Ann Coulter on Rand & Civil Rights

Ann Coulter took note of Rand's civil rights remarks. She uses it as a "teaching moment" for Democrats on the history of their opposition to civil rights legislation:

But as long as the media are so fascinated with the question of why anyone would want to "discuss" certain aspects of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, maybe they should ask Al Gore why his father was one of the leading opponents of the bill.

Or they could ask Bill Clinton, whose mentor, Sen. William Fulbright, actively supported segregation and also voted against the bill.

Or they could talk to the only current member of the Senate to vote against it, Democrat Bob Byrd.

As with the 1957 and 1960 civil rights acts, it was Republicans who passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act by huge majorities. A distinctly smaller majority of Democrats voted for it.In the Senate, for example, 82 percent of Republicans voted for the act, compared with only 66 percent of Democrats. In the House, 80 percent of Republicans supported the law, compared with only 63 percent of Democrats.

Would a Libertarian Challenge Hurt Rand?

Some thoughts from Allahpundit via Hot Air on whether it will matter if the Kentucky Libertarian Party runs a candidate against Rand Paul on the grounds that he is not pure enough for them:

I’m intrigued by the fact that they think he’s on the level about Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve always assumed that was Paul’s version of Obama’s lie about his supposed opposition to gay marriage, which the left has the good sense to indulge in the name of electability. Seriously, it just so happens that Rand Paul, novice candidate, has sharply different views from his old man in the one area that made Ron Paul electoral poison to so many conservatives in 2008? C’mon. Anyway, the filing deadline’s August 10. The question: Is a party that struggles to crack two percent of the vote in a general election really a threat to Rand Paul in Kentucky? It’s hard to imagine Conway winning 49/48/3, as most purist libertarians will probably hold their nose and vote Paul if the race is that close in the end. But I guess if the purists can get the meme going that he’s a phony, maybe enough people stay home or refuse to donate that it really does end up hurting him. Quick, Rand: Condemn the Civil Rights Act before it’s too late!

So the members of the Libertarian Party are going to hold their nose and vote for Rand. He's counting on Trey Grayson backers to hold our noses and vote for him (though you wouldn't know it from his victory speech). That's a lot of nose-holding. And it still leaves the Democrats with voter registration advantage of 600,000.

Rand's Shake-up

Rand Paul's big campaign shake-up is odd on many levels.

First, given that the logical implications of Rand Paul's strict libertarianism were causing an uproar as they were tested against reality, why bring in someone from Daddy Paul's presidential campaign? Rand Paul went to such pains during the primary to distance himself from his father's more, uh, colorful positions -- only now to bring in someone from that same failed campaign. This is more than just ambivalence; there are some father-son issues at play here.

Second, the manner of the shake-up was peculiar. Now that Rand Paul is the GOP nominee, the pressure to have a political operative with a fancy pedigree -- as opposed to an unknown blogger from Kentucky, Dave Adams -- proved too much. Dave Adams was going to be replaced even before the Rachel Maddow disaster. That was inevitable. So Rand Paul gives Adams a promotion; now he's "chairman." On the one hand, it was nice to shove Adams up rather than out. On the other hand, how does hiring someone from a failed third-party campaign communicate gravitas?

And he does this all very publicly by sending out a press release to let all the media elites know of the change. The inference was that all those gun shot wounds to his feet were caused by poor Dave Adams. Someone had to pay for all that embarrassment.

The reality, however, is that Rand Paul's gaffes stem from his greenness as a candidate and his political tone-deafness as to how his libertarianism sounds in the real world to those who don't care about political philosophy and are just trying to get by. That's not something that any campaign manager can fix; only the candidate can fix that by flipping on the issues. And Rand Paul has shown a real aptitude at that.

Trouble For Rand

Roger Alford is reporting that the Libertarian Party may run a candidate in the Kentucky race for U.S. Senate -- against Rand Paul. Jack Conway must be dancing a jig.

According to the Libertarian Party of Kentucky's Vice Chair, Joshua Koch, Paul

had gone from being an outsider candidate to a tea party candidate to an establishment candidate in the past nine months," Koch said. "It's a complete identity crisis. I've never seen anything like it.

Rand, welcome to Trey Grayson's world: your people hate the Establishment, and now you are part of It. This is what it feels like to be out-flanked on the right and the left.

Jay Leno Gives a Shout Out to Rand Paul!

Any time Jay Leno talks about Kentucky, and specifically Kentucky Republicans, it is best to duck and cover. Last night when he gave the teaser that he was going to talk about Rand Paul with David Gregory (host of Meet the Press), I had a flash back to Gov. Ernie Fletcher's plane flying into Washington's no-fly zone after 9/11 and causing the Capitol to be evacuated.

Jay -- who is usually pretty fair, and appears to be moderately right of center for Hollywood -- is fixated with Rand Paul and the Tea Party. It was not clear whether he was genuinely mystified or just mining jokes. Jay said he tuned into Meet the Press only to be disappointed. "I was waiting, waiting for Rand Paul to appear."

David Gregory did not miss the cue. He replied with the obligatory snipe that Rand Paul is only the third person in history to cancel an appearance on Meet the Press, the other two being Louis Farrakhan and Genghis Khan or whoever.

Gregory opined that Rand Paul's gaffes last week had "done some damage" to his campaign. According to Gregory, the Paul campaign sent Meet the Press a note withdrawing from the scheduled interview, stating that Paul was "tired" and "didn't want to be dragged down by liberal bias." But the real reason, according to Gregory, is that Rand Paul felt he'd already done enough damage to his campaign.

Jay asked Gregory why a guy like Rand Paul who opposes government would want to govern? Then he mocked Sarah Palin for saying "Drill, Baby, Drill" a few months ago, only now to accuse the Obama administration as being "in bed with the oil industry." Next they went through the parade of horribles of all the government programs that would go away under Libertarian rule, (OSHA! child labor laws!).

The only saving grace for Rand Paul is that the supposedly substantive part of the interview followed a tasteless skit about Meet the Press's new set; perhaps some viewers went to bed in self defense. The Tonight Show mock-up of the new set included David Gregory -- nude from the waste up -- in a hot tub. Mercifully, the cameraman spared us the close-up. If only we had been spared the potty jokes.

Tea Party Elects Jack Conway?

Last Tuesday, the Tea Party may have elected Jack Conway as the new senator from Kentucky.

Republicans should always vote for the most conservative candidate that can WIN. The Tea Partiers in their zealousness may have forgotten this cardinal rule.

Paul may well have been the best candidate to represent the Tea Party's views, but he was not the best to represent their interests.
He may make a great senator, but if he doesn't win the general, that doesn't much matter. Clearly, Grayson was the stronger candidate for a general election.

Hopefully, Paul can win the general election, but if he doesn't, it will be the Tea Party that elected Conway.

Media Advice From Palin to Paul

Personally, I think he should just remain in an undisclosed location until November.

But Sarah Palin has other ideas for her protege Rand Paul -- and a warning that the Main Steam Media are liberal! (Who knew?)

I'm going to be charitable and assume that Palin had too much caffeine when she attempted to explain to Politico,

"One thing that we can learn in this lesson, that I have learned and Rand Paul has learned now, is don't assume that you can assume in a hypothetical discussion about constitutional impacts with a reporter or media personality who has an agenda, who may be prejudiced before they even get in the interview in regards to what your answer may be or the opportunity that they seize to getch ya," she said. "They're looking for that 'gotcha moment.' That's what it evidently appears to be what they did with Rand Paul."

That Sounds Familiar

There's much speculation about whether the Obama administration offered Rep. Joe Sestak a job to entice him not to run against Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania. There's also debate about whether such an offer, assuming it occurred, is inappropriate.

There was no secret that the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Pennsylvania wanted to avoid a divisive primary fight and rally around Specter. But Sestak refused to stand down, and then caused a stir in February when he told veteran TV journalist Larry Kane that he had been offered a significant federal job to forgo a challenge. Kane asked whether the post was Navy secretary, and Sestak declined to comment.

He has stayed mum since on the details of the job claim, and the White House, when it would address the subject at all, has said nothing inappropriate happened.

Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the top Republican on the House government-oversight committee, has demanded information from the administration on conversations with Sestak, and he has called for an independent counsel to investigate the matter. He has been rebuffed on both counts.

Last week, Issa said he was considering filing a formal ethics complaint against Sestak on grounds that he has withheld knowledge of a potential crime.

If the Obama administration did in fact offer Sestak a job to protect Specter from a primary challenge, it may be that the Obama administration took a page from the play book of the Beshear administration.

Gov. Steve Beshear has been picking off Senate Republicans for some time by offering them plummy jobs.

As Patrick Crowley wrote last fall for BloodHorse, quoting Kentucky Sen. President David Williams, “The governor is methodically going about giving jobs to Republicans to replace them not just with any Democrat, but Democrats that favor his slots proposal,” Williams said.

The parallels between the tactics of the Obama and Beshear administrations underscore that the lack of transparency in buying off the opposition is not the Kentucky way, it's the Democratic way.

So THAT's Why He Cancelled MTP

Dr. Paul, I'm trying to play nice here but you've got to give me something to work with and stop shooting yourself in the foot! Talking Points Memo via Hot Air poses an explanation of why Rand Paul suddenly cancelled his appearance on Meet the Press. He opined about a supposed conspiratorial Superhighway back when he was campaigning for his father in 2008:

Campaigning for his father in Montana back in 2008, Rand Paul spoke out against the NAFTA Superhighway, encouraging Congress to stop the mythical project that would connect Mexico, the U.S., and Canada and, critics say, deal a fatal blow to American sovereignty. Long a bugaboo on some segments of the Right, the NAFTA Superhighway does not actually exist. (Emphasis added.)

Rand Paul Cancels Meet the Press Appearance

It's hard not to wonder if Sarah Palin, in addition to endorsing Rand Paul, is giving him media advice. After a series of disastrous interviews on national television, he is cancelling his scheduled appearance on Meet the Press Sunday.

Politico's take on the cancellation and NBC's viciousness make one wince:

"Cancelling a Sunday show appearance -- usually prized by politicians -- is rarely done and NBC officials noted that Paul was joining a small clique in backing out of his interview. Among major figures, only Louis Farrakhan and Saudi Arabia's Prince Bendar have failed to show up after committing to appear on the long-running program."

Vitter Gives GOP Address

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) gives the weekly address, not surprisingly on the oil spill that his hitting his state. His remarks condemn the Obama administration's attempts to politicize the tragedy. He also proposes practical solutions for off-shore drilling going forward. Here's the video link. And here's the transcript:

“Hi, I’m Senator David Vitter of Louisiana.

“What a month it’s been since the initial explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform just off Louisiana’s coast.

“While the Gulf oil spill most directly impacts Louisiana and our immediate neighbors, people all across the country certainly share in our feelings of anxiety as the ongoing gushing of the well continues.

“They’ve also shared by joining together to provide relief for those most affected by this tragedy. And, I know I speak for all Louisianians when I express how grateful we are for that outpouring of support.

“As we continue to work toward a recovery solution, none of us should lose sight that there are families who’ve lost loved ones. That is the greatest tragedy – something everyone in Washington should try a little harder to remember.

“I’ve also been all along Louisiana’s coast over the last few weeks meeting with those economically devastated - oystermen and fishermen, mayors and local officials and others hit hard by the impacts of the spill. They have clearly expressed that they don’t want a handout – they want a job and a paycheck. And through the Vessels of Opportunity program, many of these folks have been hired to man the coastline and marsh protection efforts underway.

“But clearly more needs to be done.

“From the annual blessing of the boats in Chalmette – a somber event this year - to the public meetings with the Vietnamese community in New Orleans that continues to struggle in working with BP on claims issues, I’ve listened, learned, and left with a much deeper perspective on how people’s lives all along the coast have been disrupted.

“That’s why it’s so frustrating to many Louisianians that while the crisis actually continues in the Gulf – while we’re still fighting to contain the well – Washington Democratic Committee Chairmen have rushed to create media events for television cameras instead of devoting full attention to stopping the immediate problem.

“I guess it’s typical of the culture in Washington for politicians to believe that they can solve an ongoing crisis with statements and testimonies in Congressional committee rooms. But the time for committee hearings is for after the well has been capped – not before.

“Folks closer to the scene understand that. We want 100 percent of the attention of all parties focused on our two most immediate problems: stopping the gushing oil, and protecting our coastlines and marshes from the oil.

“In addition to capping the well, coastal communities are in desperate need of more floating containment barriers, known as ‘boom.’ And I’ve talked numerous times to Admiral Thad Allen about this need.

“But this boom is really just a band aid to the larger wound of the spill. A greater, more substantial solution would be for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work immediately with our state to build up and extend our barrier islands made from materials dredged from the immediate area – our rivers and deltas. With BP, by the way, appropriately paying the bill.

“To prevent this type of incident from ever happening again, I’ve also worked with other Gulf Coast Senators to introduce legislation that addresses two specific areas: the liability cap for the responsible party of a spill, and greater technological preparedness to address any future incidents much more rapidly and effectively.

“Our Oil Spill Response and Assistance Act would establish a new liability cap equal to the last four quarters of the responsible party’s profits or double the current limit, whichever is greater.

“The bill would establish much greater reserve requirements for the amount of boom –capable of withstanding up to six-foot waves – and would direct work on technology to effectively cap leaks like the one currently gushing in the Gulf.

“That would make offshore drilling safer, smarter and more reliable, but not extinct.

“Some in Washington have tried to seize on this real human tragedy in the Gulf to advocate for a radical new energy agenda.

“That only cheapens the loss of those who’ve lost loved ones and brushes aside the ongoing, unsolved problem to spring forward with an emotionally-charged political agenda.

“That’s wrong and, frankly, an example of bankrupt leadership.

“Both Republicans and Democrats say they want to decrease our foreign dependence on oil, but ending all domestic energy production offshore would only make us that much more dependent.

“And this false choice on how to proceed in the future of energy exploration in the wake of a terrible accident contributes little to the debate.

“We all acknowledge that alternative fuels are the future, but the sad reality is that they are still very much in the future from a practical-use standpoint.

“That’s why domestic energy production is critical to free ourselves from foreign energy sources and should provide a bridge toward that more renewable, cleaner future.

“I believe Americans understand that, even in the midst of this tragedy. And I know Louisianians do. Thank you.”

Rand Attacks Conway

Rand Paul is aggressively pressing ahead with issues other than that which caused him so much embarrassment for the last 48 hours, the Issue That Must Not Be Named. He is pounding Jack Conway on a number of issues including one we've not seen in a few months: card check. Here's his release:

Jack Conway is interested in distorting Rand Paul's positions on settled law from the 1960's. If you're wondering why that is, it's because he doesn't want to talk about his views on the issues being debated in Congress in 2010, such as:

• Repealing Obamacare: Nearly 2/3 of Kentuckians want to see the Obama/Pelosi health care scheme repealed. 15 other Attorneys general have stood up for their state and sued to end the federal mandate on their citizens. But not Jack Conway. He's standing side by side with the liberal Washington DC establishment.

• Opposing Card Check Forced Unionism: Nearly 80% of American oppose forced unionism and support the secret ballot. The union boss power grab known as card check eliminates the secret ballot and puts more workers under union boss control. Jack Conway stands with his Big Labor masters who fund his and national democrat campaigns.

• Cap and Trade: This dangerous bill would raise costs for Kentuckians, raise taxes -- and could well single-handedly destroy Kentucky Coal. Jack Conway supports Cap and Trade, something he'd rather the taxpayers and coal producers of Kentucky not hear about.

Finally, since Jack is so fond of musing about positions, perhaps he'd like to finally take one on a few other pressing issues, like:

1. Does he support the Obama/Pelosi move to regulate and ban semiautomatic weapons and abridge the 2nd amendment rights of Kentuckians?
2. Does he support or oppose Arizona's new immigration laws?

The Arizona immigration law makes for a fascinating debate, but I'm not sure what it has to do with a U.S. Senate race in Kentucky. It's an Arizona statute. Of course, if the federal government defended our national border, states like Arizona wouldn't have to pick up the slack.

Rand Moves On, Defends BP

Trying to change the subject from Civil Rights, Rand Paul defends BP and attacks the Obama administration for putting its "boot heal on the throat of BP" as "really un-American."

According to Townhall, Paul said on Good Morning America,

And I think it's part of this sort of blame-game society in the sense that it's always got to be somebody's fault instead of the fact that maybe sometimes accidents happen," Paul said.

The senate candidate referred to a Kentucky coal mine accident that killed two men, saying he had met with the families and he admired the coal miners' courage.

"We had a mining accident that was very tragic. ... Then we come in and it's always someone's fault. Maybe sometimes accidents happen," he said.

Bunning Disses McConnell, Again

Sen. Jim Bunning actually spoke with reporters today, taking the opportunity to criticize Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and praise Rand Paul.

Bunning maintains that McConnell should be more like Rand Paul. Asked about Paul's comments on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Bunning blamed the Courier-Journal for the controversy. According to Politico, "Bunning didn't endorse Paul's views and said he doesn't have any concerns with the 46-year-old Civil Rights law."

McConnell On Civil Rights

The Daily Caller has a quote from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Rand Paul's civil rights mess:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, who backed Paul’s opponent in the primary, did not answer when asked for comment on his way into his office.

But McConnell put out a statement that was less than warm toward Paul.

“Among Senator McConnell’s most vivid memories and most formative events in his career was watching his boss Sen. John Sherman Cooper help pull together the votes to break the filibuster and pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” said McConnell spokesman Don Stewart. “He has always considered the law a monumental achievement for the country and is glad to hear Dr. Paul supports it as well.”

New Poll Shows Paul Up By 25

A new poll by Rasmusson shows Rand Paul leading Jack Conway 59-34. The Paul campaign does not say when the poll was conducted or include a link, so who knows if it reflects Paul's shaky start.

Update: Hot Air has the link. The poll was taken Wednesday night, and it is not good news for Jack Conway. As Hot Air puts it, "It’s still early in Kentucky, but the internals show that one of the nominees is a fringe, marginal candidate. It’s just not the Republican."

If You Can't Say Something Nice . . .

Election Coverage

Joe Arnold can speak it faster than I can write it, so I am not attempting to live-blog.

No surprises, and most races are working out for the good of the citizenry.

Greg Fischer much improved his performance over his race for U.S. Senate. Those public speaking lessons paid off! So did his ability to attract conservative Republican support early on -- that will come back to bite Hal Heiner in the general election. Many of these conservatives might not have been registered to vote for Fischer in the Democratic primary. It didn't matter; they gave him credibility (and cash) early on.

Hal Heiner was plainly the better choice for Republicans in the primary. Chris Theineman's maverick streak made him look unserious. Gadflies are fun, but they cannot govern effectively in the executive branch.

In the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, the polling, unfortunately, proved correct. This is not a surprise in some respects. When I saw the huge crowd at John Yarmuth's town hall last August -- the diversity of age, race and income -- it was clear that the Tea Party movement was real and powerful, and that Rand Paul was best positioned to exploit its restless anger.

Trey Grayson's concession speech was, like Trey, the act of a consummate gentleman. It made me sad to watch. And it made me recall a fundraiser for the Kentucky Federation of Republican Women. Trey's wife and girls were fashion models for the fundraiser, taking it all with a big grain of salt and just having fun. As the event wore on and the girls got tired, one of them crawled into Trey's lap and put her head on his shoulder. It was a side of Trey Grayson that voters never saw. This man who has done such an excellant job as Secretary of State, who is such a straight shooter, ran in the wrong year. He would have been a U.S. Senator who could have achieved real change. He would have been the grown-up in the room, not a gadfly.

I understand why Dr. Paul won. Dr. Paul is an appealing candidate in many ways. He is a fiscal and social conservative. He respects the constitution as a framework for limited government. But I fear that he is very naive on national security and foreign policy, and that is why I could not support him in the primary.

It appears that Jack Conway will win the Democratic primary, although Mongiardo has not conceded and the AP has not called the race.

On the one hand, as a Republican I should probably regret Conway winning the primary. I have maintained from the outset that he is the harder candidate to beat. But as a Kentuckian and an American, I am glad that he is going to win because if he carries the general election, he will be a much better U.S. Senator than Dan Mongiardo. There was something off-putting about Mongiardo -- not just his appearance, or his demeanor, but his meanness. His message of class warfare was unworthy of Kentucky.

Heckuva Job, Kenny

The Obama Administration's Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, concedes that the administration has botched it on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill by failing to hold the industry accountable and ensure safe off-shore oil drilling

Salazar told Congress today that the administration is sticking to its "reform agenda" but will give "more tools, more resources, more independence and greater authority" to the Minerals Management Service, which regulates drilling in the Gulf of Mexico." I

Grayson Camp Accuses Paul of Voter Intimidation

The Grayson campaign alleges that the Paul campaign is intimidating voters and violating election laws. Here's the release from the Grayson campaign; note that the link to the Paul document referenced is not working:

Rand Paul distributed a document to his supporters instructing them to engage in illegal activity at polling places today that has resulted in widespread voter intimidation and election law violations.

As reported by the Herald-Leader today, there have been complaints in multiple counties about Paul campaign operatives intimidating voters while allegedly conducting “exit polling,” including reports of voters being harassed for not casting votes for Paul as well as illegally entering polling locations. In some cases law enforcement officials have reportedly been called to remove the disruptive Paul operatives.

Specifically, the document distributed by the Paul campaign illegally instructs supporters to arrive at polling locations this morning to “check each machine” and to return in the afternoon before voting concludes to “verify the correct machines are being used” and to witness “the vote counting,” in violation of KRS 117.235 which prohibits such activity.

Challengers qualified and trained as provided for by KRS 117.315 would be allowed into polling locations, but not for the purposes of inspecting voting machines or watching “the vote counting.” The duties of qualified challengers are outlined here. Challengers are prohibited from disrupting activities at polling places or verbally harassing voters. It appears that most incidents involving the Paul campaign do not involve qualified challengers, but instead they’re supporters who have received the illegal instructions from Rand Paul.

Campaigns are allowed under KRS 117.165 to have a representative present to inspect voting machines at the time they are inspected by county boards of election.

KRS 119.275 makes it illegal to advise or assist persons in violating election laws.

Grayson Campaign Manager Nate Hodson said, “This despicable behavior should not be tolerated. Bullying and intimidation should have no place in our elections. Rand Paul needs to rein in his goon squad and follow the law.”

Hodson continued, “This is part of a pattern of illegal activity by the Paul campaign. They have repeatedly evaded tax laws, violated campaign finance laws and are now knowingly instructing supporters to violate election law. Kentucky deserves better, and Rand Paul should know better.”