South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has shifted his position on the Confederate flag.Â
In a surprising turn of events, Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham says his home state should remove the Confederate flag from the top of a flagpole in front of the State House. That flag, which technically is not the Confederate flag but one co-opted in opposition to the civil rights advances of the 1960’s, has been forever linked to the 21-year old white supremacist who shot and killed nine Black parishioners at a Charleston church last week.
Last week, as did every Republican 2016 presidential candidate, Lindsey Graham supported the flag flying over the State House, although he said he was open to discussion.
UPDATE:Â Watch Live Now: Nikki Haley, Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott Call For SC’s Confederate Flag Removal
“At the end of the day, it’s time for people in South Carolina to — to revisit that decision would be fine with me. But this is part of who we are. The flag represents to some people a Civil War, and that was the symbol of one side, to others it’s a racist symbol. And it’s been used by people, it’s been used in a racist way,” Graham told CNN.
EARLIER: Breaking: ‘When Not If’ – SC Lawmakers, Governor To Call For Removal Of Confederate Flag Today
But he also claimed the flag had nothing to do with institutionalized racism, claiming “the problems we have in South Carolina and throughout the world are not because of a movie or symbols but because of what’s in people’s hearts.”
But now Sen. Graham is taking a different position, likely in the face of news NCRM reported earlier today, that State lawmakers will announce today they support removing the flag from the front of the State House and into a memorial setting. Gov. Nikki Haley today will also announce support for its removal.
Dana Bash of CNN was the first to report the news of Sen. Graham’s change of heart:
Bash reports Graham “will call for the flag to come down and be put in a museum.”
Graham has been quietly urging his fellow elected representatives inside South Carolina over the past few days to make this move. As the sole white senator, he felt that it was in some ways easier – and more symbolic – for him to take the lead than his junior senator Tim scott , who is African American , or Governor Nikki Haley , who is of Indian descent, according to a source familiar with Graham’s thinking.
On Twitter, a consensus certainly is building:
But others note that the correct position now, while the right thing to do, is a bit late in the game:
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Related:
Video: John Oliver Weighs In On The Confederate Flag
Charleston Shooter Radicalized By Same Group FRC President Tony Perkins Addressed
Second Republican Lawmaker Will Vote To Remove South Carolina Confederate Flag
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Image: Screenshot via CNN/YouTube