In between is Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is supporting the compromise approved by the House. Mr. Cruz seemed to draw a contrast with Mr. Paul on Wednesday, telling reporters, “The Senate should not be playing chicken with the House. We should come together to pass the USA Freedom Act.”
The Paul talkathon recalled his 13-hour filibuster in 2013 over another question about the balance between national security and individual liberty, the administration’s use of drones against American citizens. It earned him celebrity across the country, when he coined the “Stand with Rand” moniker that is a rallying cry for his 2016 presidential campaign.
Mr. Paul’s return to the theme of privacy protection could give him an infusion of donations from his base supporters and help his campaign recover from some early stumbles. Since his April campaign launch, he got into a testy arguments in television interviews, and he has been criticized by the party’s defense hawks for his cautious foreign policy.
The risk for Mr. Paul is that his willingness to hold up the antiterror law fuels the view among some Republicans that he is too soft on military might.
“It is a tough tightrope he has to walk on,” said Michael Tanner, senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. “This is his claim to fame, and to keep his base happy he has to take a very strong stand. On the other hand, he cannot look weak while he is doing this.”
—Kristina Peterson contributed to this article.
Article Appeared @http://www.wsj.com/articles/rand-paul-takes-aim-at-patriot-act-in-speech-1432165478