I don't have anything particularly original to say about the Rand Paul/Civil Rights debate, but one thought has crossed my mind. A number of folks have written about Rand Paul as fitting into the Barry Goldwater conservative mold, including in his reasons for showing, hesitation, about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Rand's defenders do this in good part to disprove accusations that he is racist. To which I would ask: what has Rand Paul done to fight racism?
Here's the issue: to oppose federal actions/regulations to combat racism and claim that one opposes racism, it's important to show that you can show that people will take private initiatives to combat this societal cancer. While Barry Goldwater's record is by no means perfect on that, his background indicated that the idea of private action was not just a theoretical counterargument. Goldwater was a member of the Phoenix chapter of the NAACP, and not just a passive dues payer; he actively worked for desegregation, overseeing the process in his family's department stores, as well as while serving as chief of staff of the Arizona Air National Guard.
Were such efforts enough? Of course not, but it at least suggested that the libertarian critique against civil rights legislation emerged from real ideological differences, rather than as a cover for ultimately racist views. I would say that modern "Goldwater" Republicans would do well to heed that lesson if they want to be taken seriously, but we're sadly long passed the point where people care about being taken "seriously." Well, except in the DC "serious way" which means moderately liberal social values, along with a pro-bombing and entitlement cutting agenda elsewhere. Yargh.