While I think he is an ideological fruit-bat in the same overall genus as his father (the “NAFTA superhighway” conspiracy theory weirdness is alone enough to disqualify both of them from elective office, as far as I am concerned), I agree with David Bernstein’s analysis that Rand Paul is not a racist. Those progressives piling on to the current meme should consider the broader implications first:
Consider the liberal defense of Communists’ free speech and employment rights in the 1950s; their critics accused them of being Communist sympathizers, if not outright Communists. When the ACLU defended the Nazis’ right march in Skokie in the 1970s, their critics accused them of giving aid and comfort to Naziism. When liberals defend the right to abortion, they are accused, among other things, of wanting to reduce the population of minority babies. And when liberals stand up for the due process rights of terrorism suspects, they are accused of being American-hating jihadist sympathizers.
One might think that liberals are/were wrong on one or all of these controversies, and criticize them for being wrong. But the criticism they faced, and face, for taking unpopular, principled positions that their critics thought/think had/have very negative social consequences was/is grossly unfair and repugnant.