Your Morning Brief for June 23, 2015.

Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
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Take the Flag Down

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley held a press conference yesterday and called for the Confederate flag to be removed from the statehouse grounds. According to POLITICO, Haley called for the state legislature to take down the flag or face coming back in a special session.

“For many people in our state, the flag stands for traditions that are noble,” said Haley. “At the same time for many others in South Carolina, the flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past.

“We do not need to declare a winner and a loser here,” recognizing that the debate should continue over whether or not South Carolinians fly the flag in private, “but the statehouse is different,” she said.

“It’s time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds,” she added. “The flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future of our state.”

The long-simmering debate about the presence of the Confederate flag in front of the South Carolina Capitol boiled over after last week’s tragic Charleston shooting that left nine black parishioners dead at the hands of an alleged white supremacist who had posted pictures of himself with the rebel flag.

Personally, I have no problem with South Carolina deciding to take down the Confederate flag. I have no attachment to the flag and can see both sides of the argument. What I do have a problem with is politicians giving in to the mob mentality. Two weeks ago no one was talking about the Confederate flag. Now, it is the topic of the week and now we must banish images that some find offensive. Two weeks ago Nikki Haley never spoke out against the flag but all of a sudden, she has changed her mind. Why? Is is because she has truly opened her eyes or is it because it's the heated topic of the day?

There is a time to have the debate I'm sure, but a few days after the shooting is not when you should have it. Does anyone really believe that the shooter wouldn't have committed the crime if the Confederate flag was banished from the Capitol years ago? I doubt it. He is a racist low life thug that no one wanted to be around. He is evil. Flag or no flag, he would have committed this crime.

Texas Politicians Give Away Campaign Donations

The events in South Carolina have ties to a few Texas politicians and campaign donations. According to the Texas Tribune, campaign donations from Earl Holt will be given away.

Earl Holt, a Longview man who heads the Missouri-based Council of Conservative Citizens, has given to dozens of Republican candidates and causes across the country, according to federal records. In Texas, he has spread around several thousand dollars over the past four years, state records show.

Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old man accused of killing nine people last week at a historically black church in Charleston, cited the CCC in a manifesto widely attributed to him. The CCC and Holt have a history of racially charged positions, and in the aftermath of the shooting, the group issued a statement suggesting Roof had some "legitimate grievances" related to race.

The highest-ranking recipient of Holt's money with Texas ties is U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a 2016 presidential candidate. He initially decided to refund $8,500 in contributions from Holt to several groups affiliated with Cruz. On Monday, though, Cruz's campaign said he would instead use the money to make a donation of $11,000 to the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund, which benefits families of the shooting victims. 

Gov. Greg Abbott was also planning to return money from Holt, according to his office. Holt had given $1,000 to Abbott's gubernatorial campaign, all of which Abbott will re-donate to charity.

At the state level, Holt gave the most money — $1,250 in total — to the campaigns of his state representative, Republican David Simpson of Longview. Simpson, who formally launched a bid for state Senate on Monday, also said he was parting ways with the donations.

"I am returning the money today," Simpson said in a statement Monday. "I have also asked my staff to find the best way I can personally donate to the families that lost their loved ones in this horrific attack."

Don't look for Holt's money to be accepted by any politician again.

Other Must Read Links:

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