> I have not argued, as you allege, that Mr. Snowden is a hero. I have stated that history will decide. This is moral cowardice and political pragmatism at its

> I have not argued, as you allege, that Mr. Snowden is a hero. I have stated that history will decide. This is moral cowardice and political pragmatism at its finest [1]. There is no "history" to decide anything only people who live in the future, far removed from the consequences of making a stand or judgement now. You know how the saying goes... with friends like this... In my judgement, not only is Snowden a hero but he was wise to leave the country as a fair trial seems hopeless, as throwaway420 points out. Given the lack of support for Snowden and the general apathy toward dangerous NSA and other govt programs I am not optimistic. [1] To be clear, I do not consider pragmatism to be a virtue. Political pragmatism means acting without reference or guide to any principles whatsoever and acting on the range of the moment. There is a distinction between being politically practical, i.e. accepting what is and is not politically feasible, and jettisoning your principles when confronted with a threat to those principles. What does Rand Paul stand for? Nothing.