Wave the Confederate Flag? Huckabee Says Let S.C. Decide

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Wave the Confederate Flag? Huckabee Says Let S.C. Decide

GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee says that South Carolina should decide whether or not to fly the Confederate flag, a symbol of racism to some and Southern pride to others, reports The Associated Press. "You don't like people from outside the state coming in and telling you what to do with your flag," Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, told supporters Thursday in Myrtle Beach, S.C. "In fact, if somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we'd tell 'em what to do with the pole, that's what we'd do." Arkansas' flag has a connection to the Confederacy as well. A star above the word "Arkansas" stands for the Confederacy, according to the state code. Huckabee refused to say if he finds the Confederate flag offensive. What has Barack Obama said about the Confederate flag?

Barack Obama Picks up Heartland Endorsements

Barack Obama picked up endorsements from two Democratic senators who are very influential in the nation's heartland states, reports The Washington Post. Ben Nelson, a popular moderate in largely Republican Nebraska, and Claire McCaskill from Missouri both threw their support behind Obama. Nelson said it is Obama's ability to bridge the partisan divide that won his support, saying Obama has "the greatest potential to ending the bitterness and poisonous atmosphere in Washington," reported The Washington Post. McCaskill's endorsement is expected to be a major boost for Obama in Missouri, which is one of nearly two dozen holding primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5. McCaskill's endorsement could also help Obama win among female voters. Recently, Obama has won the bid for big-name endorsements. Last week, former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano both endorsed Obama. Why are some black leaders who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton early in the race getting nervous? Find out why they're saying, "Uh oh!"

Paper Jam Blocks Latinos From Voting

Following Spanish-language TV network Univision's campaign, "Ya Es Hora! Ciudadania!" (It's About Time! Citizenship!), the federal government is saying that it can't process the hundreds of thousands of applications for citizenship and voter registration filed by Latinos reports The Wall Street Journal. "Nearly 1.2 million green-card holders, the vast majority Latino, applied to become naturalized citizens in 2007, surpassing the campaign's target of one million. All told, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received 1.4 million applications for naturalization in the fiscal year ended October 2007, nearly double the volume received for the previous fiscal year. In June and July alone, the volume of applications jumped 360 percent relative to the same months in 2006," reports The Wall Street Journal. "The price of USCIS's failed leadership and poor planning is the disenfranchisement of those immigrants who have played by the rules," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, to The Wall Street Journal. Read about Latinos' warning to Democrats.

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