No Time to Waffle

The Tea Party is taking American politics by storm. Among the exciting leaders is Rand Paul, who captured the Republican senatorial nomination for the state of Kentucky. He immediately got attention with his remarks that the civil rights legislation of the 1960s was probably not constitutional. The federal government has no business telling private business that they can’t discriminate on the basis of race, he indicated.

The furor, as you might imagine, was immediate. In response, the usually self-assured Dr. Paul waffled. He backed off his original statements saying that he opposed discrimination. Eventually the good Doctor declared that he would have voted for the civil rights law.

From my perspective, Dr. Paul needs to stand up for his principles. If he truly believes that it is appropriate for private organizations to discriminate on the basis of race, he should say so. We do not need any more politicians who waffle on such important issues. The Tea Party movement promised to give us more genuine politicians. So far, Dr. Paul has not lived up to that billing.