Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) finally got around to that official presidential announcement Tuesday, and in doing so
pushed that "different kind of Republican" theme to, well, absurdity. On the one hand you've got
this: "[W]e’ll bring back manufacturing jobs that pay well. How? We’ll dramatically lower the tax on American companies that wish to bring their profits home." Because, boy, no Republican ever said lower corporate taxes would create jobs. And also this: "It's about time we limit the terms of Congress!" He's practically a revolutionary.
But it is in his attempt to portray himself as the friend of the black and brown person that Paul really stretches the bounds of credulity. Here's some of what he said Tuesday:
This message of liberty is for all Americans, Americans from all walks of life. The message of liberty, opportunity and justice is for all Americans, whether you wear a suit, a uniform or overalls, whether you’re white or black, rich or poor. […]
Martin Luther King spoke of two Americas. He described them as two starkly different American experiences that exist side-by-side.
In one in America, people experience the opportunity of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In the other America, people experience a daily ugliness that dashes hope and leaves only the fatigue of despair. […]
I see an America where criminal justice is applied equally and any law that disproportionately incarcerates people of color is repealed.
Yes, he even invoked Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech. A speech that he began with the now ubiquitous tea party call to action: "We have come to take our country back." That's not even a dog whistle anymore, it's become so obvious to all those who have been bleating it since a black man became president in 2008. But you don't just have to listen to the subtext of Paul's speech. Look at his actions.
Remember back in 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the voting rights act? Remember what Paul said? "I don’t think there is objective evidence that we’re precluding African-Americans from voting any longer." Then Paul recognized that "[i]t's wrong for Republicans to go too crazy on this issue because it’s offending people," and chilled out on that rhetoric. In fact, most likely with 2016 looming in his head, he decided to start talking about voting rights as a good thing. Until he went on Fox News, and decided he was totally in agreement with Republican voter suppression efforts. Maybe Paul is a little bit more sincere when it comes to criminal justice reform. Maybe.
But what really can't be swept away by Paul is his apparently enduring belief that the Civil Rights Act went too far when it infringed on "private businesses and their policies." Paul has been a lot more careful since he dropped that bomb on the Rachel Maddow Show, but there's little evidence that his understanding of the Constitution or his personal interpretation of it has altered.
In other words, in Paul's world black people should sure be able to vote, but they can only sit at lunch counters where they're wanted.