Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) took to the floor of the Senate chamber Wednesday afternoon for what would become a 10-and-a-half hour speech against a provision of the Patriot Act up for renewal, a move he called a filibuster.
But was his marathon oration really a filibuster?
Not exactly, says Larry Gerston, NBC Bay Area Political Analyst.
By definition, a filibuster is any obstruction that prevents legislation from being brought to a vote. And there was no legislation up for a vote on the day of Paul’s speech.
“His protest was a nice opportunity for him to talk about an issue, but the issue wasn’t under consideration,” Gerston said. “He could have talked about the colors of the rainbow, it didn’t really matter. There was no bill up for the Senate to consider that day.”
The provision Paul was protesting is Section 215, which deals with the bulk collection of Americans' phone records. It's one of three sections of the Patriot Act that will expire on June 1.
The USA Freedom Act, a bill approved by the House of Representatives last week, would renew the three sections up for expiration through 2019 and change Section 215, stopping the bulk collection of phone data.
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But the changes in the USA Freedom Act aren’t strong enough, according to Paul.
The senator created buzz on social media days before his speech, telling constituents that he would begin his filibuster to "end NSA spying" and advising them to show their support through the hashtag #StandwithRand.
“I’ve chosen to filibuster the Patriot Act, because the Patriot Act is the most un-patriotic of acts,” Paul said in a video posted to his Twitter account the day before his Senate speech.
Ten-and-a-half hours is a long time to be on one’s feet. So long, in fact, that Paul wore sneakers to the festivities.
It was reported that most seats in the Senate chamber were empty the day of Paul's marathon performance. Not typical during a filibuster, Gerston said.
Instead, the political analyst suggested that Paul’s address was actually self-promotion.
“He was talking to TV cameras, and he was talking to those people interested in knowing more about Rand Paul,” Gerston said. “He was talking to those people who might be interested in voting for him downstream. He was talking to those people who might provide him money for his campaign.”
The Kentucky senator’s actions did garner a lot of attention, but just how effective they will be in stopping the collection of phone records by the National Security Association is to be determined. Two renewal bills currently rest in both houses, which Paul criticizes because they’d cut short—not eliminate—the bulk collection of data on individuals’ phone records.
The Senate will recess for Memorial Day, which leaves limited time for action before the Patriot Act expires on June 1.
In the meantime, Rand Paul has continued posting photos and videos in what has become his social media tour de force around this issue.
