West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin turned heads over the weekend as he compared the NSA surveillance program to “Big Brother”– the iconic government authority in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

“The things we need to do in this country — which is our responsibility, especially as elected officials and government as a whole — is how do we protect the privacies of each and every American but also protect the security of our country?” he asked during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“There is a fine balance there,” he continued.  “So I’m open to listening to all the recommendations that has come out to see if we can improve upon that, without infringing on my rights and my freedoms and my privacy.”

The Democrat discussed recent proposals to scale back the scope of the National Security Agency’s electronic surveillance.  The recommended changes come from the findings of a White House panel, as well as a recent judicial ruling.  The NSA took public heat earlier in 2013 when a leak confirmed the agency’s monitoring of private citizens’ electronic communications.

“You know, we always heard as a child growing up and in different phases of our life, that Big Brother is watching you,” the Democrat said. “And now we found out that Big Brother is truly watching you.”

Manchin, the former Governor of West Virginia, is serving as the state’s junior Senator after winning a 2010 special election to fill Senator Robert Byrd’s seat.  He was elected to his first full term in 2012 and is scheduled to face reelection in 2018.  Observers have noted an increase in Manchin’s efforts to appeal to moderate and conservative voters as the political landscape in West Virginia evolves.