North side of SC Capitol with Confederate monument
[Gov. Nikki] Haley's speech on Monday, reported today in the
Columbia State newspaper:
Haley “is doing something against the political grain for her party, and she’s doing it for the right reason,” said S.C. Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison, adding his respect for Haley has grown “ten-fold.”
“For that, I applaud her and thank her for her courage and ... leadership,” Harrison said.
Others saw more personal reactions at work in Haley’s announcement Monday.
State Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, said Haley, the mother of two, was moved by last Wednesday’s tragedy. The governor choked back tears at a Thursday press conference and was moved by the community’s response.
Fortunately for those of us anxiously watching the events in SC over the past week, TWC Cable News14 carried the South Carolina's Governor's press conference. I noted that at the conclusion of Haley's speech, she turned first to hug SC's only African American member of the US House, James Clyburn. She was flanked by state leaders, mostly Republicans, but she turned first to Clyburn, a Democrat.ames E. Clyburn
Rep. Clyburn tweeted yesterday
Governor @nikkihaley's stand should be applauded & I'm hopeful that the SC legislature will codify her sentiments.
As the
Raleigh N&O Editors say in an editorial today, Republicans and Southern (and some other) Democrats alike have been using coded messages ("dog whistles) for years to protect themselves from white backlash in the Deep South.
The Charleston Post and Courier has given great coverage to the events of the past week in its own backyard. It carries a front page editorial calling on the SC Legislature to put an end to flying the Rebel Battle Flag on the grounds of the SC Capitol.
My own take is reflected in a LTE to the Raleigh News and Observer, which like the State, is owned by McClatchy chain. While my view is cynical to a degree, I don't think the motives of the SC GOP leadership are entirely pure, even as they changed dramatically over the past week:
I am a native of SC and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. I am proud that USC's President and coaches and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley stepped up to the plate and gave unequivocal statements. They asked that the members of the SC Legislature, the only ones who can, bring down the Rebel Battle flag.
Nikki Haley was certainly influenced by her emotional encounter with the families of those murdered at their AME Church. But Charleston's leadership is also protecting their City's image to prevent loss of one of the largest tourism economies in the US, and the State Chamber of Commerce is likewise embarrassesd by the furor unleashed by the shoottings. It endorsed taking down the flag on the grounds of the state house..
Your editorial is welcome; The Charleston The Post and Courier is also calling for the furling of the Rebel Battle flag. I hope the legislators in SC will bring down this divisive symbol.
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Front page of Chalreston SC newspaper Jun3 22,2-15
9:01 AM PT: Video from THE STATE newspaper's site minutes ago
http://www.thestate.com/... Take it Down Rally at the SC Capitol now.
The first senator to call for moving the flag to a museum was the son of South Carolina's most powerful politician of the last century, U.S. senator and segregationist standard-bearer Strom Thurmond.
Sen. Strom Thurmond was the oldest member of the US Senate, and when he retired from the US Senate. James Strom Thurmond served for 48 years as a United States Senator from South Carolina.
He ran for president in 1948 as the States Rights (Dixiecrat) Democratic Party candidate He is also the longest-serving Republican member of Congress in U.S. history. Born: December 5, 1902, Edgefield, SC Died: June 26, 2003, Edgefield, SC --Source Wikipedia and The State.