Kentucky Republican Party rally to support Rand Paul draws protests

On April 01, 2010 Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul hosted an anti-healthcare reform rally in Frankfort at the Kentucky Capitol. Paul urged Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway to join in on the lawsuits being filed by at least 13 other Attorneys General, challenging the constitutionality of the healthcare bill. “It is Jack Conway’s job and obligation to defend us against the encroachment of an overzealous and out-of-control big government,” said Paul.

A child holds a sign reading "Will I Have To Pay In A Negro League." Photo: Ed Reinke / AP

On May 22, 2010 however, the tables turned against Paul at Kentucky’s Republican Party headquarters in Frankfort at a rally organized by the Kentucky Republican Party to rally the Commonwealth’s GOP behind Paul after a bitter primary campaign in which much of the Republican party backed his opponent, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson.

About 30 demonstrators used Saturday’s meeting as an opportunity to blast Paul for misgivings he expressed about the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Wednesday that he abhors racial discrimination, but suggested the federal government shouldn’t have the power to force restaurants to serve minorities if the business owners don’t want to.

“It’s fundamentally un-American to oppose the Civil Rights Act,” said University of Louisville student Perry Green, flanked by a fellow protester carrying a placard declaring: “Rand The Klan’s Man.”

Paul, a Bowling Green eye doctor and son of former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, didn’t mention the civil rights flap in brief remarks to supporters inside GOP headquarters. He refused to take questions when he left Republican headquarters and drove past the demonstrators standing across the street.

Hundreds of Paul supporters gathered in Frankfort on Saturday to show their support for the first-time candidate. He pledged to hammer on one key message in the general election campaign against Democratic nominee Jack Conway.

“I will call for one simple thing,” Paul said. “Let’s not spend more money than we take in.”

Kentucky’s U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, the highest ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, who had endorsed Grayson in the primary race, called for Republicans to unify behind Paul in the general election and to reach out to Democrats. “Dr. Rand Paul’s message can win this election,” McConnell said.

Demonstrator Perry Green, left center, talks with Rand Paul supporter Jason Durda as they meet across the street from a Republican Party unity rally in Frankfort, KY, Saturday, May 22, 2010. Photo: Ed Reinke / AP

Despite a bitter primary, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson praised Paul at the rally.

“If you are a Kentucky Republican, a Kentucky Democrat or a Kentucky independent, and you know we have to get our fiscal house in order, there’s only on choice for you in the fall; it’s Dr. Rand Paul,” Grayson said.

TreyGrayson.info, was established to smear Grayson in the primary election, claiming Grayson was Republican “in name only” among other things.

Democrats have seized on some of Paul’s comments since Election Day, including his criticism of U.S. President Barack Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill, calling it overtly anti-business.

Paul isn’t the first politician to criticize the government’s handling of the oil spill, but few have dared defend BP in the aftermath of last months’ explosion at the offshore rig that killed 11 workers and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

But the comment about the Civil Rights Act was what most rankled Ashley Courchene, a retired registered nurse.

“I’m ashamed,” said Courchene, a Frankfort Democrat. “This makes me sick to my stomach that we, as an educated country, would consider electing someone with a Klan mentality to a public office.”

Governor Steve Beshear (D) issued a press release Wednesday calling for Democratic Party unity to defeat Rand Paul in November’s general election. Lieutenant Governor Dan Mongiardo still hasn’t pledged to work on Conway’s behalf. And until he does, that could freeze large numbers of Democratic voters who are faithful to Mongiardo.