National security compromised

In a rare U.S. Senate session on Sunday, Rand Paul, the Republican senator from Kentucky unilaterally prevented that body from temporarily extending the Patriot Act which expired on the same day.  Both the House of Representatives and President Obama had supported an extension.

Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building

Approval by Congress and the Administration to extend the Patriot Act would have allowed time for Congress to amend it or to write a new law to replace it, but Rand scuttled that proposal through procedural maneuvering.

He was criticized for that by his colleagues, many of whom simply walked out of the Senate Chamber when he rose to speak.  Rand admitted that he will eventually lose his fight on this issue.  Senator John McCain accused him of posturing to gain favor in his bid for the GOP Presidential nomination.

The Patriot Act was enacted shortly after the infamous Osama bin Laden-inspired 9/11 attacks on American soil.

Although a U.S. Court had struck down Section 215 of the Patriot Act which permitted the collection of telephone billing records by the National Security Agency, it nevertheless wisely permitted the U.S. Congress to extend the entirety of that law while working to revise it or to enact new legislation in cooperation with the White House.

After Rand obstructed Senate action, Obama’s Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, embarrassingly explained that U.S. Security Agencies will be employing “workaround tools” until this problem is resolved.  He appeared unpersuasive, as he tried to assure the American people that homeland security will not be jeopardized during the interim.

In response to criticism of his risky senatorial tactics, Rand is accusing the opposition of pinning the blame on him should a foreign or domestic Jihadi group, or a lone wolf ISIS-inspired attack befall the U.S.

Rand’s uber-libertarian views on national security are unlikely to succeed in securing for him the chance to oppose the Democratic nominee in the 2016 race to the White House.  On the contrary, his behavior may significantly alienate him from his colleagues.

In yesterday’s edition of The Star-Ledger, former Governor Tom Kean, also the former Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, stated that, “I think it (the Patriot Act) ought to be renewed.  The danger is real, and to take away an important tool from the American government at this time would be wrong.  There probably are more people out there who want to hurt us than before 9/11, so I think the government needs all the tools it can get in order to keep us safe.”

Where do you think wisdom lies in this matter – with Rand Paul, or with Tom Kean?  I’m placing my bet on New Jersey’s well-respected statesman.

Thanks for reading.  Take care of yourselves.

(Click on the photo for an enhanced view.)