Rand Paul to Filibuster the Patriot Act

Rand Paul is setting the stage to filibuster the reauthorization of provisions within the Patriot Act.

In another political stunt to set himself apart from the burgeoning presidential field of Republican hopefuls, Senator Rand Paul is gearing up for another filibuster.

In an interview, Republican presidential contender, Rand Paul told the New Hampshire Union Leader, “I’m going to lead the charge in the next couple of weeks as the Patriot Act comes forward. We will be filibustering. We will be trying to stop it. We are not going to let them run over us. And we are going to demand amendments and we are going to make sure the American people know that some of us at least are opposed to unlawful searches.”

This is not the first time Senator Rand Paul has filibustered. In 2013, Paul filibustered for more than 12 hours against the danger of drone strikes to U.S. citizens on American soil. With a strong grassroots and digital following #standwithrand took over the Twittersphere putting Rand on the map with Millennials and elevating his name id across the country.

Flashforward to 2015 and Senator Paul is at it again, and this time he is taking on the Patriot Act. On June 1st the Patriot Act is set to expire but due to a weeklong break, Congress must effectively renew the law by May 22nd. Passed in October 2001, the Patriot Act is a package of programs introduced in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks and designed to give the government wide latitude in terms of surveillance aimed at preventing future attacks.

The Patriot Act has been a hot button issue for many, and presidential hopeful, Rand Paul is planing on filibustering next week to denounce its extension. This will elevate Paul’s visibility as a 2016 candidate while remaining loyal to his staunch opposition on governmental surveillance and his base. This move is definitely a strong strategy to catch the attention of voters. After all, voters love nothing more than a good filibuster in Congress, and Rand is the guy who will deliver.

In the upcoming weeks, Paul has a real chance to set himself apart from fellow 2016 candidates and show voters what makes him presidential material. At this point it’s safe to say, there will be a lot of jockeying between 2016 hopefuls, which will result in the presidential elections seem like they may never end. In other words, brace yourself America, Rand Paul is lacing up his filibustering shoes and won’t stop until the Patriot Act cries ‘mercy’.