Confederate flag vote
The U.S. House voted Thursday to curtail the display of the Confederate flag in cemeteries overseen by the Department of Veterans Affairs that have Civil War-era mass graves. It would not affect any federal cemeteries in Georgia.
Voting for:
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-DeKalb County
U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta
U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta
Voting against:
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Evans
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville
U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Monroe
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville
U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton
U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Coweta County
U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Lawrenceville
Lawmakers in the U.S. House cast a historic vote Thursday to curtail the display of the Confederate flag in certain federal cemeteries. The action represented a major change of course from less than a year ago, when backlash from Southern lawmakers over a similar provision effectively caused the budget process to collapse.
Eighty-four Republicans voted with all but one Democrat to approve an amendment to a 2017 veterans health spending bill that would block the flag from being raised on flagpoles at cemeteries overseen by the Department of Veterans Affairs that have Civil War-era mass graves. The provision, which advanced by a 265-159 vote, would still allow for small flags to be placed at individual graves on Memorial Day and Confederate Memorial Day.
Sanford Bishop of Albany, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who hails from what is Georgia’s most relatively purple district, was the only Democrat to vote against the proposal.
“While as a descendant of slaves, I find the Confederate flag and the history it represents deeply offensive, I believe that the descendants of Confederate veterans should not be denied the privilege of honoring their dead ancestors two days of the year on a flagpole where their beloved are buried in mass graves,” said Bishop, a centrist who helped write the underlying spending bill as a top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
The amendment marked the first time members of the House have gone on the record over the flag. But even if a similar provision is passed by the Senate and eventually signed into law, it would have no effect in Georgia.
Regardless, several members of Georgia’s congressional delegation were front and center during Thursday’s vote.
Atlanta Democrat David Scott called the vote a “very important step forward.”
He said the American flag should be flown over veterans’ cemeteries. Scott said the Confederate flag “has been turned into the most vicious symbol of racism and prejudice in the whole world.”
Georgia GOP lawmakers unite
All 10 of Georgia’s Republican congressmen voted against the amendment.
A spokesman for Tom Graves, R-Ranger, called the provision “an empty political stunt aimed at dividing our country” since it would have little impact on the ground.
Some Republicans worked behind the scenes to halt the provision, which was teed up for a vote late Wednesday evening by California Republican Jared Huffman.
The Hill, a congressionally focused newspaper, reported that a top staffer for Coweta County Republican Lynn Westmoreland sent an email to other GOP aides comparing the effort to ban the flag to the Islamic State, or ISIL.
“You know who else supports destroying history so that they can advance their own agenda? ISIL. Don’t be like ISIL. I urge you to vote NO,” wrote Pete Sanborn, Westmoreland’s legislative director, according to The Hill.
Westmoreland, himself, made headlines last year when he said of the Confederate flag, "I don't think it's a racist symbol."
On Thursday, the retiring Republican said he was “deeply disappointed” by his staffer’s “poor judgment.”
“This unprofessional language is not tolerated and is distracting from the real issues Congress is working on,” Westmoreland said in a statement. “The staffer has been reprimanded and I assure you it will not happen again.”
Republicans were successful earlier this week in blocking a similar Democratic attempt to remove the Confederate flag from the Citadel.
Little impact, big symbolism
Georgia has two national cemeteries: One in Canton and one in Marietta. But, because neither is home to Confederate graves, Congress’ action Thursday will not change anything at either facility, a spokesman for the National Cemetery Administration said.
Marietta National Cemetery was founded in 1866 specifically to be the final resting place of 10,000 Union soldiers who died during Gen. William Sherman’s campaign. The Georgia National Cemetery in Canton opened in 2006.
Graves’ office said Chattanooga National Cemetery in Tennessee, where many soldiers from the Battle of Chickamunga in northwest Georgia are buried, would also likely not be directly affected.
The fact that a floor vote occurred at all on the flag represented a major change of course for the Republican-led U.S. House.
A similar provision offered by Huffman last year sent the chamber into a tailspin just weeks after a racially motivated shooting left nine black parishioners dead in Charleston, S.C. Then-Speaker John Boehner yanked the underlying spending bill from the House floor in order to avoid a politically awkward vote for Southern Republicans.
Speaker Paul Ryan implied later Thursday that allowing for a floor vote this time around is what makes him different from his predecessor.
“What changed is we have to get through these things,” Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters. “And if we’re going to have open rules in Appropriations, which we have, which is regular order, people are going to have to take tough votes.”
Even though the bill, should it become law, will not affect Georgia, Confederate flag supporters said it is still a sign of how political correctness is erasing signs of the country’s past.
“That’s a shame. That’s a vote against Southern heritage,” said Dan Coleman, a member of the Georgia chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “Every soldier buried (in national cemeteries) earned their heritage. They sacrificed their lives for their cause.”
Coleman, of Winston, said those soldiers deserve to be honored.
“And it’s a disgrace that our so-called leaders, for their own political benefit, betray their heritage,” he said. “That’s exactly what I think they’re doing — trying to be politically correct to hurt their own ancestors.”
Georgia removed the Confederate emblem from its state flag in 2001.
About the Author
