Scalawags And Carpetbaggers

Sons of Confederate Veterans is calling Republican presidential candidates Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney "scalawags and carpetbaggers" for their criticism of the Confederate battle flag during the CNN/YouTube Republican debate:

The group issued a statement Friday that said the road to the White House hits a dead end when candidates "smear the good name of our Southern ancestors."

Romney and Thompson were asked whether the Confederate flag represents the symbol of racism, a symbol of political ideology, a symbol of Southern heritage -- or, is it something completely different?

Romney's answer was awful. He said he doesn't recognize the stars and bars flag and managed to disrespect and disparage an important symbol, a version of which, still flies on the grounds of the South Carolina capital:

Romney: Right now, with the kinds of issues we got in this country, I'm not going to get involved with a flag like that. That's not a flag that I recognize so that I would hold up in my room.

The people of our country have decided not to fly that flag. I think that's the right thing.

(Applause)

My own view is that this country can go beyond that kind of stuff, and that instead we can do as a party what we need to do, which is to reach out to all Americans.

Every time I listen to someone like John Edwards get on TV and say there are two Americans, I just want to -- I just want to throw something at the TV, because there are not two Americas. There's one America.

We are a nation united. We face extraordinary challenges right now. And Democrats dividing us and tearing down this country are doing exactly the wrong thing.

We're succeeding in Iraq. We've got tough challenges. We can overcome them. But we do not need to have that kind of divisive talk. And that flag, frankly, is divisive, and it shouldn't be shown.

Thompson was much more respectful, but probably upset some Southerners:

Thompson: I know that everybody who hangs the flag up in their room like that is not racist. I also know that for a great many Americans it's a symbol of racism.

So, therefore, as a public place -- he's free to do whatever he wants to in his home. As far as a public place is concerned, I am glad that people have made the decision not to display it as a prominent flag, symbolic of something, at a state capitol. As a part of a group of flags or something of that nature, you know, honoring various servicepeople at different times in different parts of the country, I think that's different.

But, as a nation, we don't need to go out of our way to be bringing up things that to certain people in our country that's bad for them. [From the CNN/YouTube Republican debate transcript.]

Here's the video of the CNN/YouTube Republican debate Question 31 - What does the "stars and bars" flag represent?:



Inclusion of this question is evidence of CNN's intent to ambush the Republican Presidential candidates. What purpose does raising the Confederate battle flag serve other than to remind voters of the 2000 controversy that helped defeat John McCain? Could it be to support Hillary's position?

Romney and Thompson aren't the scalawags and carpetbaggers here.