Mitt Romney Asks For Confederate Flag Takedown On Twitter

Mitt Romney tweeted on Saturday that it's high time for South Carolina's Confederate flag to go. The Washington Post reports the former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate's strongly worded tweet reflects his longtime stance against the Civil War-era symbol of American slavery.

"That flag, frankly, is divisive, and it shouldn't be shown," he stated during a 2007 CNN debate. Nor is Romney alone this week in calling on the South Carolina government to remove the racist relic. In the wake of the Charleston shooting at the Emanuel AME church that left nine African American worshipers dead, many have expressed outrage that a Confederate flag remains flying. And with a Republican presidential primary approaching in the deeply red state, the flag controversy has also become a potentially dicey campaign platform. As The Washington Post points out, Romney's unmistakeable opposition prompted the media to assess where current Republican presidential hopefuls stand on the matter. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush cited the Confederate flag's removal from the state capitol during his term as evidence of his disapproval. Others have distanced themselves from the issue, saying it should be left up to the state or avoiding the question entirely. Republican South Carolina Senator and candidate Lindsay Graham passed the buck as well, telling CNN not to use the Confederate flag as a scapegoat for the shooting. "It works here, that's what the statehouse agreed to do,"Graham said. Meanwhile, a "Take Down the Flag" rally outside the state house in Columbia, South Carolina is planned for Saturday evening.