Sen. Bob Corker called for the Confederate flag to stop flying on South Carolina’s capitol grounds in the wake of last week’s deadly shooting at an historically black church in Charleston.
“I see no reason for it to continue. I would certainly vote against flying the flag and my sense is that’s what they are going to do,” the Tennessee Republican said Monday morning on MSNBC.
Though the Confederate flag no longer flies on top of South Carolina’s Statehouse in Columbia, it still flies on a Confederate memorial on the capitol grounds. The issue of whether it should still fly has been revived by last week’s shooting that left nine dead, as the alleged shooter said he was trying to start a race war. Pictures have also surfaced of him holding a Confederate flag.
“It serves no purpose anymore, especially after what has occurred,” said Corker, who was born in South Carolina. “I love South Carolina, but I think in light of what’s happened, there’s no question in my perspective over what ought to happen.”
Some politicians have outright said they want the flag to come down, such as former 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Others, such as South Carolina Senate Republicans Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, have called for a debate over whether or not to take the flag down.
