ricknro, you might be interested in this little history lesson--from a source not universally known as friendly to Republicans: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/politics/civil-rights-act-interesting-facts/.  A larger proportion of Congressional Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act than Democrats.  It was a conservative Republican who played a key role in getting the bill passed.  It was the Virginia Democrat Chairman of the House Rules Committee who fought hard against the bill.  Makes you think differently about Republicans, doesn't it?