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Republicans just can’t quit that flag

Published by digby on July 9, 2015

Republicans just can’t quit that flag

by digby

Last night South Carolina voted to take down the confederate flag.

And this happened in Washington:

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) issued a statement on Thursday explaining his decision to introduce and then cancel a vote on an “important and sensitive issue,” namely his amendment that would have preserved the display of Confederate flag in national parks.

“The amendment offered last night to the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill was brought to me by Leadership at the request of some southern Members of the Republican Caucus,” he said in a statement obtained by TPM.

Republicans including Calvert called the vote on Wednesday evening after the House passed amendments to the Interior spending bill on Tuesday that restricted the display of the Confederate flags on federal land.

Calvert said that his amendement would have simply “codified existing National Park Service policy set by the Obama administration,” to make sure the flag could still be displayed in a “historical and educational context.”

“The intent of the Leadership’s amendment was to clear up any confusion and maintain the Obama administration’s policies with respect to those historical and educational exceptions,” he said.

Today they’re yelling on the floor of the US House of Representatives over this. It’s complicated but the upshot is that the Democrats out maneuvered the Republicans and are making them vote publicly on whether to keep the confederate flag in the US capital. A lot of them are feeling very uncomfortable right now …

It’s a big mess. For the Republicans. And one, I might add, of their own making. They’ve been enabling this nonsense for years for votes and profit. Live by the stars and bars, die by the stars and bars.

Update: Oh my

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