S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley's push to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State House is, not surprisingly, getting heavy coverage across the Web. Among the highlights:
▪ The (Charleston) Post and Courier, which has received praise for its coverage of the Charleston shooting, has compiled a real-time chart on where lawmakers stand on the Confederate flag's removal. The poll started at 9 a.m. Monday.
▪ The (Columbia) State also offers this listing of those who favor or oppose (just two for the latter) removing the flag. The list of supporters for removing the flag includes presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush and Lindsay Graham, along with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
▪ The State also gives insight in this story into what prompted Haley to move quickly to call for the Confederate flag's removal. "Haley said her sense of urgency was propelled by the victims' families, who expressed love and forgiveness to the accused shooter, and the strength and grace on display when Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church reopened Sunday, a service that Haley and her family attended."
▪ The Washington Post looks at how the Confederacy lives on in the flags of seven Southern states, including North Carolina, in this blog.
▪ Huffington Post has an Associated Press report as its top story looking at whether Mississippi will also push to remove the Confederate part of its state flag. Mississippi voters decided by a 2-to-1 margin in 2001 to keep the state flag used since 1894. One of its corners has a Confederate battle emblem.
▪ In an editorial, the Post and Courier says "it's time for the Legislature to furl the flag in the spirit of good will and reconciliation. … There is no appropriate place for the flag at the Statehouse – not in the aftermath of Wednesday's tragic murder of nine people in Emanuel AME Church on Calhoun Street." In case you missed it, the Observer also praised Haley's decision in this editorial.
▪ Kathleen Parker of The Washington Post also urges the Confederate flag to be removed in this column. "It is clear that the Confederate battle flag that flies on the South Carolina State House grounds is the racist symbol many have long thought it to be," she writes.
