Rand Paul Questions Homeland Security On Spying, Fourth Amendment Of The Constitution

According to Wikipedia, the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights that “prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported…”

Wednesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) grilled Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson over the government’s surveillance capabilities, particularly questioning him about whether the practices adhere to the Fourth Amendment.

According to MediaITE, Paul asked Johnson if he believes the Fourth Amendment “applies to third party records,” specifically those of telephone companies. Johnson said that question is “beyond my competence as secretary of homeland security” to answer intelligently.

“Here’s the problem, though, your agency is in charge of cooperating and being part of this,” Paul said. “And that’s the whole debate we have in our country is over whether we should do this.”

In his earlier testimony, Johnson complained that telephone companies are moving toward more encryption of data. Paul said they are doing that because they feel as if the government is taking records without a warrant.

The talk seemed meaningful.  Whether or not Rand Paul’s position on NSA phone and internet spying remains the same, though that remains to be seen.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/rand-paul-grills-dhs-secretary-on-surveillance-there-is-no-person-named-verizon/

Unfortunately, Paul’s position on drone strikes has shifted over time:

http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/04/23/ron-paul-fans-furious-over-rand-pauls-drone-flip-flop/

http://www.salon.com/2015/04/27/rand_paul_goes_full_strangelove_the_anti_drone_candidate_is_okay_with_droning_american_citizens/

Has Rand Paul Flip-Flopped On Drone Strikes?

Secular Talk

2016 GOP candidate Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who has made much ado about his opposition to the use of drone strikes against American citizens in the past, defended the President on Fox & Friends Monday morning over the drone strike that recently killed two hostages.

Libertarians Such as Ron and Rand Paul tend to be against drone strikes and military intervention unless the homeland is attacked.  Paul seems to have changed his position.

Rand Paul filed an amendment to the Senate budget last month, calling for a significant boost to defense spending. It was a reversal for the Libertarian senator who has previously called for across-the-board cuts to domestic and military spending, according to TPM.

Recently on Fox News, Rand Paul said, “I’ve been an opponent of using drones about people not involved in combat, however, if you’re holding hostages you kind of are involved in combat.”

Classic Video: MSNBC’s Discussion With Ron Paul

Video by Minnesota Chris

With Rand Paul now in the media as a candidate for president, let’s take a look at an interview with his father, Ron Paul.  This interview is reportedly from 10/11/2010.

Are there similarities between Ron and Rand?

Here, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell discusses several policies with Paul.  O’Donnell doesn’t mince words or pull any punches, but he doesn’t play softball, either, and it seemed like a challenging interview.

Is Rand Paul Like His Dad?

Majority Report

Was Ron Paul the same as Rand Paul? Sam Seder discusses it with members of Majority Report.

Fox News Megyn Kelly Responds To Rand Paul’s Bahavior With Women Interviewers

YouPoliticsNews

Fox News host of The Kelly File Megyn Kelly confronted Senator and Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul on his recent behavior toward female reporters.  The interview was reportedly from Wednesday, April 8th.

“It’s only going to get worse,” Megyn Kelly pointed out, talking about the difficult interviews Rand Paul will face.

(Updated report)

Rand Paul Gives Unclear Message On Abortion

Associated Press

Senator and presidential candidate Rand Paul was asked on by Associated Press reporter Philip Elliot on Wednesday to clarify his position on abortion legislation.  Some called his response to Elliot “testy.”

According to the AP, Paul – a newly-declared presidential candidate – is “dodging a central question about abortion: What exceptions, if any, should be made if the procedure were to be banned?”

During the interview, Paul would not say if his opposition to abortion rights includes an exception in cases of rape, incest or risk to the life of the mother.

Rand Paul Gets Defensive With NBC’s Savannah Guthrie

DCExaminer

Wednesday, Senator Rand Paul – who has presidential aspirations – clashed with “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie and seemed to become defensive over her questioning.

More:

http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/04/08/rand-paul-iran-savannah-guthrie/

Rand Paul Web Store

TYT Network

Rand Paul has a brand-new presidential-campaign website that is sophisticated and has a store that even accepts Bitcoin.

Rand Paul Spy Cam Blocker

“If you talk to the Romney campaign from last cycle, they’d tell you it’s not just about issues, also about merchandise and ‘productizing’ your candidates,” said Vincent Harris, Rand Paul’s chief digital strategist to National Journal. “I think that, if you look at the potential field, there are some potential candidates who might be easier to productize than others.”

Rand Paul slippers give new meaning to the term “flip-flop.”

There is a Rand Paul “spy cam blocker,” and for those of you who don’t like Rand’s changing stance on the defense budget, they have Rand Paul “flip-flops.”

https://store.randpaul.com/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3028973/Rand-Paul-s-campaign-store-features-unconventional-items-NSA-Spy-Cam-Blocker-eye-charts-autographed-pocket-Constitutions-Rand-Stick.html

(Updated report)

MSNBC Looks At Rand Paul’s Decision To Run For President

Licentiathe8th

Recently, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow discussed Rand Paul’s announcement to run for U.S. President, and whether he is up to the challenge.

Is Rand Paul Moving To The Right?

Secular Talk

Recently, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky announced he would be running for President. Have his views on foreign affairs shifted? Has he flip-flopped or back-tracked on such issues as defense and non-interventionism?

Rand Paul filed an amendment to the Senate budget last month, calling for a significant boost to defense spending. It was a reversal for the libertarian senator who has previously called for across-the-board cuts to domestic and military spending, according to TPM.

“The amendment, filed without public notice and first reported by Time, is the latest of several moves by the Kentucky senator seemingly aimed at placating the GOP’s ascendant hawkish wing ahead of a reported campaign announcement…,” states TPM.

Paul’s amendment would boost military spending by about $190 billion above levels proposed in the Senate Republican budget in fiscal 2016 and 2017. It would be offset with steep cuts to domestic federal programs, states TPM.

So, it seems that Rand Paul wants to increase the military budget while decreasing the budget for domestic federal programs.

The one thing that sets Libertarians apart from their Republican colleagues is their policy of not intervening militarily abroad – a non-interventionist policy.

“One of Paul’s signature issues has been a non-interventionist foreign policy and less U.S. military involvement around the world, a philosophy that was gaining traction among some Republicans before the emergence of the Islamic State threat. His budgets in prior years have called for reducing spending on defense,” states TPM.