There has recently been a war-of-words in the Republican Party between NJ Governor Chris Christie and people he considers to be “libertarian.” During a recent panel discussion at the Aspen Institute, Christie said the strain of liberarianism is a “very dangerous thought.” Someone asked Gov. Christie if he was referring to Rand Paul; he responded, “You can name any number of people and he’s one of them.” Adding that he wanted the people having “esoteric, intellectual debates… to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans” of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Christie added “[t]he next attack that comes, that kills thousands of Americans as a result, people are going to be looking back on the people having this intellectual debate and wondering –”
Rand Paul responded by telling Sean Hannity, “The Fourth Amendment says it has to be a specific person, a place, and you have to name the items and you have to go to a judge and you have to say there’s probable cause. And here’s the thing, I’m all for getting terrorists. I’m all for — if I were the judge, absolutely, say yes. Get the records. But I’m for spying on terrorists; I’m not for spying on every American.”
Many of Rand Paul’s supporters are saying things such as, “see, Rand isn’t bad, he only wants the government to spy on terrorists!”
Allow me to ask: how do you know if someone is a “terrorist” or even a potential “terrorist” unless the person is being spied on?
Secondly, what happens when the government labels YOU a potential “terrorist”?
It isn’t that far fetched. In 2009, the MIAC Report put out by the Missouri Information Analysis Center said that members of the Campaign for Liberty, Constitution Party and Libertarian Party were to be considered “potential threats.” More recently, the Concord, NH Police Department cited “Sovereign Citizens, Free Staters and Occupy New Hampshire” in their grant application to purchase a BearCat (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck).
NHCLU Executive Director Devon Chaffee said, “It’s far from clear to us why an armored vehicle would be necessary to address what are generally, by and large, non-violent movements that in fact provide little or no threat to the security of our state.”
FSP President Carla Gericke issued a statement which reads, “I am alarmed and appalled at the cleverly worded insinuation that the FSP is a domestic terrorist threat.”
I now have a question for Rand Paul, since the Concord PD claims that Sovereign Citizens, Free Staters and Occupy New Hampshire are potential terrorists, would you support spying on individuals associated with these groups?