[VAcourier] McCain takes heat for flag in new ads

[Virginia Division SCV Communication List]

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080117/NATION/256973
271/1001



Article published Jan 17, 2008
McCain takes heat for flag in new ads



January 17, 2008 


By Stephen Dinan - COLUMBIA, S.C. - The confederate battle flag, an issue
that has dogged Sen. John McCain in South Carolina ever since his 2000
presidential bid, is about to pop up again in the form of radio ads being
run today through Saturday blasting him for his position. 

The ads, paid for by Americans for the Preservation of American Culture,
attack both Mr. McCain and Mitt Romney, and praise rival Republican Mike
Huckabee for saying the flag is a state and heritage issue. 

"Mitt Romney's been trying, but when it comes to bashing the confederate
flag he can't hold a candle to John McCain. McCain's been doing it - calling
the flag a racist symbol for years," one of the minute-long ads says. 

Another ad goes straight for Mr. Romney, with the announcer saying, "Romney
let fly in a CNN debate, saying, 'that flag shouldn't be flown,' and 'that's
not a flag I recognize.'" 

Ron Wilson, a former national commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
and South Carolinian who was involved in raising money for the ads, said
they will be run today through Saturday's primary on every radio station in
the state that carries the radio shows of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or
Bill O'Reilly. 

He wouldn't say how big the ad buy was, but said they have been told they
will reach 60-65 percent of all Republican primary voters with the ads. 

Neither Mr. McCain's nor Mr. Romney's campaigns immediately responded to
requests for comment. 

Mr. McCain leads the polls here heading into Saturday's Republican primary,
but the flag has a history of being a potent political issue. 

In 1996, then-Gov. David Beasley proposed moving the flag from atop the
statehouse dome and flying it at the Confederate Soldier Memorial on state
house grounds instead. Mr. Beasley, now a supporter of Mr. Huckabee, was
heavily criticized at the time, but four years later the state legislature
adopted his proposal. 

In his 2000 presidential bid, Mr. McCain seemed to straddle the issue, first
calling the flag "a symbol of racism and slavery," but then releasing a
statement saying he understood both sides. 

"Some view it as a symbol of slavery; others view it as a symbol of
heritage. Personally, I see the battle flag as a symbol of heritage," he
said. 

In his new book released last year, "Hard Call: Great Decisions and the
Extraordinary People Who Made Them," he labeled his support for the flag one
of the "worst decisions" he's ever made. 

Some voters don't want to let him drop the issue. CBS.com reported yesterday
that Robert Hayes, who protested outside of Mr. McCain's events yesterday,
told the senator a majority of state residents support flying the flag. 

"My answer to that is I can't be more proud of the overwhelming majority of
the people of this state who came together in taking that flag off the top
of the Capitol," Mr. McCain said, earning a standing ovation. 

"That issue has been resolved in the minds of the overwhelming majority of
citizens of the state. They don't like it reopened," he told reporters
later, according to CBS. 

"And a coming together of almost all parts of the state, made the decision
they did, and disposed of the issue that they did. And I think it was pretty
obvious by the crowd reaction, they're not interested in reopening it." 

As for Mr. Romney, Mr. Wilson said the former Massachusetts governor's
comments at the CNN-YouTube debate were bad, but what really upset
confederate battle flag supporters is that a Web site from South Carolina
supporters of Mr. Romney also attacked the Sons of Confederate Veterans
group itself. 

"He actually attacks the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which is the first
time that's ever been done," Mr. Wilson said. 

Mr. Wilson said Ron Paul, another candidate competing here in the primary,
is good on this issue from his standpoint, while Fred Thompson is a mixed
bag. 

He said Mr. Thompson's answer at the CNN-YouTube debate was troublesome. Mr.
Thompson said the flag isn't necessarily racist but that he supported the
state's decision to limit its display on public property. His campaign
called later to try to soothe the issue over. Mr. Thompson For now, he said
they decided not to run ads against Mr. Thompson because they don't see him
as a major player here. 

Signs have started popping up on roadways with the battle flag emblem and
the message "Boot Fred Thompson" or one of the other candidates. Mr. Wilson
said that wasn't from his group. 

Mr. Wilson said there could be as much as 8 percent of the primary
electorate for whom the battle flag is a voting issue. 

"This is close enough now that this issue is probably going to determine
whether McCain wins or Huckabee. I think it's that close here," Mr. Wilson
said. 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://scvva.org/pipermail/vacourier_scvva.org/attachments/20080117/00ef9b41/attachment.html