Van Jones: 'Civil rights villian' Rand Paul is a civil liberties 'hero'

Van Jones, the founder of the progressive group Rebuild the Dream, said Thursday on CNN that he supported Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) 13-hour filibuster of CIA nominee John Brennan.

"You know, I love this president and I respect this president," Jones said on CNN. "Rand Paul was a hero yesterday, and what I have been hearing is a lot of shame from liberals and progressives who've felt like, 'Gee, we should be the ones up there sticking up for civil liberties and we should be the ones asking those tough questions.'"

Paul began the filibuster on Wednesday morning to demand whether the Obama administration believed it was legal under any circumstance to use an aerial drone to kill an American citizen on U.S. soil.

Jones described Rand Paul as a "civil rights villain." Nevertheless, he said the country should have a serious discussion about new technology like drones and praised the Republican senator for using the filibuster "the way it is supposed to be used."

Jones, who served as a special adviser to Obama on green jobs, warned those in the White House could easily become insulated from public opinion and were susceptible to "delusions of Godhead."

Rand Paul has said he was opposed to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Watch video, uploaded to YouTube, below: