Is it any surprise that the Party of Denial a/k/a the Republican Party, is having such a hard time acknowledging the reality of the recent Charleston, South Carolina massacre? Not one Republican presidential candidate stepped up to forcefully decry the church shooting as a racial attack on a black congregation. To do that, after all, might somehow offend their base of bigots.
Fox News, the unofficial propaganda machine of the Republican Party, did, to their credit, condemn the attack as a hate crime. But this was not a hate crime directed against blacks, but one directed against Christians! This fit in perfectly with their “war against Christians” narrative. The fact that witnesses at the shooting heard Dylann Roof, the white supremist coward, clearly state that his act was against blacks didn’t matter… it was never reported.
Beyond the reluctance to label the shooting as racially motivated, the Republican field of candidates refused to criticize the state for flying the Confederate flag at the state capital. As the no-chance candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham observed, the flag is “part of who we are.”
The only prominent Republican who spoke unambiguously about the Confederate flag was a man not running in 2016. Mitt Romney said in a Twitter message this past Saturday, “Remove it now to honor #Charleston victims.”
But did you expect anything less from the party that denies global warming is real; that trickle-down economics doesn’t work; that racism exists; that abortions are legal; that the ACA is a success; that America has a gun problem?
As I write this, the political winds are already starting to shift. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is scheduled to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from the state capital. Whether the state’s legislature goes along with the proposal is an entirely different story. As is usually the case with radical, conservative Republicans, it won’t be common sense or even common decency that will get that flag down. It will be when their business overlords demand it.
I heard George W. was once asked if he was in denial. His answer was “No. Never been to Egypt.”
Ha! Good one. I also heard he was once asked what he thought of Beirut. His answer, “I always thought Joe DiMaggio was a better all-round player.”
I’d just like to say that you are incorrect in calling it the confederate flag. There never was a Confederacy, and had the south been allowed freedom from the Union, their actual confederate flag looked a lot different then the rebel battle flag. Which was a beacon of courage for my ancestors who fought, died, and spilt blood all the way from the Florida pan handle to the valley’s and mountains of Virginia. Abraham Lincoln once said He would keep slaves if only it would ensure the longevity of the Union. And on the other hand, the Confederate Army’s finest: General “Stonewall” Jackson was quoted once saying if freeing the slaves would ensure the peaceful seccession it would be done. No doubt the Charleston shooting was a act of racism and White supremacy. My issue is this. Just because an uneducated kid held up the confederate battle flag. Now Its the flag of racism???
Grant, you are correct. The flag was actually the battle flag of Robert E. Lee’s army unit. But in the 1960s, it became the symbol of the South’s opposition to the civil rights movement. As such, it became a symbol of division and hatred. I agree with Mitt Romney … the flag needs to come down from the state capital. It appears that’s exactly where this whole thing is headed.
Grant, your post forced me to look into the issue of the Confederate flag more deeply. I reposted an article by Ben Brumfield of CNN. I found it to be a fairly succinct history.