As far as I am aware, Ron Paul's reason for not voting for the civil rights act, is because rights aren't things that can be voted on. Rights are rights; end of story. If you have to vote for rights, then you undermine what rights actually are.
Not voting for the civil rights act is not the same as "not supporting rights". You can support the rights of people without having to vote for them; indeed, because voting for them means they aren't rights in the first place.
As for the racism thing, there are numerous stories on the internet that cover it, and they all say something different. Getting all the facts right is hard, and I doubt it'll ever happen. What we do know is that Ron Paul has consistently rejected the opinions of those newsletters in recent years, and as far as we know, hasn't made any racist remarks in recent years either. Even if Ron Paul had at one point been a racist, he clearly isn't today. People shouldn't be held accountable for stupid stuff they once said, which they now regret saying, or reject. What matters is what they believe now.
Not voting for the civil rights act is not the same as "not supporting rights". You can support the rights of people without having to vote for them; indeed, because voting for them means they aren't rights in the first place.
As for the racism thing, there are numerous stories on the internet that cover it, and they all say something different. Getting all the facts right is hard, and I doubt it'll ever happen. What we do know is that Ron Paul has consistently rejected the opinions of those newsletters in recent years, and as far as we know, hasn't made any racist remarks in recent years either. Even if Ron Paul had at one point been a racist, he clearly isn't today. People shouldn't be held accountable for stupid stuff they once said, which they now regret saying, or reject. What matters is what they believe now.
