(READER SUPPORTED NEWS) — Rand Paul isn’t a Libertarian, he just plays one on TV.

The spat Kentucky’s junior US Senator had with the TSA this week ignited a flurry of news coverage on his supposed refusal of a full pat-down and subsequent confrontation with law enforcement. Paul’s spokesperson said he was “detained.” The TSA said he was escorted out by law enforcement. In any case, Paul booked another flight and got through security without incident.

The response has been an opportunity for Libertarians to score political points, cheerleading Senator Paul for standing up to that big, bad federal government for intruding on his privacy. And the whole debacle will undoubtedly make good stump-speech fodder for Ron Paul’s campaign against big-government regulation.

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