What Rand Paul Gets Wrong on Civil Rights

Robert A. George has written a blog post on what Rand Paul and some conservatives don't understand about Civil Rights:

Republicans -- whether one calls oneself conservative, libertarian, free-market -- shouldn't have philosophical opposition to the basic goals of the Civil Rights Act (hell, the bill passed because of Republican votes!)  It's perfectly fine for contemporary fans of Barry Goldwater to say that the man was wrong to oppose the CRA -- whether on philosophical or political ("hunting where the ducks are") grounds.  It's fine to say that the Civil Rights Act has been too broadly interpreted in the decades since.  But, the 1964 Act and the Voting Rights Act which followed in 1965 were designed to overturn geographic apartheid in parts of this country.

The Pauls seem to concede to the validity of the Act's overturning of discrimination in public settings, such as transportation.  But why aren't they -- as libertarians -- outraged that Jim Crow laws themselves infringed on private property and free exchange of goods?  Jim Crow said whites and blacks couldn't eat together or live in the same hotels. If you were a white restaurant owner and wanted to serve blacks, you could be shut down. Once again, Jim Crow prevented whites and blacks from engaging in a basic economic relationship. That is the power of the state at its worst. And Rand Paul calls such a reality "obscure"?

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