From Talking Points Memo:

This is fun: In light of Rand Paul’s decision today to back out of his scheduled appearance on Meet the Press, it’s worth looking back to his father Rep. Ron Paul’s appearance on the show in 2007 — in which Ron Paul came out against the 1964 Civil Rights Act on the very same grounds that have gotten Rand Paul into such a mess this week.

Asked by then-host Tim Russert if he would have voted for the landmark legislation, Paul said he would have opposed it “If it were written the same way, where the federal government’s taken over property—has nothing to do with race relations.” He continued: “it has nothing to do with racism, it has to do with the Constitution and private property rights.”

That’s the same libertarian position articulated by Rand Paul on Rachel Maddow this week: that the section of the legislation that allowed the government to bar racial discrimination by private institutions like businesses was wrong.

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