After Canceling Meet The Press, Rand Paul Gives Interview to Local TV

Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul, who canceled a planned interview with Meet The Press Sunday, gave an interview to local Kentucky station WHAS on Friday.

After a week in which he won the Republican primary, but also came under scrutiny for controversial views on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, he has canceled interviews with national news outlets, but is apparently glad to speak with local news reporters.

The WHAS reporter did not seem to press Paul much on the controversial elements, but instead gave him room to seek to explain some of his more outrageous views.

“I think sometimes we are imperfect people and we don't always say what we mean,” Paul said in the interview. “We don't always explain what we mean very well. But I also was never asked the question (of whether he would have voted yes or no on the Civil Rights Act), so I was trying to answer the question, but I think getting too much into a philosophic debate about a moot point.”

The local station also stated in a web story: “Paul's beef is with repeated claims by MSNBC personalities, claims that Paul describes as 'lies' perpetuated by the Democratic National Committee, that Paul wanted to repeal the Civil Rights Act. The claim has also been advanced by Democratic Senate opponent Jack Conway. Hardball host Chris Matthews corrected the error on Thursday.”

It did not include any chance for MSNBC to respond. The reporter also never brought up the Louisville Courier Journal reporting on Paul that first disclosed his controversial views and editorialized against his candidacy.

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