Republicans may actually be evolving on the Confederate flag

It's just happening at a glacial pace

Confederate flag flies in Columbia, South Carolina
(Image credit: AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

When you run for president, you know that sooner or later, an issue is going to come up that you'd really rather not talk about. An important event occurs, perhaps even an awful one, and you find yourself confronting questions that you had hoped to avoid. So it is with the Republican candidates, who because of the terrorist attack in Charleston are now being asked questions about racism, which always makes Republicans uncomfortable. One of those questions is whether they think the Confederate flag, which flies next to the state house in Columbia, ought to be taken down.

This issue has come up multiple times in primary races because of South Carolina's important place in the primary process. But this time, we may actually see signs of evolution from Republicans — evolution at a glacial pace, but evolution nonetheless.

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.