Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that he’s “on the right side of history” when it comes to spying on citizens, and blasted Sen. Marco Rubio for his support of bulk data collection policies.
“Marco Rubio is buying into the fear. He wants you to trade your liberty for a false sense of security,” Paul said on MSNBC Wednesday morning. “I think he may be surprised that most Americans don’t want that.”
The Kentucky Republican noted that France collects far more information about its citizens than the U.S. does, but was still unable to prevent the Paris terror attacks in November.
Paul’s staunch opposition to programs that pull data from the everyday communications of Americans has come under greater scrutiny in the wake of terror attacks in both Paris and California late last year. Some observers have wondered if his views are to blame for his flagging campaign.
But Paul has dismissed his low showing in the polls and says the polls can’t be trusted at this point in the race.
“I think we’re being led by the nose on polls,” Paul said. “We’re in New Hampshire with crowds as big as any other candidate.”
