Associated Press - A group that supports the flying of the Confederate flag called two Republican presidential candidates “scalawags and carpetbaggers” Friday for their criticism of the divisive banner during this week’s GOP debate.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans said it was upset by remarks by former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. A news conference outside Romney’s headquarters is planned for Tuesday.

“This will kick off a concerted effort by the SCV to let scalawags and carpetbaggers know that the road to the White House hits a dead end when they smear the good name of our Southern ancestors,” Don Gordon, an official with the state division of the organization, said in a statement.

Romney’s South Carolina spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The flag, long seen as a symbol of racism by some and as an emblem of Southern pride by others, once flew atop the Capitol in this early voting state. A 2000 compromise removed it from the dome, though it remains on the Statehouse grounds and flies next to a Confederate soldier memorial beside one of the busiest streets in the city.

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Confederate flag supporters upset by Romney, Thompson

What do you expect from Romney?? He’s a Yankee, and we ALL know that Yankees just aren’t too bright, and as far as losing any respect for Romney, I didn’t have any to begin with, I wasn’t going to vote for the man anyway, under ANY conditions, so, as far as I am concerned Romney is a non-entity and of no consequence, his opinion of the Confederate flag means NOTHING to me…

When asked about the banner during the debate, Romney said, “That’s not a flag that I recognize.”

“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,” he said.

Romney is entitled to his opinion, I firmly believe that and I support his right to speak that opinion, even if I don’t agree with it, regardless, Romney will NEVER have MY support, but now Romney needs to be asked this question, ‘Do you recognize the flag of the United Nations?’, I’d love to hear that answer…

Thompson, according to CNN.com, said he does not believe everyone who flies the flag is a racist. “I also know that for a great many Americans, it’s a symbol of racism,” he said.

I can’t fault Fred Thompson in any way for that statement, he spoke the truth, not everyone that flies the Confederate flag is a racist, but, regrettably, some are, that’s a fact of life and it will never change, but for MANY of us that flag does not, IN ANY WAY, represent racism or hatred, it represents our heritage and family histories, nothing more…

Sen. Thompson is dead on the money when he says that the Confederate flag IS a symbol of racism to a great many Americans, mostly to the ignorant among us who use the Confederate flag as a symbol of hatred and racism and the even MORE ignorant among us who believe that the Confederate flag was the cause of, or somehow represented the enslavement of a race and that it continues to cause the many maladies that race suffers even today, but as I said, they are the even MORE ignorant among us…

I won’t drop my support of Sen. Thompson for that statement, he spoke the truth, and the truth is NEVER out of season…

Arizona Sen. John McCain also has drawn the ire of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for comments he made after losing the 2000 primary here to George Bush.

While McCain echoed the then-Texas governor during their debate, he later said he had not been honest about his feelings and his ancestors who fought for the Confederacy “fought on the wrong side of American history.”

As to John McCain, he too is entitled to his own opinion, no matter that by voicing that opinion he has shown himself to be a ‘flip-flopper’, does that bring back any presidential campaign memories for you??

For me it all boils down to this, the Confederate flag is many things to many people, to some it represents hatred, to others it is heritage and history, I just thank God I am one of the chosen few to know that heritage is the heart of the matter and that hatred is reserved for the ignorant among us, no matter which side that hatred comes from…

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