Ron Paul: ‘The status quo cannot stand the truth’

Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is defending his son Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a 2016 presidential candidate, against the mounting criticism from members of his own party.

“You know that you’re on the right track when everybody’s after you,” Ron Paul said on Fox Business Network’s “After the Bell.”

“The status quo cannot stand the truth to be put out in the open,” he added.

{mosads}The elder Paul repeatedly brushed aside the notion that comments from his son, who advocates a less interventionist foreign policy, had essentially torpedoed his presidential campaign.

“He’s doing very, very well,” Paul, himself a two-time GOP presidential candidate, told Fox Business.

Last week, Rand Paul drew ire from fellow GOP White House hopefuls for saying that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) “exists and grew stronger because of the hawks in our party, who gave arms indiscriminately, and most of those arms were snatched up by ISIS.”

The GOP anger at Paul has been amplified since that remark, with the senator working to ensure that portions of the Patriot Act related to government surveillance would expire.

One of Paul’s sparring partners, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who announced his own 2016 White House bid Monday, was seen rolling his eyes while Paul spoke on the Senate floor.

Still, Paul has not backed down, arguing in an interview with conservative radio host Sean Hannity on Monday that he wants the NSA to collect even more records – but focus their targeting on those representing a threat to the U.S., mentioning suspects in the recent Garland, Texas, attack and 2013 Boston bombing.

“We need more analysts, we need more analysis,” he said, suggesting domestic surveillance derailed more pertinent efforts meant to target suspected terrorists.

He has also attempted to smooth over rifts caused by his ISIS comments, saying in another interview Monday on Glenn Beck’s radio program that, “The only party responsible for terrorism is terrorists.”

Later on Monday, Ron Paul echoed his son’s original remark on the issue, saying, “I think we helped create the jihadist mentality.”

“If you’re attacked, and truly attacked, it’s the preservation of liberty that is the job of the government,” he said when asked on Fox Business about appropriate national security measures following the 9/11 attacks.

Paul drew a parallel between his son and Edward Snowden, suggesting the controversial former National Security Agency contractor was detested among critics because he is “exposing our government for what they’re doing.”