Some great reporting from Roll Call’s Emma Dumain that sheds new light on the Confederate flag fiasco the House GOP brought on itself Wednesday night, more or less under cover of darkness.
We have some of the highlights, but the gist is that the move was carried out by the highest levels of House GOP leadership and that many of the rank-and-file members, including some who would normally be in the loop, were caught completely off guard.
Key line about what happened on the floor that night: “The real red flag was the sudden appearance of leadership staff, namely senior aides for Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., and Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio.”
So it’s a little rich that Boehner went before reporters for his weekly press conference less than 24 hours later and commenting on the Confederate flag said, “I do not want this to become some political football.”