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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, wrapped up his so-called "filibuster" over the National Security Agency's controversial bulk collection of Americans' phone records just before midnight Thursday.

Paul's talk-a-thon on the Senate floor lasted exactly 10 and a half hours.

"My voice is rapidly leaving, my bedtime has long since passed," Paul said as he began to wrap up his speech. "The bulk collection must end, and I think we have the votes to do it now."

"Thank you for staying and not throwing things. We will try not to do this but every few years," he said. "I want to thank the American people for considering the arguments and hopefully for helping us push this towards a reform where we all respect the Fourth Amendment and the Bill of Rights all again. Thank you Mr. President, and I relinquish the floor."

Armed with binders full of material, Paul started his lengthy speech opposing the PATRIOT Act at 1:18 p.m. Wednesday.

There comes a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow power to accumulate and liberty and privacy to suffer. That time is now, and I will not let the PATRIOT Act, the most un-patriotic of acts, go unchallenged," Paul said as he started his speech on the Senate floor. "The bulk collection of all Americans' phone records all of the time is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment.

"The people don't want the bulk collection of their records, and if we were listening, we would hear that," Paul said.

Provisions of the PATRIOT Act, including Section 215, which authorizes the NSA's controversial bulk collection of phone records, is set to expire on June 1. Paul, known for his libertarian leanings, has said he does not want the program to be reauthorized.

Over the course of his filibuster, Paul was joined by several of his Senate colleagues, most notably including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is running against Paul in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Cruz, who partook in Pauls 2013 filibuster against drones and waged a filibuster of his own against Obamacare in 2013, compared the moment to the Blues Brothers

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Sen. Rand Paul Ends Filibuster Against NSA's Controversial ...

When it comes to celebrity political endorsements, Republicans usually have to settle for an aging movie star or two, maybe a country singer if they're lucky. Hollywood's politics are decidedly Democratic.

But in 2012, Ron Paul was the exception.

Paul was the Republican it was cool for (some) celebrities to like, earning praise -- though not necessarily an outright endorsement -- from public figures like Chuck Norris, John Mayer and Drew Carey.But without him in the race, who are his famous fans taking a liking to this time?

There are only a handful who've weighed in so far, andtheir responses are an unscientific, very small-sample-size poll of whoformer Paul supporters could go for in 2016. Are Paul supportersexcited at all byhis son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)? Do they like Bernie Sanders -- the closest thing Democrats have to their own Ron Paul? Are they looking elsewhere?

[Will Rand Paul inherit the energy of Ron Paul's campaigns?]

In lieu of specific polls showing whoRon Paul supporters like in 2016, our Philip Bump in April compared favorability of the father and son and found Rand is seen more favorably than Ron was. ButPolitico found in March that some "die-hard idealists whose energy powered [Ron Paul's]campaigns" were disillusioned by Rand and defecting. Rand inheritspartof his father's base, it seems, but far from all of it.

And what celebrities are saying about 2016 bears that out as well.Here iswhat former Ron Paul fans have said about the 2016 race:

Kelly Clarkson

2012:Tweeted that she loves Ron Paul.

2016:Saidshe's considering Clinton."I'm a fan of Hillary. ... I don't just want a woman to win, I want the right person. And I think she's also that," she toldRolling Stone magazine.

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Ron Pauls celebrity fans arent flocking to Rand Paul ...

Its not clear whether his speech on the PATRIOT Act had any real effect on Mitch McConnells plans.

By Seung Min Kim and Alex Byers

5/20/15 2:01 PM EDT

Updated 5/21/15 10:04 AM EDT

Rand Paul relinquished the Senate floor late Wednesday night after 10-and-a-half hours of lambasting the government surveillance programs capitalizing on a sleepy day in the Senate to highlight his opposition to key parts of the PATRIOT Act that expire at the end of the month.

Wearing dark green sneakers in apparent preparation to go deep into the evening, Paul launched into a lengthy critique of surveillance a stance thats put him squarely against top Republicans and other GOP presidential contenders who advocate continuing the controversial bulk collection programs.

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There comes a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow power to accumulate and liberty and privacy to suffer, Paul said as he opened his remarks at 1:18 p.m. Wednesday. That time is now. And I will not let the PATRIOT Act the most unpatriotic of acts go unchallenged.

By carrying his talk-a-thon to the brink of Thursday, Paul prevented Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) from filing cloture on a bill to extend or reform the PATRIOT Act.

But its not clear that McConnell ever intended to so its uncertain whether Paul truly gummed up McConnells plan. And with the House set to depart Thursday, a Senate surveillance vote while House lawmakers are still in town was unlikely anyway.

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Rand Paul calls it a night after 10 1/2 hours - Seung Min ...

The GOP presidential candidate said in an interview with CNN's Alisyn Camerota that aired Tuesday on "New Day" that he will try to filibuster a reauthorization of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which spawned the National Security Agency's collection of millions of Americans' phone records.

A handful of powerful Senate Republicans are pushing to reauthorize the Patriot Act without any reforms. Others in the Senate are pushing the USA Freedom Act, which would reform the Patriot Act's Section 215 and effectively end bulk data collection. The House quickly passed that bill last week.

But Paul and other privacy hawks want more reforms than those included in that bill, and Paul is calling for the end of that section of the Patriot Act, which is set to sunset at the end of the month.

RELATED: Rand Paul dings NSA for tracking 'innocent Americans'

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop it," said Paul, who was promoting his upcoming book "Taking a Stand: Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America".

Paul said he would formally filibuster the bill, requiring 60 votes for passage, and said he would also try to make it to the Senate floor in a bid to block passage by speaking extensively and preventing action on the bill.

"I will do a formal filibuster. Whether or not that means I can go to the floor, some of that depends on what happens because you're not always allowed," Paul said.

Paul previously stood for a nearly 13-hour filibuster to call attention to the U.S.'s drone strike policies.

He wouldn't say if he would launch a similar effort with the Patriot Act.

"Well, nobody can predict how long you can talk, but I plan on doing everything humanly possible to try to stop the Patriot Act," he said.

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Rand Paul: 'Whatever it takes to stop' Patriot Act ...

This post has been updated.

PHILADELPHIA Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) vowed Monday to do "everything possible" end the renewal of the Patriot Act -- even as he conceded that the filibuster he was planning was unlikely to be enough to end the program.

We do not have the votes to ultimately defeat the Patriot Act. I can delay it; I can force them to debate it so the public at large can know what theyre doing, Paul said, while asserting that he has public opinion on his side.

Theyve got the votes inside the Beltway, but we have the votes outside the Beltway, Paul said.

Pauls trip here was designed to be teeming with symbolism as he prepares for what he calls a fight for the Fourth Amendment. Paul held a question and answer session with a Philadelphia radio host at the Constitution Center, where the Bill of Rights is displayed, followed by a press conference in the shadow of Independence Hall with sign-waving campaign supporters.

Our founding fathers would be appalled to know that we are writing one single warrant and collecting everyones phone records all of the time, Paul said, reiterating a call for President Obama to end the bulk collection of phone records in the wake of a judges ruling that it violated the Patriot Act.

[Rand Paul: NSA court ruling should spur Obama to stop bulk collection of phone records]

Paul said that he would vote no on the USA Freedom Act, a compromise bill that would stop the government from collecting data but allow phone companies to keep it, because he is afraid it could actually expand government power. Speaking to reporters after his events, Paul repeated an assertion he first made in January: that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Edward Snowden should share a prison cell.

"It would probably be just and informative to put Clapper and Snowden in the same cell," he said.

Paul has been shifting to the right on foreign policy as he tries to win the Republican nomination, and he did so again Monday, asserting that the 2007 troop surge in Iraq worked.

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Rand Paul vows to do everything possible to block Patriot ...