From the editorial scheduled to appear in the May 24 edition of the Washington Times:

For all of its faults, the country is a better place in the wake of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The problem with Dr. Paul is that his intellectual honesty - a malady we wish would infect other politicians - would not let him overlook the faults. He rightly pointed out that if one accepts the ability of the federal government to decide that all customers must be accommodated, Congress could use the same power to force liberal restaurant owners to serve people carrying guns.

Ms. Maddow wasn't interested in logical consequences, she was interested in tarring Dr. Paul and the Tea Party movement in general as racist. Dr. Paul has never expressed an interest in revisiting any part of the Civil Rights Act. As he said in a later interview, the left should save its questions for Sen. Robert Byrd, West Virginia Democrat, who actually filibustered the bill in question and was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in the old days. It's questionable why Dr. Paul expected fair treatment from the network that talked about the “racism” of a Tea Party activist who carried a gun to a rally, but took care not to show his face in the video - because that Tea Party activist was a black man.

Rand Paul has clarified that he would have voted “yes” on the 1964 bill, hopefully putting this tired and phony racism attack to rest. The vehemence of the other side's rhetoric emphasizes the importance of putting this constitutional conservative in the Senate.

Previously:

How Did the Press Miss Rand Paul's Civil Rights Views Earlier?

Camerota says Rand Paul controversy shows candidates “have to bend to what is politically correct”