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| Monday, Feb 10, 2003 |
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Posted on February 10, 2003 Confederate flag still hot political issue CHARLESTON -- More than 140 years after the first shots of the Civil War arced over Charleston Harbor, the Confederacy's flag remains an issue whenever national candidates sweep through South Carolina. When President Bush and others campaigned before the state's Republican presidential primary three years ago, questions cropped up at every stop about the flag, which then flew above the S.C. Statehouse. Now it's the Democrats' turn, although the flag has since been moved from the dome to a Confederate memorial in front of the Statehouse in Columbia. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wants the flag off the Statehouse grounds entirely. The civil rights group has held an economic boycott of the state since Jan. 1, 2000, and says the action will remain in place until the flag is gone. "I think the Confederate flag should come down period," U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., said Saturday at a campaign visit that included a reception in an antebellum mansion. The other Democratic presidential candidates who have campaigned here before the state's first-in-the-South primary next February have also said the flag should be removed. Edwards says he will not stay in motels or hotels during campaign visits as "a personal statement of respect to the NAACP and their strong feelings about the issue." But, he added, his campaign will have to spend money to win. "Obviously, I think that's absolutely necessary in order to run a viable campaign in South Carolina, not just for me, but for all the other candidates," he said. State Republicans have attacked Edwards, himself a S.C. native, for what they see as a flip-flop on the issue -- endorsing the boycott but then saying he would spend campaign money. But "I've said exactly the same thing throughout this campaign," Edwards said Saturday. U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has said while he supports the goal of the boycott, he couldn't "run for president and have a positive impact on the issue of race and the needs of blacks if I can't campaign effectively." And that's the rub for all candidates, says William Moore, a political scientist from the College of Charleston. "There's a pragmatic aspect of it," he says. "If they are going to campaign in South Carolina they are obviously going to be spending money in the state and they can't ignore the state." The NAACP, too, realizes that. "From the beginning of the boycott, there were guidelines that allowed for groups to conduct essential business in South Carolina," said James Gallman, president of the state NAACP. "We realize to run an effective campaign there will be spending in the state." Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman have said they are studying the boycott issue. However, Lieberman has said he doesn't know how a candidate can campaign while boycotting the economy. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., in a recent statement, said the Confederate flag should not fly anywhere in the country but the statement did not endorse the boycott. Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton has indicated he will honor the boycott. U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. and the first black congressman elected from South Carolina since Reconstruction, said it's all right to have the flag on the Statehouse grounds where there are other monuments. But he doesn't think it belongs in such a prominent place in front of the building. Clyburn says he does not support the boycott while he has been working to get federal money for roads, bridges and sewers to help the state. "I think it would be hypocritical for me to go to the appropriations committee and say I need your vote for this bridge or this road construction" when other members Congress would ask why they should help when the boycott is to keep people from visiting, Clyburn said. When Bush and U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were asked about removing the flag from the dome before the GOP primary three years ago, both said it was up to the people of South Carolina. After the primary, however, McCain said the flag should be taken down. With Republicans in control of the state's General Assembly, College of Charleston's Moore doubts whether any effort will be made to change the flag's position. And Moore says that means South Carolina and the Confederate flag will show up in the spotlight whenever national campaigns drop in. Although, he said that could change depending on what happens in Georgia. There Gov. Sonny Perdue has promised a referendum on whether to bring back the old Georgia state flag which prominently included the Confederate flag emblem. Lawmakers there would make the final decision. "If Georgia puts it (the old flag) back up," Moore said, "obviously the debate switches to Georgia." |
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