Rand Paul Will ‘Force The Expiration’ of the PATRIOT Act

Despite his not being included in a recent 2016 candidates poll on Fox & Friends, Rand Paul (R-KY) still has a strong following among Tea Party and Libertarian-leaning conservative voters. He’s even got a Super PAC pulling for him.

A lot of this has to do with Paul’s stance against the renewal of the PATRIOT Act and the approval of the USA Freedom Act, and he recently performed an unofficial filibuster against NSA surveillance.

In a statement to POLITICO, Paul lays out a simple plan for Sunday’s special session:

So tomorrow, I will force the expiration of the NSA illegal spy program.

What special session, you ask? As POLITICO points out, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wants to facilitate a rather quick debate on the surveillance bill that’s got Paul and others so worked up.

Paul explains his stance further, saying:

I am ready and willing to start the debate on how we fight terrorism without giving up our liberty.

Sometimes when the problem is big enough, you just have to start over. The tax code and our regulatory burdens are two good examples.

Fighting against unconditional, illegal powers that take away our rights, taken by previous Congresses and administrations is just as important.

I do not do this to obstruct. I do it to build something better, more effective, more lasting, and more cognizant of who we are as Americans.

Via: Mediaite

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Ohio GOP Official: 270 Cases of Voter ‘Fraud or Irregularity’ in 2012, ‘Zero Cases of Suppression’

Jon Husted, Ohio’s secretary of state, appeared on Fox & Friends on Wednesday, where he defended his state’s efforts to ensure the integrity of the voting process. He discussed his efforts to combat voter fraud and revealed that an independent investigation into past elections in his state showed that there were no cases of voter suppression. 

Husted began the interview by detailing his efforts to ensure that service men and women serving abroad have the ability to vote. He then added that his office did their best to ensure that Ohio’s 2012 vote was secure by “cleaning up” the voter rolls and removing deceased or ineligible voters.

RELATED: Wasserman Schultz Highlights GOP Voter Fraud In Response To James O’Keefe Undercover Video

“I would imagine as you try to clean up the voter rolls, you were probably accused of voting suppression at some point, weren’t you?” Steve Doocy asked.

“We always get accused of voter fraud, voter suppression,” he replied. “But instead of it ending on Election Day, I asked all 88 county boards of elections in the state to do a review, top to bottom, of all substantiated claims of fraud and suppression, and what we came up with were around 270 cases of alleged fraud or irregularity. Zero cases of suppression.”

“These are not my numbers,” Husted insisted. “These are the bipartisan boards of election.”

According to a press release from Husted’s office, the “boards of elections have identified and reported 625 cases of voting irregularities statewide.” Ultimately, only 135 of those have been referred to the state, per the press statement:

To date, 135 cases have been referred to law enforcement for further investigation and possible prosecution. This includes 20 individuals Secretary Husted will refer to the Attorney General today who are registered to vote in Ohio and another state, and who appear to have cast ballots in each this past November. These cases were identified as a result of Ohio’s voluntary involvement in the Interstate Crosscheck Program – a consortium of 22 states seeking to improve overall elections integrity.

Watch the clip below via Fox News Channel:

Via: Mediaite.com

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Fox & Friends Hosts Bash Obama’s ‘Pointless’ Speech: ‘He’d Already Booked the Room’

The hosts of Fox & Friends savaged President Barack Obama’s performance during a Tuesday night address to the nation regarding the evolving plan for responding to Syria’s use of chemical weapons. The hosts were unclear about what Obama was attempting to accomplish with that speech, given that his policy toward Syria has been in flux over the last week. They agreed that the proposed diplomatic resolution to the crisis is not feasible. 

“I’ve watched it twice now in its entirety — I don’t know why he gave it,” Brian Kilmeade said of Obama’s speech. “I have no idea what it accomplished. And I cannot believe how our diplomacy, even if it works out in the end, how this has all been one stumble into the next mistake, and next thing you know, ball is in your court, Vladimir Putin. Bail us out.”

Gretchen Carlson said that the president had no choice but to give the speech given that he had already announced that he would, even though the president appeared to shift his resolve from military action to continued diplomacy.

“But he’d already booked the room,” Steve Doocy joked.

RELATED: Krauthammer, Powers Pan Obama’s Syria Speech: Said ‘Nothing New,’ Will Have ‘Zero Effect’

Carlson noted that United States policy towards Syria, and the Middle East broadly, is now so ill-defined that it would be difficult to predict America’s responses.

The hosts tried to make sense of what the White House’s desired outcome is in Syria at this point. They agreed that they could not be sure what the administration’s ultimate objective is in Syria today.

“Like him or hate him, President [George W.] Bush made a decision and said ‘here’s what I think, and, you know what? You may hate me for it, but this is the direction I’m going in,’” Carlson opined.

Kilmeade observed that the plan to remove or destroy chemical weapons in Syria is nearly unworkable given the lack of security in that war-torn nation. Carlson concluded by observing that the administration’s decision to go back to the United Nations means that there will be no resolution to that conflict in the near future.

Watch the clip below via Fox News Channel:

Via: Mediaite.com

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Michelle Malkin: Obama Has ‘Pathological’ Need to Take Other’s Credit and Spread His Blame

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkinappeared on Fox & Friends on Thursday to share her thoughts on President Barack Obama’s ongoing push to generate support in Congress for a strike on Syria. After the president told reporters in Sweden on Wednesday that it was not his “red line” but the world’s that was at stake in Syria, Malkin diagnosed the president with a “pathological” need to pass the buck. 

“He looks nervous,” Malkin observed. “And he should look nervous.”

“After coming off of throwing the U.S. and an entire branch of government, our Congress, under the bus on a world stage, there really isn’t much left for him in terms of ground to stand on,” she continued. “A lot of people wish he wouldn’t come back after that performance.”

RELATED: Dem Senator Tells Rachel Maddow Why He Voted No on Syria Resolution

“He really is a pathological buck-passer,” Malkin asserted.

Gretchen Carlson asked if Obama was trying to put Congress “on notice” and warn them that they will own the still likely attack in Syria whether they vote for it or not, so they may as well go on record in support of this venture.

“I don’t know what the heck that was, Gretchen,” Malkin replied. “We all know from government 101 that politicians are supposed to take credit and defuse blame, but the massive amount of appropriation of credit for other people’s successes compared to the congenital redistribution of blame for his own failures really is remarkable.”

Watch the clip below via Fox News Channel:

Via: Mediaite.com

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