In earlier decades, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans said the Confederate flag was more a sign of Southern pride than of racism, and both groups were comfortable with Southern states flying the flag on state capitol buildings, according to a new Gallup poll. This is not the case anymore.
There is a stark partisan divide in opinion between the parties. Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones attributes this to a shift in the party makeup. “Conservative Southern whites who were formerly aligned with the Democratic Party have realigned and are now solidly Republican, as evidenced in their voting for federal and state offices. Today’s Democratic Party, with white liberals and racial and ethnic minorities at its core, takes a much more negative view of the Confederate flag.”
Here are the numbers:
47 percent of Americans say that it is “all right” for Southern state governments to display the Confederate flag; 67 percent of Republicans, 51 percent of independents and 27 percent of Democrats agree.
19 percent of black respondents and 64 percent of white respondents also agree.
52 percent of those in the South, 42 percent of Midwesterners, 44 percent of Westerners and 42 percent of Easterners agree.
46 percent of Americans say Southern state governments should stop practices” of displaying the Confederate flag; 27 percent of Republicans, 41 percent of independents and 69 percent of Democrats agree.
73 percent of black respondents and 41 percent of white respondents agree.
41 percent of those in the South, 47 percent of Midwesterners, 50 percent of Westerners and 49 percent of Easterners agree.
Source: A Gallup poll of 2,013 U.S. adults conducted July 1-3.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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