The NSA begins to wind down its data-mining program after Rand Paul outmaneuvers Mitch McConnell

 It looks like Rand Paul’s 10+ hour filibuster of the PATRIOT Act (and the Section 215 abuse of power which the courts have deemed illegal) has worked for now as it is being reported the NSA has begun winding down its data-mining program after the Senate failed to reach a compromise on its re-authorization.

  Here is more:

The National Security Agency has begun winding down its collection and storage of American phone records after the Senate failed to agree on a path forward to change or extend the once-secret program ahead of its expiration at the end of the month.

Barring an 11th hour compromise when the Senate returns to session May 31, a much-debated provision of the Patriot Act — and some other lesser known surveillance tools — will sunset at midnight that day. The change also would have a major impact on the FBI, which uses the Patriot Act and the other provisions to gather records in investigations of suspected spies and terrorists.

   Before I go any further I would like to point out the last line in the quote above is not quite right because this will not have a major impact on the FBI because that agency has already admitted the PATRIOT Act has not helped them prevent any major terrorist attacks, and in fact the agency has admitted the scope of Section 215 has been expanded in order to collect the records of people who are not suspected of doing anything wrong.

  This all began to unravel for two reasons in my opinion; first the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, decided to prioritize handing over greater powers to the President in the TPP deal, and secondly he was outmaneuvered by, and  underestimated the determination of, Rand Paul.

  When Rand Paul began filibustering the PATRIOT Act during the debate over TPP fast-track authority I thought it would be of little consequence because the Senate was not even debating the issue he was filibustering over, however it turned out that while he failed to stop the Senate from giving away some of its Constitutional power it did leave too little time for the Senate to continue authorizing the violation of our Constitutional rights through the PATRIOT Act.

  Mitch McConnell then made a move to extend the full version of the PATRIOT Act for two months (as if it is somehow better to extend for two months the violation of the Constitution while trying to figure out away to violate it long term) but Rand Paul and others (including Democrats) stopped that effort in its tracks.

  And this is where we stand today: the NSA is winding down its data-mining program but when the Senate reconvenes it will have a few hours to work something out so that the program can be ramped up again. I am of the opinion that when push comes to shove Rand Paul will not be able to hold the re-authorization off because he is a man fighting almost alone.

  The establishment Republicans want this passed, and in fact the only reason some of them voted the compromise legislation down was because they do not think it goes far enough, and Barack Obama wants this passed so in the end this will be another case like the TPP fast-track authority legislation where both sides are really on the same side and isn’t it funny how that only seems to occur when they are in the process of violating the Constitution? 

  Oh, and by the way, didn’t Barack Obama run in 2008 on the promise of ending the bulk collection of phone records and did he not call it unconstitutional? And are not the Republicans the party which claims to support the Constitution? Did the Republicans not call Barack Obama’s usurpations of power unconstitutional before they decided to grant him more power and give away Constitutional authority through the TPP fast-track legislation? So what is going on here? The Hegelian Dialectic has a symptom and that symptom is rampant in Washington DC; it is called selective Constitutionalism and if left untreated it can be deadly to our rights.

Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium