Rand Paul had previously criticized the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  AP Photo, Ed Reinke

It seems that Rand Paul has learned one of the more valuable lessons of politics.  Today, rather than sticking by his previous position on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Paul released a statement with the following quote, "I unequivocally state that I will not support any efforts to repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1964."  Paul also accused liberals of using his comments to score "cheap political points."

Paul's previous comments on the Civil Rights Act became an issue after he won the Republican nomination in Kentucky's U.S. Senate race.  Paul expressed support for many parts of the Civil Rights Act, but stopped short of saying he would actually vote for the law.  Then, on Rachel Maddow's show last night, Paul again refused to say whether he would support a law which kept private businesses from discriminating based on race or sexual orientation.  The Civil Rights Act, using the Commerce Clause from the U.S. Constitution, outlawed racial discrimination even in private businesses if the business is involved in interstate commerce.  Paul is generally opposed to this more "liberal" interpretation of the Commerce Clause.

This is the first instance where Paul's ideological bent has caused him problems in an election.  Paul is more libertarian than conservative.  Having a restrictive interpretation of the Commerce Clause sounds fine to voters, until one realizes it means businesses will retain the right to keep African-Americans from sitting at their lunch counter.  In his interview with Maddow, Paul claimed this was merely a hypothetical debate.  However, as Maddow put it, the debate is very practical for the people who were beaten, trying to integrate private lunch counters in the South.  Paul has said that he intends to "take government back" using his mandate, and now more voters are beginning to question exactly what that means.

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