Issue Position: Preserving History

Issue Position

On July 9th of last year, I voted against removing the Confederate Battle Flag from the grounds of South Carolina's State House.

After the Mother Emanuel shooting in Charleston, SC, some politicians saw an opportunity to make hay in the wake of the tragedy.

There are too many lessons about the value of human life to forget this period of our nation's history by removing its reminders and symbols.
You don't learn from history by taking down every reminder of it.

Because this is so important, I didn't just vote. I also:

Blocked leadership's attempts to fast-track the flag bill
Supported an amendment to replace the flag with a different historically relevant flag, one that had not been co-opted by hate groups, and which SC soldiers would have fought under
Supported an amendment to put the issue to a popular vote (referendum)
Accepted TV and radio interviews to defend the need for historical markers to the national and international media
Historical revisionists have been attempting to alter or erase our history for years. We've seen it in the removal of prayer from our schools, the selective editing of history taught to our children, the attempts to remove "In God We Trust" from our national currency, and the demonization of all things southern in pop culture.

The underlying agenda is to undermine the values on which our country was founded--limited government, separation of powers, and the rights of all men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Should we be proud of everything that has happened in our country? Not at all. Like every other nation, we have made our share of mistakes. But it is when we look back and remember our history as it truly happened that we can learn from those mistakes and build a better future for our children and grandchildren.

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