Rand Paul: Anti-PATRIOT Act Hero?

I've been sure for more than a year now that Rand Paul is a sniveling little coward trading on his father's fame.

But if he puts his money where his mouth is and actually filibusters the bill he claims to hate, I may have to reconsider.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote to colleagues Tuesday voicing objections to the PATRIOT Act as it heads to the Senate for reauthorization, warning that it could turn America into a "police state."

Paul, a tea party favorite who was first elected last November, expressed opposition to warrantless searches and surveillance, questioning their constitutionality and their necessity to protect the United States from terrorist acts.

"I object to these warrantless searches being performed on United States citizens," he wrote. "I object to the 200,000 NSL searches that have been performed without a judge’s warrant. I object to over 2 million searches of bank records, called Suspicious Activity Reports, performed on U.S. citizens without a judge's warrant."

"It is not acceptable to willfully ignore the most basic provisions of our Constitution—in this case—the Fourth and First Amendments—in the name of 'security,'" Paul added.

Colleague letters are easy, aynrandpaul: Let's see you actually stand up and fight this abomination with a real, old-fashioned, non-stop filibuster.

After that, you can apply your newly-discovered love for civil liberties to defending U.S. citizens' right to medical privacy. Even female citizens.