Steele ‘uncomfortable’ with Paul’s civil rights views

The leader of the national Republican Party said Sunday that he is “uncomfortable” with civil rights views held by his party’s Senate hopeful Rand Paul of Kentucky but stopped short of condemning the outspoken candidate.

“I can’t condemn a person’s view,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The people of Kentucky will judge whether that’s a view that they would like to send to the Senate.”

Mr. Steele said that while he is “uncomfortable with a lot of things … it doesn’t matter what I’m comfortable with or not comfortable with. I don’t vote in that election.”

A day after cruising to victory Tuesday in the Republican Senate primary, Mr. Paul told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that, while he supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act in general, he thought some provisions banning discrimination in private businesses may have gone too far.

A day later, Mr. Paul began stepping back from those comments, saying in a written statement, “I believe we should work to end all racism in American society and staunchly defend the inherent rights of every person.”

Mr. Steele, when asked on “Fox News Sunday” whether Mr. Paul’s civil rights statements were wrong, answered that the candidate’s “philosophy is misplaced in these times.”

Mr. Paul “stands foursquare with the party on this issue, but he had a philosophical difference, as many members who come to Congress have different philosophies,” the chairman said. “But when you get [to Washington], what you do and how you execute the job is what matters.”

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, also appearing on “This Week” and “Fox News Sunday,” said Mr. Paul’s comments on civil rights and remarks he has made against federal regulations will help make Republican-leaning Kentucky more competitive for Democrats in the November general election.

“Saying as Rand Paul did … that we needn’t be so worried about things like mining regulations, this is a very important role the government has: to protect the safety of the environment and the health of citizens,” Mr. Kaine said on “This Week.” “Rand Paul’s statements along these lines are very, very troubling.”

But Mr. Steele said he has spoken with Mr. Paul and is confident he is a good representative of the Republican Party.

“It’s important to understand that Rand Paul has clarified his statement and reiterated his support for … pushing civil rights forward,” Mr. Steele said on “This Week.” “Any attempt to look backwards is not in the best interest of our country, certainly, and certainly not in the best interest of the party.”

Mr. Steele added that Mr. Paul’s views on civil rights should be judged in context with the “philosophical position” held by libertarians.

Mr. Paul and other libertarians “have a very, very strong view about the limitations of government intrusion into the private sector,” he said. “That is a philosophical perspective.”

Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate, defended Mr. Paul, saying on “Fox News Sunday” that he was “right in his clarifications about what he means in his interpretation of the impacts of the Civil Rights Act.”

Mrs. Palin, like Mr. Steele, declined to outright condemn Mr. Paul for his civil rights comments.

“Rand Paul is not a perfect, always-to-be-agreed-with candidate. Nobody is,” the former Alaska governor said. “But Rand Paul is a libertarian. He’s clear in his libertarian leanings.”

Mrs. Palin said Mr. Paul, during his interview with Ms. Maddow, had engaged only in a “hypothetical discussion about constitutional impacts” with a “media personality who has an agenda.”

“You know, they’re looking for that gotcha moment, and that’s what it evidently appears to be that they did with Rand Paul,” she said.

Mr. Paul canceled a scheduled appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Host David Gregory said a Paul spokesman sent a statement to the show in the morning saying that the candidate didn’t want to be on the program in order to avoid “the liberal bias of the media.”

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the recruiting and fundraising arm of Senate Republicans, dismissed Mr. Paul’s no-show by saying the candidate instead “needs to be talking to the voters back in Kentucky.”

“I’m sure you’ll be hearing extensively from him and all the candidates over the next six months,” Mr. Cornyn said on “Meet the Press.”