Well, Paul was pressed on some of his libertarian views and now says he won't vote for or support a repeal of the "Civil Rights Act." By saying this he's also saying the South will continue to be occupied territory and that freedom of association belongs in the past.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...-rights-cause-a-stir/?partner=rss&emc=rss
<h2>Paul's Views on Civil Rights Cause a Stir</h2>
<address>By
ADAM NAGOURNEY</address>
<div>
Updated: On Tuesday night, <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/rand_paul/index.html?inline=nyt-per" target="_blank">Rand
Paul</a> stood as the victorious symbol of the Tea Party after
capturing the Republican nomination for senator in Kentucky by defeating
an opponent who had the backing of Senator <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/mitch_mcconnell/index.html?inline=nyt-per" target="_blank">Mitch
McConnell</a> of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader.
But throughout the primary campaign, Democrats â€" and some Republicans
â€" had said that Mr. Paul would prove to be a much stronger candidate
in the limited field of a primary than in a general election. Democrats
had made no secret that they would prefer to run against Mr. Paul than
his opponent, <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/trey_grayson/index.html?inline=nyt-per" target="_blank">Trey
Grayson</a>, the secretary of state, a more moderate and politically
experienced choice.
And since Tuesday, the reason for Democrats' optimism â€" and for the
apprehension of Republicans like Mr. McConnell â€" has become clear as Mr.
Paul has struggled to account for his views on issues like segregation,
and to explain why a candidate of the Tea Party would hold his victory
night celebration at a posh country club in Bowling Green.
In an interview with <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/rachel_maddow/index.html?inline=nyt-per" target="_blank">Rachel
Maddow</a> on MSNBC, Mr. Paul appeared uncertain about whether he would
have supported forcing private businesses to desegregate in the 1960s,
suggesting that might run afoul of his libertarian philosophy. His views
emerged as Ms. Maddow asked Mr. Paul if he thought a private business
had the right to refuse service to a patron who was black.
(Mr. Paul's campaign issued a statement late Thursday morning
following the Maddow interview, in which he said he supported the Civil
Rights Act. It appears below.)</span>
"I'm not in favor of any discrimination of any form,"Â he said. " I
would never belong to any club that excluded anybody for race. We still
do have private clubs in America that can discriminate based on race."Â
But things got murky from there in the interview: "Well, what it gets
into is, is that then if you decide that restaurants are publicly owned
and not privately owned, then do you say that you should have the right
to bring your gun into a restaurant, even though the owner of the
restaurant says, well, no, we don't want to have guns in here? The bar
says we don't want to have guns in here, because people might drink and
start fighting and shoot each other. Does the owner of the restaurant
own his restaurant? Or does the government own his restaurant?"Â
Democrats were quick to pounce, suggesting that the interview showed
that Mr. Paul in fact thought that private businesses had the right to
refuse service to patrons based on race.
Update: Mr. Paul's campaign issued a statement this morning in
response to the uproar over his remarks. In it, he said that he
supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark anti-discrimination
law. :
<blockquote>
"I believe we should work to end all racism in American society
and staunchly defend the inherent rights of every person,"Â he said. "I
have clearly stated in prior interviews that I abhor racial
discrimination and would have worked to end segregation. Even though
this matter was settled when I was 2, and no serious people are seeking
to revisit it except to score cheap political points, I unequivocally
state that I will not support any efforts to repeal the Civil Rights Act
of 1964."Â
Mr. Paul disputed the claim by opponents that he would support
repealing the Civil Rights Act.
"These attacks prove one thing for certain: the liberal
establishment is desperate to keep leaders like me out of office, and we
are sure to hear more wild, dishonest smears during this campaign,"Â he
said. </blockquote>
And in an interview on "Good Morning America"Â on ABC, Mr. Paul argued
that his decision to hold his election night celebration at a fancy
country club was not in any way at variance with the grass-roots
movement he has now come to epitomize. And in the process of explaining
his decision, Mr. Paul invoked <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/tiger_woods/index.html?inline=nyt-per" target="_blank">Tiger
Woods</a>, the golfer.
"I think at one time, people used to think of golf and golf clubs and
golf courses as being exclusive,"Â Mr. Paul said, adding, "Tiger Woods
has helped to broaden that, in the sense that he's brought golf to a lot
of the cities and to city youth."Â
These interviews have come at a propitious time for Democrats, who
greeted Mr. Paul's victory by noting past interviews in which he hinted
at views that appear out of the mainstream, like his favoring
abolishing the Department of Education and the income tax, and raising
the retirement age.
</div>
Edited by: Colonel_Reb 
