Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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___Nation & world_ ._ News Analysis To fly or not to fly (the Confederate flag)? by Leigh Strope The Associated Press To fly or not to fly? Monument, mu seum or park? Mine or yours? The Confederate flag debate in the Legislature is becoming tangled in egos — making a difficult task nearly impos sible. New proposals are dangled weekly to remove the flag from South Carolina’s Statehouse dome. The prize is credit when it finally happens. “There are people in the legislative process who are very concerned about their legacy,” said Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Hopkins, a flag opponent. “They’re very concerned about if they will be recorded as the person to have gotten this done.” Jackson at first wanted to put the flag in the Confederate Relic Room across from the Statehouse. Last week, he and Sen. John Courson, R-Columbia, a flag supporter, said they’re working on a plan to display authentic, Civil War-era flags in glass cases on Statehouse grounds. At least 16 ideas have been proposed or filed as bills so far. None has emerged as a clear favorite and none has been debated on the floor. So why are the plans still coming? “Ego,” said Senate President John Drummond, D-Ninety Six. “Whoever’s. plan it is; he’ll go down in history. All I want to do is go down in history, and say it was settled.” But College of Charleston political scientist Bill Moore was more charita ble. “Perhaps this could be seen as un charted territory,” Moore said. “Frankly, there are no examples that the Legisla ture can use as reference to resolving the issue.” Flag opponents next week will at tempt to begin the official flag floor de bate. But legislative rules require eight of 14 committee chairmen’s votes to give a bill priority status. Senate Majority Leader John Land, D-Manning, said Thursday he has just six votes. Land and Drummond have been en trusted by Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges to get the flag job done. They must bal ance delicate egos with political demands to find consensus and send an approved bill to the House soon. The first plan likely up for Senate consideration is by Sen. Dave Thomas, R-Greenville, and other Upstate law makers. Thomas wants to create a Confeder ate history park west of the Statehouse. His pride was wounded when his bill was gutted in a committee, so Senate Presi dent Pro Tern John Drummond, D-Nine ty Six, made sure Thomas’ bill got put on a fast track to the Senate floor. Thomas said his plan is the only one he can vote for because it gives flag supporters “max imum concessions.” “It’s got my vote as long as it’s pretty much the Upstate proposal un touched,” he said. “But if it’s jerked around and tom to shreds I’m not going to be able to vote for it. I’m going to be one of those in opposition to it.” But it still could be amended to in clude any sort of plan that can be agreed upon. Land thinks Hodges should be the one to get credit. The governor has proposed removing the flag from the dome and flying a similar one at an ex isting Statehouse monument honoring former Gov. Uhde Hampton, a Confed erate general. “He put forth the first plan that got 15 people supporting it,” Land said. “He’s the one that got it in the status to debate. ” Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, has filed four bills to bring down the flag —the latest offered last week. Thursday, Ford said he will scrap them all and back “the perfect solution.” He wants to com bine a bill by Sen. Maggie Glover, D-Flo rence, with an idea being worked on by Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, the Senate’s most outspoken flag sup porter. “They key is McConnell, ” Ford said. “If he’s on board with a plan, that’s it. Everybody else is going to fall in line.” Glover this week urged the Senate to consider her circle of flags plan, which has languished in the Judiciary Commit tee since she prefiled the bill in De cember. She wants to fly a circle of flags that have historical significance to South Carolina. Only 3 things are permanent: Death, Taxas and Electrolysis yT b« I vniL.n V Graduate of the exclusive Jane Riddle Institute of rt Electrology in Modesto, California ** 2817 Devine St. • Ste. 15 • Columbia, SC 29205 • (803) 779-8790 Quick Cash^g^FOpportunities ^Dedaf or regular? sleep in or go to class? Life is full of hard decisions. Does anyone pay you to make them? We do!!! Take part in USC researchers’ decision-making experiments on campus. Give us 2 hours of your time and make about $10 per hour. Register online http://econ.badm.sc.edu/beam Interested in the Environment? Are you a rising sophomore or rising junior? Do you intend to pursue a career in environmental public policy, health care, or tribal public policy? How does a $5,000 one-year scholarship sound? To learn more, attend the following workshop. UDALL SCHOLARSHIP WORKSHOP Tuesday, April 4 at 4 pm Gressette Room, Third Floor Harper College For more information, call the Fellowships Office at 777-0958 Cheaper than Tuition... more fun than Body Piercing Special Student Airfares Great Travel Products Adventure Holidays Beds on a Budget Travel Insurance Eurail Passes Contiki Tours Student ID's 800-777-0112 I [travel WE’VE BEEN THERE. Euan from page 4 ident A1 Gore broke with the Clinton ad ministration and backed legislation in Congress that would grant permanent resident status to Elian and to his father. If that were to happen, the boy’s fate would be decided by the courts and not by the INS. Gore’s presidential rival, Re publican George W. Bush, said he sup ports similar legislation. The standoff began in November, when the boy was rescued while float ing on an inner tube after the boat car rying him and his mother from Cuba sank. His mother, who was divorced from his father, died along with 10 others. On Wednesday, Fidel Castro an nounced that Elian’s father was ready to leave for the United States to bring the boy home. Craig said Elian’s father will travel to the United States as soon as he is assured by the INS that he will be given cus tody of his son. The lawyer said he will also seek permission for the boy’s class mates, teacher and doctors to travel to the United States to “help smooth the transition.” The attorney also accused the Mia mi relatives of exploiting the boy’s case in the media. “The circumstances that now sur round Elian’s life in Miami, including the decision to allow camera crews into Elian’s bedroom, the decision to permit a net work news program to film a two-day in terview with Elian without the father’s permission, and the decision just last night to parade Elian in front of demonstrators in the streets of Miami, make it clear that Elian’s best interests lie with his father,” Craig said. The Cuban government issued a list of 31 people who would accompany Juan Miguel Gonzalez, including his wife and son — Elian’s half-brother. It also in cluded Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cu ba’s National Assembly and Castro’s point man on American affairs. Castro has proposed that Elian and his Cuban relatives stay at the home of Cuba’s chief diplomat in Washington. At a news conference in Washington, Attorney General Janet Reno said that if the father comes to the United States, one option would be to move the boy to his custody in this country while the ap peals court considers the case. Other than that, she said: “I don’t do what-ifs.” Bush from page 4 this in the course of the primaries and I appreciate him bringing this issue to our collective attention,” Bush said of the program begun during President Clin ton’s first term. Bush proposed increas ing funds from $2.4 million to $30 mil lion per year. “This is a signal that says there are a lot of good people who should be wel comed into the ranks of teachers,” said Bush, the Texas governor. Among his oth er proposals, which would bring the to tal cost of Bush’s education agenda to $13.4 billion over five years were: • An additional $400 million each year for state programs that currently get $2 billion annually from V&shington to recruit new teachers or retrain existing • ones. • A tax deduction of up to $400 a year for teachers who buy school supplies with their own money. • A “Teacher Protection Act” to “shield teachers from meritless lawsuits when they enforce reasonable classroom rules.” Vice President A1 Gore, the Demo crat battling Bush in this presidential con test for the upper hand on education, has, by contrast, proposed to boost the fed eral investment in education by $ 115 bil lion over 10 years—more than four times Bush’s proposal. “The real centerpiece of his agenda is an enormous tax cut that may force him to go back on these promises,” said Gore campaign spokesman Doug Hatt away. “He hasn’t said how he’s going to pay for the tax cut without cutting edu cation programs, dipping into Social Se curity or dragging us back to deficit spend ing.”