Bush, Romney Demand Removal of Confederate Flag from SC Capitol

After a terrorist attack at a Charleston church, calls for the state of South Carolina to stop flying the Confederate flag at the state capitol have been given more energy and support from unlikely quarters.

USA Today reports that both Mitt Romney, who ran for president in 2012, and Jeb Bush, who is currently running for president for 2016, have both called for South Carolina to stop flying the Confederate flag alongside the U.S. and South Carolina flags at the South Carolina state capitol.

Their calls to remove the flag came within hours of a protest, ranging from the hundreds to possibly thousands, where people demanded the removal of the flag from the South Carolina capitol.

The flag was used by the Confederate States of America during the U.S. Civil War from 1861-1865, which was fought in order to end the practice of slavery in the southern United States. USA Today notes the flag only began flying above the capitol in 1961, as the Civil Rights movement began its historic ascent.

This fact suggests that the flag was put up because of its explicit relationship to fighting for the preservation of slavery and the state of South Carolina's official disdain for the policy of equal rights for blacks.

The protest lasted for several hours and included chanting and singing. The protesters stressed that they were peaceful and would not attempt to take down the flag themselves.

While prominent national Republicans like Bush and Romney have called for the flag's removal, South Carolina Republicans have been recalcitrant. The Republican Governor Nikki Haley said that now was not the time to discuss the issue, despite the fact that images posted online by the church shooter showed him burning a US flag and waving the Confederate one.