Majority in South Carolina approves of Confederate flag removal decision

Governor Nathan Deal halted sales of the plate amid national debate about the controversial flag used by the pro-slavery South during the U.S. Civil War.

The new specialty plate for the organization, available as soon as Thursday will retain the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ logo which features the Confederate battle flag, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.

Two-thirds of South Carolina residents say the S.C. Legislature made the right decision this summer to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds, a new poll out this morning says.

The poll didn’t survey residents on all current presidential candidates, but it did ask what they think about current leaders.

When asked if the Confederate battle flag was more a symbol of racial conflict or of Southern pride, 40% of respondents said it stood for racial conflict, while 47% said it stood for Southern pride. The margin of error is +/- 3.2%, giving the survey a 95 percent confidence level.

Meanwhile by a margin of 51 percent to 45 percent, most of those surveyed said they do not think generations of slavery and discrimination has make it hard for African-Americans to get out of the lower economic classes.

Gov. Nikki Haley, who pushed lawmakers to act in the wake of the Emanuel AME shooting and remove the Confederate Flag, has an approval rating of 55 percent, which is essentially unchanged since March. Yet more than half think South Carolina is moving in a positive direction, and 63 percent the condition of the economy is either very or fairly good. But her approval dipped from 78 percent to 68 percent among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents – a modest drop-off that may be a result of her opposition to the flag’s display. However, Congress’ approval in the Palmetto State is slightly above the rest of the country’s – at 12 percent.

The General Assembly received a stamp of approval from 45% of respondents. Lindsey Graham, who is running for president on the GOP ticket, has a 40% approval rating.

“We were just as mortified as anyone over the events in South Carolina but that doesn’t have anything to do with the Confederate flag”, said Ray McBerry, spokesman for the state’s Sons of Confederate Veterans group. When asked whether they approved or disapproved of the flag being displayed before this summer, 49 percent of respondents said they disapproved. Democrats are more united, with 83 percent supporting the decision to remove the flag and 81 percent saying it should no longer fly at the state house. But just one-third of those surveyed said county clerks and probate judges should be allowed to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples out of personal beliefs. Those surveyed said the two most important issues facing the Palmetto State are education and jobs/unemployment (tied at 13.3%), followed by racism (8%) and moral values (5.4%).