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OXON HILL, Md. For many of the 2016 presidential contenders who tested their messages at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week, Russian President Vladimir Putins incursion into Ukraine offered the perfect opening to pound President Obamas approach to foreign policy as weak and feckless a sign of dimming U.S. influence around the world.

But Rand Paul, whose non-interventionist foreign policy views have often been out of step with his rivals, did not mention Russia at all. And yet he blew the doors off Friday, drawing the most excited response of any potential contender as he blistered the Obama administration for its expansive surveillance of Americans and accused the president of trampling on civil liberties.

It was a reminder that while GOP foreign policy hawks are loud, they are not necessarily ascendant, particularly among the younger ranks of the party.

Paul angered conservative Christian groups last fall by suggesting that some allies of Israel think war is always the answer and raised eyebrows in January with his opposition to further economic sanctions on Iran while negotiations over its nuclear program were underway. This week, he found himself the target of some party leaders who view the crisis in Crimea as an opportunity to argue for a more muscular, interventionist approach abroad.

But in interviews with rank-and-file members at the annual gathering of conservatives, attendees were far more likely to praise Pauls foreign policy views than condemn them. And Paul, who defended his more reserved stance on Russia in a talk radio interview Friday and outlined his views on Putins moves in an opinion piece for the conservative website Breitbart.com, knew his audience Friday.

As the youthful crowd of conservatives filled the hall here on the outskirts of Washington, Paul skipped the complexities of U.S. policy toward Ukraine. Instead, he outlined the actions that have powered his rise in the party, including his filibuster opposing drones and the class-action lawsuit he filed against Obama in February charging that the NSAs collection of phone records violates the 4th Amendment, which protects Americans from unreasonable search and seizure.

If you have a cellphone, you are under surveillance. I believe what you do on your cellphone is none of their damn business, Paul said, drawing a roar from the crowd Friday. I don't question President Obama's motives, but history will record his timid defense of liberty.

Our rights are innate, they come from our creator and no government can take them away from us, he said, as some in the crowd whistled in agreement. The Constitution merely codifies what exists before all time. Mr. President, we wont let you we will not let you run roughshod over our rights. We will challenge you in the courts. We will battle you at the ballot box. Mr. President, we will not let you shred our constitution. Our future hangs in the balance.

Pauls emphasis on what he termed the administrations overreaches on civil liberties stood in sharp contrast to calls by his rivals for a more aggressive approach to foreign policy around the world.

A day before, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida argued that flawed foreign policy of the last few years had emboldened totalitarian nations, citing in particular China, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba. Arguing for more forceful positioning by the United States, he said U.S. foreign policy should be deeply rooted in our values and in our moral principles. Every human being has rights given to them by their creator, Rubio said, and any government and any leader who violates those rights is an illegitimate one.

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Rand Paul foreign policy views find support among CPAC conservatives