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COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Confederate flag should not be flown in the United States, says U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo.
In a statement released Saturday, Gephardt said the flag that flies at a Confederate Soldier Monument on South Carolina's Statehouse grounds "is a hurtful, divisive symbol and in my view has no place flying anywhere, in any state in this country."
Gephardt, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, said he was releasing the statement to clarify comments in an article published Saturday in The (Columbia) State newspaper.
"I want to be crystal clear to the people of South Carolina where I stand on this issue," Gephardt said. "I think South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag from any official display anywhere in the state.
