Swapping the Rachel Maddow Show set for perhaps more accepting digs this morning, Rand Paul told listeners of the Laura Ingraham radio show that the controversy surrounding his criticism of parts of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is political theater dreamed up by the “loony left.”
Ben Smith tuned in to Ingraham’s right wing radio show and reports on the host’s interview with Paul:
“I’ve never really favored any change in the Civil Rights Act,” Paul said, according to Smth. “They seem to have unleashed some of the loony left on me.”
In the Maddow interview — and in a separate interview on NPR as well as an interview earlier this year with a Kentucky newspaper — Paul explained his libertarian views in terms of how the relate to the ‘64 law. He is in favor of removing federal regulation of private business in virtually every case, and the law banning private institutions from discrimination on the basis of race is no exception. Paul says the ban has “free speech” problems.
Smith reports he told Ingraham that liberals are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
“The problem with Rachel and most people from the left is they want to make this an issue about you supporting abhorrent practices which I don’t support,” he said.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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