[caption id=”attachment_137698″ align=”aligncenter” width=”3900″] The Confederate flag flies near the South Carolina Statehouse, Friday, June 19, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)
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Mitt Romney is calling for South Carolina to take down the Confederate flag flying outside their statehouse, and he has an unlikely ally.
The former Republican presidential candidate has long been opposed the the flag, saying in 2008, “It shouldn’t be flown.”
He tweeted out this same sentiment on Saturday and received the stamp of approval from former opponent President Obama.
Take down the #ConfederateFlag at the SC Capitol. To many, it is a symbol of racial hatred. Remove it now to honor #Charleston victims.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) June 20, 2015
Good point, Mitt. https://t.co/Ryusfp8Xbh
— President Obama (@POTUS) June 21, 2015
In the aftermath of last week’s shooting by a white gunmen that left nine dead at a historically black church in Charleston, different theories of motives and premeditation about the shooter have come forward, all leading to the notion that the crime was fueled by racism.
The Confederate flag has long been seen as a sign of the racial segregation and history of slavery in the United States and has been a contested symbol for years. Following the horrific tragedy in Charleston last week, the sometimes personal and deeply emotional debate about the flag’s future presence has increased, causing almost all of the presidential hopefuls to speak out on the hot topic.
FOR THE FLAG: Republican presidential candidate and South Carolina’s own Sen. Lindsey Graham defends his state’s display of the flag as “a part of who we are.”
LEAVE IT TO THE STATES: Teetering on the safe side is former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, who the Huffington Post reported said that though she personally sees it as “a symbol that is very offensive to many,” the decision should be left to the states. Others who share her diplomatic stance are fellow presidential contenders Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who calls the flag a reminder of “the original sin of our nation,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
AGAINST THE FLAG: Jeb Bush’s people reminded everyone in a statement that the former Florida governor was ahead of everyone on this issue, having ordered the flag be taken down in the Tallahassee capitol back in 2001. Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said “Race remains a deep fault line in America,” though while Governor of Arkansas, her husband signed an act on the state flag which stated the blue star would represent “commemorate the Confederate States of America.”
Though the fate of the Confederate flag is yet to be seen, a South Carolina lawmaker who says he lost a friend in the shooting last week has vowed to introduce legislation to remove the flag outside the statehouse.
