Sen. Rand Paul gave full voice to his libertarian principles Friday, telling a cheering Conservative Political Action Conference crowd "our freedom is in our DNA and in our founding document," and urging young "liberty lovers" to "stand and be heard."
The Kentucky Republican's speech focused on personal freedom, the Fourth Amendment, and constitutional rights that he charged were being "shredded" by the Obama administration.
"Imagine when the White House is again occupied by a friend of liberty," he said.
"You may think I'm talking about electing Republicans. I'm not … It isn't good enough to pick the lesser of two evils, we need men and women of principle, conviction and action."
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Paul declared there was "a battle for the future of the entire country," reminding conservatives that the the Fourth Amendment — prohibiting searches and seizures without probable cause — is as important as the Second Amendment, guaranteeing the right to bear arms.
"Will you, America's next generation of liberty lovers, will you stand and be heard?" he asked to applause and whistles.
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Referring to the National Security Agency spying scandal and assaults on individual privacy, Paul declared America's founders "would have called out to the president that they would not be spied upon, saying, 'We will not trade our freedom for security — not now, not ever.'"
"The NSA monitors your every phone call," he said. "If you have a cellphone, you are under surveillance," adding to the loudest applause during his speech: "What you do on your cellphone is none of their damn business."
Last month Paul filed a
class-action lawsuit against President Barack Obama and the NSA over its massive collection of data on millions of unsuspecting Americans.
Paul also stirred the crowd of young conservatives with quotes from the legendary Pink Floyd song "Wish You Were Here," asking asking whether supporters of Obama now believe they had "trade[d] your heroes for your ghosts? … Did they get you to exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?"
"I don't question President Obama's motives," Paul said, "but history will remember his timid defense of liberty."
When Congress passed legislation allowing indefinite detention, Paul noted, Obama signed the bill.
"A great president would have taken pen in hand and vetoed this abomination," Paul said.
"A great president would have protected us from the prying eyes of the NSA. A great president would have proclaimed, 'I will not abide it and the Constitution will not abide it.'"
Continuing his assault on the Obama administration, Paul railed: "If the executive branch can amend legislation, if it can declare that Congress is in recess, then government becomes nothing short of tyranny."
"We must stop this president from shredding the Constitution," he said. "Our rights are … innate, they come from our creator and no government can take them away from us."
"The constitution merely codifies what exists for all time," he said. "Mr. President, we will not let you shred our Constitution. We will fight you in the courts and at the ballot box."
"Our freedom is in our DNA and in our founding document — it is based on a plan that restrains the government, not the liberty of the individual," he said, concluding: "This is decidedly not a time for the faint of heart."
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