U.S. Sen. Rand Paul says he wants the Republican Party to become more inclusive toward minorities and the poor.He spoke Friday before a gathering of state Republicans in downtown Louisville. Paul—who just a few years ago voiced his displeasure with the 1964 Civil Rights Act—said the GOP needs to change is collective voice. “We need to be the party with passion, that fights for all the stuff we’ve always been for, but we also need to be the party with passion that fights for every individual regardless of color, regardless of creed, regardless of poverty, regardless of where they came from," Paul said. Paul said America has a history of denying justice for people of color. “Think of Richard Jewel," Paul said. "You remember Richard Jewel? He was the guy they said was the Olympic bomber. He was convicted on every TV channel. And you say ,’Well, nothing happened to him.’ Well, you think, if Richard Jewel had been a black man in 1920 in the South, he might not have lived the rest of the day.” The Jefferson County Republican Party’s “Party for the Party” also featured impassioned pleas from Sen. Mitch McConnell and other state GOP leaders for more familiar Republican ideas, including right-to-work legislation, the repeal of Obamacare and the elimination of the prevailing wage.
