Dean on the Confederate Flag in South Carolina

By Aziz P. -

The flag of the Confederacy, emblem of the Southern Strategy but not much else, is a trap for Democrats. The Charlotte Observer has a story about how the issue was addressed by the various Democratic candidates:


So far, Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, a New York civil rights activist, all have spoken out against the flag.

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts has said in interviews that the flag is a divisive symbol and that he opposes it on the State House grounds. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has said he doesn't personally support the flag, but he believes it's a local issue.

The controversy had quieted until earlier this month. Newly elected Gov. Mark Sanford irritated some fellow Republicans by asking Darby, who supports the boycott, to give the inaugural invocation.

The same week, Gephardt was asked his position on the flag. In an interview with The (Columbia) State, he declined to take sides. Then he quickly revised his position in a news release saying South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag from any official display anywhere in the state.


Note that only Dean has taken the states' rights position, which is intellectually consistent with his attitudes towards civil unions and gun control (especially since the President has absolutely no authority on the matter, only the SC legislature).

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