By Bill Davis, senior editor | Even though the Confederate flag is off the Statehouse grounds as of today, the political battle over it exposed a South Carolina that still is deeply divided.
Yes, all of the House and Senate members who voted against taking down the flag were white. And, yes, they were all Republicans.
A little-noticed but very real divide that was exposed this week was one of geography. All three state senators who voted against moving the flag were from the Upstate: Lee Bright from Roebuck, Danny Verdin from Laurens and Majority Leader Harvey Peeler of Gaffney.
In the House, 18 of the 27 nay votes on the pivotal second vote on the Senate bill were from the same corner of the state: Eric Bedingfield and Anne Thayer from Belton; Gary Simrill of Rock Hill; James Mikell Burns of Taylors, Jonathon Hill of Townville; Stephen Moss from Blacksburg; Joshua Putnam from Piedmont; Judiciary chair Greg Delleney of Chester; Dwight Loftis and Wendy Nanney of Greenville; William Chumley from Woodruff; Craig Gagnon of Abbeville; Dennis Moss from Gaffney; Mike Pitts of Laurens; William Sandifer from Seneca; Tommy Stringer from Greer; Ways and Means chair Brian White from Anderson; and Bill Whitmire of Walhalla.
Interestingly, the eight of the members of the General Assembly who didn’t vote were also white Republicans, and many of them were from the Upstate. House members David Hiott (R-Pickens), William Hixon (R-Aiken) and Deborah Long (R-Indian Land) had excused absences. The five senators with excused absences were Raymond Cleary (R-Murrells Inlet), Thomas Corbin (R-Travelers Rest), Chauncey Gregory (R-Lancaster), Shane Massey (R-Edgefield) and Billy Odell (R-Ware Shoals).
A cluster of shame?
Nearly 10 years ago, Columbia filmmaker Bud Ferillo released the seminal documentary “Corridor of Shame,” detailing what he found along the I-95 corridor running through South Carolina – poverty, underfunded schools and a state surrounding it that didn’t seem to want to help for a variety of unsavory reasons.
Have the bitter votes this week in a special extended session of the General Assembly to take down the flag, a symbol of racism and heritage to many, shown there is a “cluster of shame” — a land that time forgot — in the Upstate?
“Cluster” seems to be the more appropriate term, as there are some outliers, including naysayers who voted no: Christopher Corley of Graniteville; Kevin Hardee of Loris; Ralph Kennedy of Leesville; Mike Ryhal of Myrtle Beach; Edward Southard of Moncks Corner; Bill Taylor of Aiken; Jeffrey Johnson of Conway; Kit Spires of Pelion; and Mac Toole of West Columbia.
“I think that’s absolutely correct,” said House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford (D-Columbia), noting the geographic mass of “no” votes in the Upstate.
Rutherford praised House Republicans like Doug Brannon of Landrum and Gary Clary of Clemson for preparing bills to take down the flag in the days that followed the shooting of nine black parishioners at a Bible study at historic Emanuel AME Church, including its pastor, the late state Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D-Jasper).
Pinckney’s body was laid in state in the lobby of the Statehouse, but not before his casket rolled in a horse-drawn caisson past the still-flying flag. Gov. Nikki Haley had tried to unsuccessfully to push the legislature to have the flag down by Fourth of July celebrations.
Winthrop political scientist Scott Huffmon said the flag vote was one of those times when geographic divides were able to “shine through.” For decades, the state has been politically divided into the Upstate, the Midlands/PeeDee, and the Lowcountry.
He noted that when legislators redrew the state’s congressional districts, especially to accommodate the new Seventh District, state leaders took pains to create districts centered on metropolitan areas instead of traditional lines of division.
Does that mean the Upstate is more racist and bigoted than the rest of the state? Huffmon said no, pointing to history where Corridor of Shame whites, outnumbered by black residents, originally were more oppressive.
Other factors: History, demographics
History has shaped some of the debate. Consider that in 1871, President U.S. Grant suspended habeas corpus in nine South Carolina Upstate counties due to a sharp and violent increase in Klan activity, especially in Laurens, Spartanburg and Chester counties.
Demographics of the Upstate also figured into the vote, according to Huffmon, who points out that the Upstate has a low number of black residents and voters compared to the rest of the state.
That could mean two things: Upstate politicians, representing the tea party toehold in the state, didn’t have to fear backlash from black voters in their districts. Additionally, they may not have been as exposed to blacks as the rest of the state, which might make them less considerate of their feelings, he said.
“What they should have done,” said Rutherford of Republicans in the House who voted to leave the flag in place, “is what they apparently did in the Senate. They went back to their districts and talked about their friend Clementa Pinckney and how he died under the guise of that flag.”
Rutherford also praised state Rep. Jenny Horne (R-Summerville) for her impassioned speech to take the flag down, linking it, in his mind, to respect owed to the families of the slain.
What’s ahead
Bright, the most vociferous voice in the Senate for leaving the flag in place, said the public could expect to see some “backlash” votes in the legislature next year as a result of the flag coming down.
Bright said that the left was using the flag as a political brickbat, charging that Haley had supported the flag’s placement when she served in the House and during her two successful gubernatorial campaigns.
Bright also said the issue was far from over, claiming to have been shown data from a national pollster that 20 percent of black residents were for keeping the flag. Those numbers, however, would clearly suggest that four in five blacks were opposed to it remaining on Statehouse grounds.
Meanwhile, Brannon said he has continued to receive backlash from some of his constituents, one of whom called him a “[redacted]-lover” this week to his face. Earlier, a constituent threatened a family member and was visited by state law enforcement.
Brannon said the legislature’s flag wounds would heal in time, saying that the divide on the issue of raising the gas tax was a wider one, but maybe not as deep.
Regardless, Rutherford said not to expect him to co-author any bills with Pitts, the most vociferous flag supporter in the House, any time soon.
Bill Davis is senior editor of Statehouse Report. Send your comments to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
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