Does He Agree with Tea Party Super Star Rand Paul on Civil Rights?
MADISON — Multimillionaire Tea Partier Ron Johnson rolled out his campaign for U.S. Senate this week with more punt than kick-off, offering voters less than the Miss USA finalists did on the issues.
Johnson also took a one foot in, one foot out approach to the Tea Party. On the one hand he distanced himself from his hometown Tea Party in Oshkosh, while also saying, “I’m happy to be associated with the Tea Party,” and that Tea Partiers “shared the exact same concern that I have in terms of the direction of this country.”
Like Tea Party superstar, Rand Paul – the GOP Senate candidate in Kentucky- Johnson has said “I’m joining the Republican Party and I’d like to bring the Tea Party with me.” When Paul was asked:
“Would you have voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964?”
Paul said that discrimination should be a “local” issue and that private businesses should have the “freedom” to refuse to serve people based on the color of their skin.
“If Ron Johnson is happy to be associated with the Tea Party and wants to bring the Tea Party with him to Washington like Rand Paul, then he needs to let voters know where he stands on the issues,” said Mike Tate, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, “We challenge him to go to his party’s convention this weekend and let GOP primary voters know where he stands on civil rights. Does he agree with Rand Paul or not?”
