Half the Battle
The Confederate flag battle has at last been won.
It’s finally been relegated to a history museum.
The move is symbolic,
But it belies the logic:
We got rid of the flag, but not the gun.
Tag: South Carolina
S.C. Senate Votes to Remove Confederate Flag
37 to 3
Vote by members of the South Carolina Senate to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds, the Charleston Post and Courier reports. The Columbia State notes the Senate “must take one more vote Tuesday to send the bill to the House. The final vote requires a two-thirds majority vote for passage, a rule set under set in the 2000 law that moved the Civil War icon off the Capitol dome.”
Why Aren’t BMW and Adidas Condemning the Rebel Flag?
Both BMW and Adidas have plants in South Carolina but neither company has shown any interest in asking state legislators to stop flying the Confederate flag* over government buildings.
When these companies decided to take advantage of the cheaper, mostly non-unionized labor there, they made a decision to identify with the state. So why aren’t they speaking up? After all, it’s their state now.
Our Scarlet Letter
There’s a lot of controversy about the “Stars and Bars,”
But taking it down in South Carolina goes way too far.
I say let ’em wave it,
Display it or wear it,
Because the Confederate battle flag tells us exactly where the bigots are.
Haley Steps Into GOP Leadership Vacuum
In a 2016 field with no clear frontrunner, yet no shortage of candidates, it took a non-candidate to recognize a major national moment and, well, lead. Gov. Nikki Haley did what governors and leaders more broadly seek to do all the time – to unite, to push forward, and to heal, all in the wake of unspeakable tragedy.
… Yes, this raises her veepstakes stock. But that’s almost secondary to the example she set. She managed to drain the politics out of a charged debate over the Confederate flag that’s been popping up for longer than she’s been alive. She consulted with national and state leaders in both parties to a degree that she could appear with both Democrats and Republicans in announcing her new position. She cut through a muddled, half-hearted set of responses from 2016ers and now sees them drafting behind her leadership. Out of a tragic story, this is politics at its best – not as pejorative but as a force for the positive.
— Rick Klein, for ABC News.
Why S.C.’s Confederate Flag Is Not at Half-Mast Following Charleston Killings
In South Carolina, the governor does not have legal authority to alter the flag. Only the General Assembly can do that.
— A spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), quoted by ABC News, on why only the Confederate flag flying over the state capitol wasn’t at half-mast after the Charleston shootings.
S.C. Lawmaker Calls on Police to Find ‘Jackass’ Murderer
The first thing we do, we’ve got to find this jackass and bring him to justice. It’s evil. He is evil.
— South Carolina state Sen. Larry Grooms (R), calling on police to catch the man who shot and killed his friend and colleague, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D), along with eight others during a Bible study last night in Charleston, TPM reports. “He was my colleague but he was also my brother in Christ, and the news of his death and the deaths of the others, made me physically ill.”
Graham Leads by Two Points in South Carolina
14%
Favorite son Lindsey Graham’s lead in South Carolina, followed closely by Ben Carson at 12%, Jeb Bush at 11%, Scott Walker at 10%, Marco Rubio at 8%, Mike Huckabee at 7% and Ted Cruz at 6%, according to a new Morning Consult Poll.
Santorum Stands Mute As S.C. Birther Claims Obama Tried to Nuke Charleston
On a swing into South Carolina last week in his never-ending but never-gonna-happen campaign to win the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum proved again that he is a political hack who lacks the gravitas — and class — required to be president.
During a Q&A session at a birther, anti-Muslim summit, Santorum said nothing during a two-and-a-half minute rant by Virginia Ellisor, a self-described “retired teacher, lifelong political activist and lifelong resident of South Carolina,” who laced her comments with a series of ridiculous allegations against the president — that Pres. Obama is a “communist dictator,” that he is “not a citizen,” and that he is “trying to destroy the United States.”
Getting to specifics about the latter accusation, Ellisor cited a recent alleged attempt by the president to destroy an American city.
Exit Polling Asked South Carolina Voters Whether Blacks Were ‘Too Demanding’ and ‘Trying Hard Enough’
In an article on its website with the rather oblique title, “Exit Poll Angers Some SC Voters,” (meaning others were simply delighted by it?), WSPA television in Spartanburg, S.C., reported that questions in exit polling after the midterm elections Tuesday were framed to elicit racist responses.
Voters were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with statements like:
- “Over the past few years, blacks have gotten less than they deserve.”
- “Blacks are getting too demanding in their push for equal rights.”
- “It’s really a matter of some people not trying hard enough; if blacks would only try harder, they could be as well off as whites.”
One shocked liberal voter demanded to know who had authorized the questions. Amber Lange, who said she worked for Clemson University, was surprised to learn the questions were written by a Clemson professor:
