Rand Paul: 'We have come to take our country back'

Declaring that "both parties and the entire political system are to blame," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday announced his 2016 presidential candidacy.

"We the people must rise up and demand action," he said.

In his campaign kickoff, Paul vowed to end NSA surveillance on his first day in office, and called for congressional term limits and a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. And in a notable evolution from his past dovish stance on foreign policy, Paul insisted that "radical Islam" is the nation's enemy and he would "do anything it takes to defend America from these haters of mankind." Paul joins Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as the only major candidates from either party to formally join the race.

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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.