More Rand!

Not in recent memory has a Kentuckian's comments generated so much controversy as Rand Paul's recent one regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The fact that the last seven (now eight!) comments on this blog address this subject is evidence of this.

Paul's mistake was in making a statement that was nuanced and requires a little bit of thought to understand. He was not impugning the intent of the Civil Rights Act, but its efficacy and constitutionality. There is a big difference between these two things and unfortunately much of the American press, and public, is unable to deal with such distinctions.

A parallel to this situation for Paul would be the person who strongly supports a woman's right to have an abortion but believes that Roe V. Wade was unconstitutional. This is not intellectually inconsistent, but it is subtle and takes a bit of thought to understand.

Paul's mistake was in making his statements in a public venue. Such ideas should only be discussed amongst individuals that are capable of understanding the philosophy and intellectual reasoning behind them. Very few members of the mainstream media qualify here. Rand Paul is not racist or a bigot, but the mainstream media would like him to be and they have taken this opportunity to twist the intent of his remarks to paint him as one.