Southern Protestors Unhappy with Thompson and Romney's Flag Remarks

ABC News' Christine Byun Reports: As GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson wrapped his South Carolina campaign visit, he had a small handful of protesters outside his event at a Lexington, South Carolina restaurant.

About four men held confederate flags and signs that said "Honk for Dixie" and "The South Does Not Want Fred Thompson."

The men said they were part of the South Carolina League of the South and speaking out against Thompson and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for recent remarks about something dear to their hearts. At the November 28 CNN/YouTube debate, both candidates said they did not believe the Confederate flag should be flown in a public place. The two Republican hopefuls, who are among the leaders in Palmetto State polls, also said the flag wrongfully divides the country.

"When a Southerner goes bad, we call him a scallywag. Thompson's a scallywag - he deserves no respect," Jim Hanks, who identified himself as a registered Independent, said. A scallywag is a white southerner who supported the federal government during Reconstruction. Hanks also said he was interested in Thompson, but now supports Ron Paul.

The group also lashed out at Romney - who called the flag was "divisive" at the debate - for being a "carpetbagger."

"Most people think the flag is a racist symbol. I would say not in South Carolina, we don't. Not in the South, we don't. We don't vote for people that say negative things about the Confederate flag," Don Gordon, a protestor who wore a Confederate flag tie, said.

The group intends to protest every campaign stop in South Carolina for both candidates.

"Yesterday, we were at Mitt Romney's headquarters because Mitt Romney insulted our flag," Hanks said. "We'll try to be everywhere they are."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/12/southern-protes.html

is the battle flag of Northern Virginia, NOT the official flag of the Confederacy. Most folks aren't even aware of what that historical flag looks like, and I've never heard of anyone objecting to its being flown in appropriate places, such as Confederate war memorials. The battle flag, however, was taken up as the symbol of the KKK in the years after the War, and it is this banner that jayhoos like the protesters want to fly.

That says it all. This is becoming a dead issue finally....

you lost assholes, time to move on.