New York Times editorial writers are on board with Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul. At least as far as the National Security Agency is concerned.
On Wednesday, Paul delivered a 10-hour speech on the Senate floor against U.S. government domestic surveillance programs.
“He may have annoyed Senate colleagues by seizing the floor for a marathon monologue on Wednesday, but Senator Rand Paul did Americans a singular service by forcing attention to the fact that their civil liberties remain at stake as Congress drifts toward a renewal of the Patriot Act that is likely to do too little to rein in government surveillance programs,” the Times wrote Thursday.
The Times editorial board has criticized Paul, saying he’ll need a “character transplant” in order to win the GOP presidential nomination. But in Thursday’s editorial, the Times encouraged Paul to use his campaign to speak against domestic surveillance.
“The Kentucky lawmaker candidly linked his floor speech to his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, where he is determined to make more of a public issue of government intrusion into the private lives of Americans after the 9/11 attacks,” the Times said. “This is to be welcomed, particularly since so many of his rivals prefer to slide off the issue by endorsing a compromised and faulty renewal of the Patriot Act as it expires on June 1.”
Paul has developed a reputation as the libertarian-leaning voice within the GOP.
Some of Paul’s potential 2016 rivals, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have disagreed with Paul and have supported current surveillance policies.
Paul was also praised for his speech against the NSA by Matt Drudge, editor of the Drudge Report.
