Glenn F. McConnell
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Glenn F. McConnell is a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 41st District since 1980 and currently serving as President Pro Tempore¹.

Confederate Flag

Senator McConnell is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Secession Camp #4.² The Sons of Confederate Veterans are charged with "the vindication of the cause for which we fought."³

On ABC's Nightline, on Monday, July 26, 1999, ⁴ Senator McConnell made three statements:

1) [When I see the Confederate flag raised up] I see honor, courage, valor. I see the red, white and blue and the blood of sacrifice that ran through that battle and the people that carried that flag. I don't see black and white. I don't see racism.
2) It hurts us to see groups like the Klan holding that flag. You want to talk about a sick feeling? Our group, our historical groups, we are disgusted when we see it. But we're equally disgusted and sickened by the political rhetoric and people say it's an emblem of racism, it's an emblem of hate, it's shameful and all of this. How do they think we feel when it's the emblem of our ancestors? They hurt our feelings.
3) We will teach generations to come about the honor of these people and if they are going to choose the road of trying to stereotype us as racists and as hate mongers, then we are forever divided.

In 2000, when the Confederate flag was brought down from atop the dome of the State House, Senator McConnell successfully advocated for flying another Confederate flag from a flagpole in the front of the Statehouse, on the grounds, near the Confederate Soldier Monument.⁵ He rejected the suggestion that the Confederate flag be placed in a glass case by saying, "Encasement represents entombment," and by saying that he wanted "no part in symbolically burying the Confederate banner."⁶ The resulting bill that was passed in 2000 was called a compromise.⁷ Senator McConnell vigorously fights attempts to take down the currently-flying Confederate flag, and he declares such attempts as having the goal of carrying out a "cultural genocide."⁸

Flags Atop the Dome, 2008

Confederate Flag Behind Confederate Soldier Monument, 2008

References

External links

• South Carolina Legislature - Senator Glenn F. McConnell official SC Senate website
• Project Vote Smart - Senator Glenn F. McConnell (SC) profile
• Follow the Money - Glenn McConnell
  • 2006 2004 2002 2000 1996 campaign contributions

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