Rand Paul: Civil Rights Act Is “Settled Law”

Doug Mataconis · · 27 comments

Two more statements this morning from Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul that serve to clarify the kerfuffle that arose yesterday over his statements regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

First, Paul was on Laura Ingraham’s radio show this morning and said that he considered the matter to be settled law:

Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul acknowledged Thursday that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was necessary to foster racial integration, a day after stumbling into a political mess by dodging questions about whether he would have voted for the law. Appearing on Laura Ingraham’s show to do some clean-up after Wednesday’s interviews, Paul said: “There was a need for federal intervention so we can’t have segregation.” The Republican accused liberals of trying to portray him as a racist for expressing philosophical concerns about the role of government in desegregating private business, explaining that he was not interested in revisiting the law. “These are settled issues,” Paul said. “I have no intention of bringing up anything related to the Civil Rights Act.”

Audio here.

Second, the Paul campaign issued a statement shortly before noon stating the following:

“Let me be clear: I support the Civil Rights Act because I overwhelmingly agree with the intent of the legislation, which was to stop discrimination in the public sphere and halt the abhorrent practice of segregation and Jim Crow laws.” “As I have said in previous statements, sections of the Civil Rights Act were debated on Constitutional grounds when the legislation was passed. Those issues have been settled by federal courts in the intervening years.” “My opponent’s statement on MSNBC Wednesday that I favor repeal of the Civil Rights Act was irresponsible and knowingly false. I hope he will correct the record and retract his claims.”

That, quite honestly, should be the end of this entire episode. Opponents will continue to bring the matter up, of course, but the only responsible answer should be to refer them back to these statements and say that the the campaign considers the matters closed.

Welcome to the world of big time politics, Dr. Paul.