Clarifying the Negative Impact of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Rand Paul Starts Much-Needed Debate
A remark by Rand Paul, GOP nominee for the U. S. Senate, on the Rachel Maddow Show on May 19, in which he expressed reservations about the 1964 Civil Rights Act, sent the media into a feeding frenzy. Going for the kill against the Tea Party favorite were neoconservative journalists Linda Chavez, Ross Douthat, Jonah Goldberg, and David Frum. From their attacks against a fellow Republican, it would seem that the libertarian ophthalmologist from Kentucky and son of presidential candidate Ron Paul was trying to reintroduce slavery.
What Rand Paul actually said did not prevent him from coming out for the right of all American citizens to have access to public facilities and institutions. Nor did it conflict with his stated moral objection to racial discrimination. Contrary to Goldberg’s objection, Paul was not “lamenting the lost right of bigots.” Nor is there any indication, with all due respect for Goldberg, that Paul, a self-described libertarian, was “defending Jim Crow” and “unjust bigotry” while opposing “economic freedom.” He was noting with displeasure that particular parts of the bill promoted government control over a wide range of commercial and social relations.
Harold
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