As the fight to remove the Confederate flag from the state House grounds in South Carolina heats up, politicians are weighing in on the debate.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham defended displaying the flag, while former presidential candidate Mitt Romney called for its removal. Carly Fiorina called it a “symbol of racial hatred,” but stopped short of saying it should be removed. Sen. Ted Cruz said South Carolinians should decide what their state does. President Barack Obama’s spokesman said the flag belongs in a museum.

But while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has weighed in on the gun control aspect of the national discussion, the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination has remained silent on the flag controversy.

WATCH:

In 1987, when her husband was governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton signed Act 116 that stated “The blue star above the word “ARKANSAS” is to commemorate the Confederate States of America.”

When the Confederate flag issue arose in the 2000 election, Matt Drudge reported that then-President Bill Clinton’s spokesman Joe Lockhart was asked about the issue. Lockhart told reporters, “I’ve just never heard any discussion or any objections that the president has raised.”

In 2000, Drudge reported Vice President and Democratic nominee Al Gore as accusing then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush of refusing to take a stand on the Confederate flag issue, which then was flying over the capital dome in South Carolina.

Drudge wrote:

The Gore campaign over the weekend repeatedly refused to comment on the vice president’s silence when it comes to the flag flying over the Arkansas State House! “The vice president will not be commenting on the Arkansas flag,” a campaign rep told the DRUDGE REPORT.

The debate of the Confederate flag resurfaced after the terrorist attack on the Emanuel AME Church that saw nine people slaughtered because of the color of their skin.

[h\t Phil Kerpen]