The Republican National Committee today passed a resolution condemning surveillance programs of the National Security Agency, a move that will certainly make for a nice TV advertisement for the re-election efforts of Democratic Sen. Mark Udall. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Udall has been in front of the efforts to pull back on the NSA's domestic spying programs, and the RNC's agreement on the issue will help Udall supporters cast him as a bipartisan leader.
It doesn't hurt that the RNC's language in their resolution is remarkably similar to Udall's messaging. From The Hill:
The committee criticized the government’s bulk collection of records about all phone calls, which emerged as one of the most controversial programs revealed in leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. That NSA effort “is in itself contrary to the right of privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the RNC said in the resolution.
Now here's Udall speaking about the issue with NPR a few weeks ago:
"We shouldn't codify a program that violates Americans' privacy, raises questions about the Fourth Amendment and is, in the end, not proven to be effective. … It violates Americans' privacy and may well be unconstitutional."
It looks like we know where the eventual GOP Senate nominee will be on the NSA spying issue…just maybe with a little different language.