Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), really, really wanted to let the National Security Agency continue to collect the records of virtually every telephone call made to or from this country. He even demanded that the Senate cut short its Memorial Day recess and return to Washington for a rare Sunday session to approve a temporary extension of the Patriot Act.
President Barack Obama said doing so was essential for the security of the country. CIA Director John Brennan said letting the authority lapse would make America less safe.
But Rand Paul, the junior senator from Kentucky, refused to give McConnell the unanimous consent he needed to move the legislation forward. And that’s all it took to bring the Surveillance State to a screeching halt… at least for now.
The NSA said it had begun shutting down its bulk-data collection program on Sunday afternoon. It warned that it will take at least a day to reboot the program, once Congress grants it permission to do so.
Establishment Republicans wasted no time in denouncing Paul for his actions. McConnell blamed “a campaign of demagoguery and disinformation” for the Senate’s refusal to extend the Patriot Act. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that Paul places “a higher priority on his fund-raising and his ambitions rather than on the security of the nation.”
But Paul refused to buckle. In a letter to supporters, he said:
We don’t have to choose between fighting terrorism and obeying the Constitution. That’s why, two years ago, I sued the NSA. It’s why I proposed the Fourth Amendment Protection Act, to force our government to abide by the Bill of Rights.
It’s why I have fought for a full, open and honest debate on warrantless domestic spying – a debate that is always kicked down the road in the name of ‘security.’
Paul supporters wearing bright red “Stand with Rand” T-shirts packed the spectator gallery of the Senate on Sunday. They cheered their guy on when he continued:
I believe the number one job of the federal government is national defense. I believe we must fight terrorism, and I believe we must stand strong against our enemies.
But we do not need to compromise the Constitution in the process. In fact, we must not.
Sunday’s victory may be only temporary as the Senate then voted 77 to 17 to consider the U.S.A. Freedom Act, a measure to revise and update the Patriot Act that was overwhelmingly approved in the House back on May 13. The vote there was 338 to 88.
This bill would end the NSA’s authority to collect bulk telephone records. Instead, it tasks the telephone companies with maintaining such data and says the government would need a warrant to access such information.
Isn’t that supposed to be the way the system works? After all, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states,
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…
That integral part of the Bill of Rights continues,
… and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probably cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Yes, following the Constitution might mean it will take the authorities a little bit longer to track a potential terrorist’s contacts in this country. But that’s a small price to pay for preserving our freedoms.
More than 200 years ago, Benjamin Franklin warned that “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Sure, the circumstances were a lot different back then. But Franklin’s warning still applies.
Yes, it’s frightening how many jihadists want to bring their campaigns of terror to this country. But it’s even more frightening how many citizens are willing, even eager, to surrender some of their essential liberties if the government says it will help protect them.
On this one, I’m happy to “Stand with Rand.”
Until next time, keep some powder dry.
-Chip Wood
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