A civil rights organization known for monitoring right-wing hate groups nationwide has listed U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on its list of "extremist" candidates who ran for public office in 2010.The Southern Poverty Law Center compiled the list of 23 candidates, which includes prominent neo-Nazis, neo-Confederates, white supremacists, Klu Klux Klansmen, militiamen and Holocaust deniers.Listing Paul as a "right-wing libertarian", the non-profit group says it added the commonwealth's junior Senator because he "argued that private businesses should be free to deny service to black people" days after his GOP primary victory last year.From the SPLC:During the campaign, many of Paul’s unorthodox political beliefs came to light, including his assertion that private businesses shouldn’t have been compelled to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that barred discrimination.
In a 2002 letter to the Bowling Green Daily News, Paul also criticized the Fair Housing Act, explaining that “a free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination, even when that means allowing hate-filled groups to exclude people based on skin color.”
WFPL has requested a comment from Paul's office.
