Posted on 12/10/2015 11:17:30 AM PST by FourPeas
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz offered an extended defense Thursday of his support for ending bulk data collection even as the threat of terrorism surges.
In a lengthy policy speech at a conservative think tank, Cruz tried to rebut Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's forceful argument that Cruz's votes to end aspects of the National Security Agency's data collection program should raise red flags for voters concerned about national security. Cruz has tried to stake out a compromise position between the muscular interventionism of Rubio and the surveillance-skeptical libertarianism of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, both GOP presidential competitors.
"There are some on both the right and the left who want to exploit the current crisis by calling on Americans to surrender our constitutional liberties as the only way to ensure our safety," Cruz said in a rare behind-the-lectern speech at the Heritage Foundation.
Rubio has specifically targeted Cruz for his vote earlier this year on the USA Freedom Act, which curtailed part of the Patriot Act's data collection powers. Cruz has said that Rubio's attacks are politically motivated.
"More data from millions of law-abiding Americans is not always better data," Cruz said.
A growing chorus of Republican candidates has begun to criticize Cruz for his votes, including outside groups allied with both Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Cruz, who escaped major attacks for the first seven months of his campaign, is now battling daily barbs from much of the Republican world since he is second in many polls.
Rubio has been the most vocal, and his campaign now sends nearly daily emails to reporters highlighting what they see as inconsistencies in Cruz's record on terrorism, including on Thursday morning. Cruz does not currently support sending American troops to combat Islamic extremism, which Rubio has been considerably more open to.
(Excerpt) Read more at abc-7.com ...
But it is an invasion of our privacy.
I am a Trump fan, but I do not have a problem with Cruz on this.
I listened to the speech, most excellent.
Article on breitbart now - Cruz says WSJ should change its header to the “We Support Rubio for President Newspaper”.
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/12/10/cruz-wall-street-journal-should-change-their-name-to-the-marco-rubio-for-president-newspaper/
“Bulk data collection” has not ended. The data that the government collected is STILL being collected but is now housed solely with telecommunications companies and is QUICKLY retrievable and available to our federal agencies UPON SUBMITTAL OF A WARRANT SIGNED BY A JUDGE.
I have absolutely NO problem with this new arrangement...it supports national security interests as well as individual privacy concerns.
If nothing else, it would help identify true conservatives versus flavors of the day.
I forgot to add the following to my previous post in this thread:
“P. S. I despise the dissembling, duplicitous Marco Rubio.”
GO Senator Cruz
Still waiting for evidence that any of the increased powers via the Patriot Act actually increased safety. Apparently Jihadis can post their intentions on Facebook with impunity. Massive firings of DHS, FBI, CIA and NSA management bureaucrats would do more for us. Especially since the people who run these bureaucracies seem to think that changing warning colors increases safety. Someone intelligent might step into the breach. Might not. It’s unlikely these organizations could become less competent.
One of the True vains of conservatism is less government, not more.
This was one of the top issues here on Free Republic not so long ago.
NSA’s abuses.
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