Mediaboss Marketing

The Capitol Hill impasse over federal surveillance powers continued Monday, as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) refused to yield to pressure from the White House and fellow Republicans to step aside and allow the reinstatement of key USA Patriot Act provisions that expired early Monday morning.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) again showed agitation with Paul when he came to the Senate floor Monday afternoon to make a request, requiring unanimous consent, to move up a set of votes scheduled for Tuesday.

Everyone has had ample opportunity to say their piece at this point, said McConnell, who has endorsed Paul for president. Now is the time for action.

[Sun sets on some NSA surveillance powers as Rand Paul foils extension]

But Paul, as he has done on several occasions in recent weeks, objected: I think the bill could be made much better with amendments, and if we could come to an arrangement to allow amendments to be voted on, I would be happy to allow my consent.

On the night the Patriot Act expired, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) equated the collecting of Americans' phone records to "what we fought the revolution over." (Senator Rand Paul/YouTube)

That puts the Senate on a path to pass surveillance legislation known as the USA Freedom Act as soon as Tuesday, although pitfalls remain. McConnell has set up votes on three amendments, the passage of any of which would send the bill back to the House, where its fate would be uncertain.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday reiterated his preference to have the Senate pass the already-approved House bill, without any amendments, so that it can be sent to President Obamas desk quickly. I still think the best advice for them is to pass our bill, he told reporters.

McCarthy declined several opportunities to say whether he would accept any changes by the Senate, which would require the House to reconsider the anti-terrorism legislation. The best option for the protection of this country is to pass our bill, he said.

McConnells amendments would tweak the USA Freedom Act, which was the product of months of intense negotiations between lawmakers, intelligence officials, civil libertarians and telecommunications companies.

Excerpt from:
Frustration mounts as Rand Paul refuses to accelerate ...

"There has to be another way," the Kentucky Republican tweeted. "We must find it together. So tomorrow, I will force the expiration of the NSA illegal spy program."

The National Security Agency's authorities -- which, among other powers, allow the agency to collect telephone data on millions of Americans and store that data for five years -- will end at midnight Sunday unless the Senate approves an extension.

RELATED: What happens if the Patriot Act provisions expire?

Last week, Republicans were unable to find 60 votes to break a filibuster on either an extension of the existing law or a House-passed bill, the USA Freedom Act, that would have telecommunications companies hold the data and require the government to get a warrant to access it.

Paul and his allies are limited in their ability to derail the legislation altogether. But their opposition to any bill authorizing the programs would mean the Senate would be stuck in many hours of debate -- perhaps lasting days -- before anything could be passed by majority vote because of complex Senate procedural rules. By then, the authorities would have lapsed and the government would need time to get them back online.

In a statement, Paul explained why he was taking a stand in the Senate.

"The callous use of general warrants and the disregard for the Bill of Rights must end. Forcing us to choose between our rights and our safety is a false choice and we are better than that as a nation and as a people," he said.

Paul also acknowledged in his statement that there is a need for a "robust intelligence agency" to defend against terrorism, but added, "We do not need to give up who we are in order to defeat them."

If there is no agreement by Sunday, not only would the government need to stop its bulk collection of phone data, but also authorities would not be able to conduct surveillance of so-called "lone wolf" terrorists who are not American citizens and not believed to be part of an identified terrorist group. The government would also lose its ability to conduct "roving wiretaps," a program that gives the government the ability to track various phones used by the same person.

RELATED: Rand Paul seizes political moment with NSA protest

Read more:
Rand Paul warns of plan to derail NSA vote - CNNPolitics.com

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul had some harsh words Wednesday for Republicans who have blamed the rise of Islamic extremism in Iraq and Syria on American disengagement with the Middle East.

In an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Paul was asked about the criticism he's received from GOP hawks like South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who have argued that America's failure to arm moderate rebel groups in the Syrian civil war created space for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to grow.

Play Video

Paul, who recently announced he is running for president, discussed immigration, criminal justice, the GOPs inclusiveness and more on Face the ...

"I would say it's exactly the opposite," Paul said. "ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party who gave arms indiscriminately, and most of those arms were snatched up by ISIS. These hawks also wanted to bomb [Syrian dictator Bashar] Assad, which would have made ISIS's job even easier."

Paul has embraced a less muscular American approach to global events, arguing the U.S. should be more reticent in committing its own resources to foreign conflicts - either by sending its U.S. troops to intervene or sending U.S. munitions to warring parties.

That belief has put Paul at odds with much of the rest of his party, and the debate is already shaping the GOP's 2016 presidential primary - Paul is running for president, and a host of prominent Republican hawks, like Graham, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have either declared a bid or signaled they plan to declare soon.

Play Video

Iraqi forces say they've surrounded three sides of the city after launching a new offensive against ISIS. It took the militants only a few hours ...

Another prospective candidate, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, said Wednesday that Paul's comments Wednesday morning are "a perfect example of why Senator Paul is unsuited to be Commander-in-Chief."

Read the original post:
Rand Paul: "ISIS exists...because of hawks" in the GOP ...

The Kentucky senator and Republican presidential candidate is thrilling his libertarian-leaning base with a campaign against the NSA and stinging criticism of his party's history of Middle East meddling. But the moves are enraging other Republicans eyeing the White House with his opponents zeroing in on Paul's comments this week that "ISIS exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party."

Rick Santorum slammed Paul's remarks as "fundamentally a misunderstanding of the nature of the enemy we face."

"I would expect to hear that from maybe Bernie Sanders," he said, referring to the liberal Democratic presidential candidate. "I don't expect to hear that from somebody running for the Republican nomination."

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who said this week that Paul is "unsuited" to be commander-in-chief, told CNN Thursday that the senator's hawks comment must be "condemned."

"This is a statement that's even to the left of what Sen. Clinton or President Obama would say," Jindal said.

Rick Perry, meanwhile, accused Paul of a "basic misunderstanding of the situation in Iraq and Syria."

Indeed, Paul is becoming the preferred punching bag of Republican presidential hopefuls. Of course, many of them are eager to attack Paul to win media attention and bolster their national security credentials. But the bashing will be a persistent challenge for Paul as he navigates the tricky challenge of galvanizing his base, dominated by isolationists, while competing in a Republican primary that remains heavily influenced by traditional foreign policy hawks.

READ: Rand Paul: Republican brand 'sucks' and is 'broken'

The Paul-hating could come to a head this weekend when the Senate convenes for a rare Sunday session in a last-ditch attempt to prevent key NSA surveillance tactics from lapsing at midnight -- something both President Barack Obama and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have sought to avoid.

Paul hasn't hesitated to deploy every procedural tool available to thwart Senate action, leaving him with no friends on the issue among GOP presidential contenders.

See the article here:
Rand Paul: The GOP's punching bag - CNNPolitics.com

Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul brought his presidential campaign to Chicago on Wednesday, appealing to African-Americans on the South Side, entrepreneurs downtown and Republicans in the suburbs.

On a stage set up on a blacktop parking lot in front of an American flag mural at 66th Street and South King Drive, Paul continued a unique approach for GOP White House contenders making an appeal to African-Americans who tend to favor Democrats.

Paul opened his speech by referring to the "black lives matter" refrain used by protesters after the controversial deaths of African-American men at the hands of police. Paul said the phrase reminds him of the deaths of Eric Garner, who was choked to death by officers in New York, and Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured in police custody in Baltimore. But Paul said the phrase also has meaning in Chicago.

"When I hear people say, 'Black lives matter,' I think of Jacele Johnson, who is 4 years old and got shot this weekend just a few blocks from here," Paul said of the Englewood girl who doctors say is swiftly recovering after being shot on the left side of her head Friday night outside a family gathering. "You may be saying to yourself, 'Why is this white guy saying black lives matter, what does he know about crime in my neighborhood?' Well, I've got crime in my neighborhood too. We've got some kind of thing going on in our country, and we need to come to grips with it."

Paul then talked about a horrific 2011 case in his home state. "In my little town in Kentucky, a white woman cut a baby out of another white woman.

"There is crime going on all across America. It is not a racial thing, it is a spiritual problem," Paul said. "I think government can play a role in public safety, but I don't think government can mend a broken spirit. Government can't provide you salvation, government can't save you. Ultimately, salvation is something you accept yourselves."

A white, libertarian Republican senator from the South urging African-American voters in an impoverished, heavily Democratic neighborhood on the city's South Side to look within themselves to "find your inner grace" isn't a typical scene in a GOP presidential bid. Paul, though, isn't running a conventional campaign.

His stop in Chicago came a day after the release of his book "Taking a Stand," in which he makes the case for a new, more inclusive Republican Party, proclaiming the "Republican brand sucks."

On Wednesday, Paul sought to bring that theme to the stump.

He advocated for reclassifying nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors as part of his call to end "mass incarceration" in America.

Read the original:
Rand Paul in Chicago: Crime 'not a racial thing, it is a ...