We ought to take a serious look and see if we haven't interfered with the democratic rights of the people.

I would have voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964

I favor the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it must be enforced at gunpoint if necessary.

My belief has always been . . . that wherever in this land any individual's constitutional rights are being unjustly denied, it is the obligation of the federal government -- at point of bayonet if necessary -- to restore that individual's constitutional rights.

Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing.

When cruelty is inflicted on innocent people, it discredits whatever cause