TweetAn earlier post about Mark Sanford evolved (or devolved, if you prefer) into a thread about the Confederate flag, and a couple of points I made back there in response to some of your comments are probably worthy of their own post. So here goes… First, Doug Ross had said: … And most South Carolinians […]
TweetMichael Rodgers, longtime correspondent here and founder of the Take Down The Flag blog, wrote this to me today, and I share it with you: Dear Brad,I am writing for two reasons: to point out some common things people often say that are wrong and to describe the stunning lack of leadership from our state […]
TweetNo time to get into this right now — I’m way behind on my Sunday column — but just to let you know, Mike Huckabee is now apparently bringing up the Confederate flag at campaign events, and here’s what he’s saying: MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (CNN) – Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told South Carolina […]
Tweet OK, here’s the video. We have two clips from the Nazi rally today. The first is the National Socialist Movement presidential candidate, John Taylor Bowles, explaining why he is "South Carolina’s only presidential candidate" — he defends our flying of the Confederate flag on our State House grounds. The second speaker was a young […]
TweetOK, so you’ve read, along with lots of encouraging remarks, some of those ridiculous rationalizations that some otherwise decent folk use to justify continuing to fly a Confederate flag on the State House grounds. You know, Heritage not Hate, etc. I feel obligated to inform those of you who have led sheltered lives as to […]
Tweet Remember the squirm-inducing video of Nikki Haley being interviewed by some pro-Confederate flag guys back in 2010? Remember how she meekly gave them the reassurances they sought, while looking like a hostage forced to say these things? Something caused me to look back at that (I think it was a comment on this blog, […]
TweetRoss Douthat, the conservative columnist for the NYT, set out an interesting train of thought in a dozen Tweets today. Maybe they’ll turn into a column; maybe not. But here are the Tweets: 2. Lincoln’s address is a remarkable exercise in attempting national reconciliation by assuming a collective American guilt for slavery. — Ross Douthat […]
Tweetwistv.com – Columbia, South Carolina I’ve long thought I fit in the category of people with a face made for radio, but yesterday I even flubbed the talking part a couple of times — and of course, the stumbles made the final cut, since they were in the middle of my most pertinent quotes. Oh, […]
TweetHaving those guys waving Confederate banners in front of the State House (even setting one up on a stationary pole, as a way of undoing the legitimate actions of the Legislature), wasn’t enough. Somebody had to tow one around in the air over downtown. Some people just never outgrow the urge to get in other […]
Tweet Jeremy Borden brings to my attention a piece he wrote for a site called The Bitter Southerner. It’s about the role The Whig played in helping get the Confederate flag down. Basically, the role is this: It was a gathering place — and a fertile one, for those wanting a better South Carolina — […]
TweetIf you’re counting up the ways that Bobby Harrell’s departure from the House was a blessing to South Carolina, add this… Mary Tinkler, the young Democrat who won his seat by default when Harrell had to withdraw from the 2014 election, is stepping up to avoid the obscenity of state taxpayers paying an exorbitant amount […]
TweetSamuel Tenenbaum — who goes to Publix each morning to by The New York Times because they refuse to deliver it in Lexington County, where he and I live — brought to my attention this piece from that paper, which notes the parallels between the Confederate flag we just got off our lawn and Atticus […]
Tweet At breakfast this morning, I thought I’d give myself a treat and look down at the naked flagpole where the Confederate flag once flew, so I leaned over, looked… and the pole itself was gone. I just saw a couple of trucks, and a messy spot that looked at a distance like a hole […]
TweetThis is a dangerous moment. More than two weeks have passed since that magnificent moment of unity and purpose in the lobby of the State House. And after that moment of clarity and understanding about what the Confederate flag, flying in front of our seat of government, actually means, some House members have had time […]
TweetA New South Carolina BRAD WARTHEN Guest Columnist We have come so far. We are so close. Let’s get it done. That’s the litany I’ve been reciting this past week, as the previously unthinkable quietly became a matter of fact — at least in the S.C. Senate. To paraphrase a T.S. Eliot quote that Sen. Tom […]
Tweet Standing at the doors waiting for senators to emerge after their historic vote to remove the Confederate flag, I was surprised to see the Rev. Jesse Jackson among them. I was also a little surprised that I was the only media type to call out, “Rev. Jackson,” which brought him over to speak with […]
Tweet Take The Flag Down: SC Unity Rally from Brian Harmon on Vimeo. Remember the short video that my son Matt made about the flag rally Saturday before last? Well, a friend of his has made another one to promote the rally coming up this Saturday, July 4th. This one has a slightly better-known narrator. […]
Tweet This morning, The Washington Post ran a story headlined, “Did Republicans jump the gun on the Confederate flag?” It was prompted by a national poll that showed the public evenly split on whether the flag is a racist symbol. The premise of the story was that golly, did Nikki Haley and the rest get […]
Tweet You’ve no doubt seen this unfortunate news from yesterday: The Confederate flag was removed from a pole on the South Carolina capitol grounds early Saturday morning by activists, but state employees returned the flag to its position not long after the incident. An activist group claimed responsibility for taking the flag down. Witnesses said […]
Tweet I say that not to suggest moving the monument. I just want to emphasize that the folks out there muttering darkly about how we’re trying to “erase history” by moving that flag that was put up in 1962 generally don’t know a lot about our postwar history. I wrote this column to run on […]