Rand Paul Springs into Action Against George Stephanopoulos, Patriot Act

On Thursday morning, talking to the New York Times's Jeremy Peters, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul became the first presidential candidate to challenge George Stephanopoulos's donation to the Clinton Foundation. The ABC News host, who had not previously disclosed a gift of at least $50,000, needed to be kept out of the moderator's chair when the Republicans debated this fall. “I just think it’s really, really hard," said Paul, "because he’s been there, so close to them, that there would be a conflict of interest if he tried to be a moderator of any sort."

Hours later, donors on Paul's e-mail list got a message asking them to shake some change loose and help the senator block renewal of the PATRIOT Act. As he'd been saying in interviews, he was ready to filibuster if he needed to. "I have until May 19th to mobilize the grassroots for this fight and I'm counting your immediate support," he said. "I need to know right now if I can count on you to stand with me as I filibuster the so-called PATRIOT Act."