Jeb Bush is not a fan of Rand Paul’s effort to dismantle the National Security Agency’s bulk data collection program.
Speaking to his audience at a Tennessee Republican Party fundraiser Saturday in Nashville, Bush insisted that the NSA program Paul so feverishly opposes has “kept us safe” and that the Patriot Act should be reauthorized, according to the Associated Press.
“What I admire most about my brother was he kept us safe,” the former Florida governor said in reference to the Patriot Act, which was put in place in response to 9/11 during the George W. Bush administration. “And I believe people will respect him for a long time because of that.”
Paul, on the other hand, has been vocal about his opposition to the law and the NSA program, vowing in a statement Saturday to “force the expiration of the NSA illegal spy program” during the Senate’s rare weekend meeting Sunday.
In advance of his remarks in Nashville, Bush spoke to reporters, specifically knocking the Kentucky senator for his opposition to the Patriot Act.
“I respect Senator Paul on this, but I think he’s wrong as it relates to the conversation that your two great senators are focused on [Sunday],” Bush explained, asserting that the law does not, as Paul argues, violate Americans’ civil rights.
“I know what will happen if there is an attack on our country,” Bush added. “A lot of people say where were you?”
He insisted that the Patriot Act and the NSA program specifically have ensured Americans’ safety since they were put in place.
“The Patriot Act has kept us safe, plain and simple,” Bush declared. “The metadata program has kept us safe, plain and simple. There’s been no violation of civil liberties.”
The data collection program presents a crucial issue on which Paul and Bush — the first an official GOP presidential candidate and the second a likely Republican contender for the White House — diverge.
