Schakowsky's Statement on Rand Paul's Civil Rights Act Remarks
WASHINGTON, DC — (May 20, 2010) Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued the following statement in response to remarks by Kentucky's Republican Senate nominee, Rand Paul, who has repeatedly questioned the merits of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination.
"Rand Paul, Republican nominee for Senator in Kentucky, has startled the nation with his repudiation of hard won civil rights laws that have been central to the moral fabric of our democracy for half a century. Those of us old enough to remember the images of lunch counters refusing to serve African-American diners are shocked that any 21st century politician would even whisper let alone endorse a return to those days.
"Rand Paul is a proud Tea Party candidate who wants to represent the people of Kentucky and our nation as a whole as a United States Senator, yet he has a perspective that could not be further from the mainstream views of thoughtful, fair-minded Americans. It has become clear that Paul's philosophy: "Let's take our country back,... translates into, "Let's take our country backward....