the most un-patriotic of acts, go unchallenged. The bulk collection of all Americans’ phone records all of the time is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment. The people don’t want the bulk collection of their records, and if we were listening, we would hear that.”
Section 215 of the Patriot Act giving the feds the power to collect bulk data is due to expire June 1, unless Congress reauthorizes it.
Paul also said at one point: “There’s a hunger in America for somebody to stand up, for all of us to stand up.”
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