In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, Kentucky U.S. Sen. and Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul is once again finding himself at odds with much of the GOP establishment.
Speaking at George Washington University on Thursday with a smartphone in hand, Paul left no doubt as to whether he believes the recent attacks that killed 129 people in France warrant increased data collection.
"So when they stand up on television and says (sic) the tragedy in Paris means you have to give up your liberty, we need more phone surveillance... bullshit," Paul said.
Other GOP hopefuls, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, have called for increased surveillance and other heightened security measures. And while Paul introduced legislation this week to suspend visas for visitors from countries at a high risk for terrorism, the senator said phone surveillance hasn’t yielded reliable results.
"They are collecting your phone records as we speak. They did not miss a beat, and even though we voted on reform, all of your phone records are still being collected and stored in Utah. Did it stop the attack in Paris? Not one iota," the senator added.
An average of national polls by Real Clear Politics shows Paul currently at 3.2 percent in the GOP presidential primary.
