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Get amped for Sunday's Patriot Act vote with the weirdest political ad of 2015

Get amped for Sunday's Patriot Act vote with the weirdest political ad of 2015

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If you have never seen a Super PAC ad promoting civil liberties in the tone of a monster truck rally, this is your chance.

First, some context. The Patriot Act is set to expire on Monday, and while the House has passed a bill that would extend some portions of the law in exchange for certain surveillance reforms, the Senate has failed to pass much of anything, and Rand Paul has emerged as one of the main figures blocking any extension of the law. There's going to be one last chance when the Senate reconvenes on Sunday afternoon, and the stakes for US surveillance couldn't be higher.

The result is a lot of hype around Sunday's vote, some of which is apparently coming in the form of bizarre demolition derby-style PAC ads. This one surfaced today from the Rand-friendly Liberty PAC, starring "Defendor of Freedom" Rand Paul, Obama the Email Reader, and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) driving a Kia Metro wreathed in flame. Liberty PAC seems to know how ridiculous it all is, but that doesn't explain the oiled, shirtless Rand photoshop or the (intentional?) spelling errors. Anything for freedom, I guess?

As per campaign finance law, the message was not officially authorized by any candidate, in case that wasn't otherwise clear.