Rand Paul doesn't get to be Russ Feingold yet

Rand Paul doesn't get to be Russ Feingold yet

By Adam Serwer

Last week, the new overblown political meme was that the Tea Party derailed the PATRIOT Act reauthorization. Now that the reauthorization debate has moved on to the Senate, we've got a new one: Rand Paul is the new Russ Feingold.

Yesterday, Paul was one of two Republicans to vote against a three month authorization. He released a compelling video explaining his reasons for opposing the PATRIOT Act in the first place, and he put out a very detailed letter explaining his objections to the sunsetting provisions. He even graciously cited Feingold's past opposition to the bill.

I'm among those who would like to see Paul grow into a right-wing version of Feingold, someone willing to oppose government overreach no matter what side of the aisle it originates from. But playing that role is about more than making compelling arguments. When the PATRIOT Act reauthorization came up in 2009, Feingold didn't simply offer symbolic opposition, he had a detailed proposal, the JUSTICE Act, for providing more government oversight over the broad and often unaccountable powers granted by the PATRIOT Act.

The reforms proposed in Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy's reauthorization bill aren't as aggressive as Feingold's proposal, but the alternative in the Senate right now is nothing. One of Feingold's most admirable qualities was his ability to cross the aisle to work with Republicans on issues of principle, not simply the kind of bipartisan corporatism that often passes for "centrism" in Washington. The real test was not yesterday's largely symbolic vote, it's whether over the next three months, Paul can work with the opposition party to reign in the PATRIOT Act and potentially even bring some of his Republican colleagues along.

more