Did you think there was a possibility that the GOP would disavow Rand Paul and his absolutist libertarian craziness?

Well, forget it. GOP leaders see Rand Paul (and the tea party movement he represents) as their ticket back to power, and they’re fine with his views on the Civil Rights Act.

Sen. Lamar Alexander suggests that Paul should learn to hide his real opinions a little better, though: Lamar Alexander: I Can Still Support Rand Paul.

“Even a very good baseball player sometimes has a hard time going from AAA to the major leagues,” Alexander said of Paul, who recently won his primary campaign over the GOP’s preferred candidate. “And that’s what happened to him last week. If he’ll stick to the jobs, debt and terror and providing a check-and-balance on a runaway government in Washington, he’ll be the next Republican senator. We’ll be glad to have him.”