GOP's burning flag issue may passBy Dick Polman
Inquirer Political Analyst
In the wake of the congressional debates over Iraq, the GOP's 2006 campaign message is clear: Democrats are wimps who won't carry the flag into battle. And this week Senate Republicans hope to tweak the claim by suggesting that not only won't the wimps carry the flag, they'd also let people burn it.
Welcome to Washington's version of Patriot Games - there have been sequels since 1990 - as senators once again consider the allegedly burning issue of flag desecration. It's an emotional debate that most Democrats have come to dread, because whenever they argue that free expression should not be curbed, and that the First Amendment rightfully protects the freedom to offend, they often are accused of insufficient love of country.
And let us not forget that 2006 is an election year, with the GOP seeking to defend its vulnerable House and Senate majorities. Republicans believe that their push to ban flag desecration by amending the U.S. Constitution is a visceral issue that packs a populist punch with voters who revere the red, white, and blue.
Hence the decision by Senate Republicans - on the cusp of the Fourth of July holiday - to force debate this week on their bid to amend the Bill of Rights for the first time in 214 years, with the insertion of this sentence: "Congress shall have the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."
What's different this year, however, is that the GOP effort might finally succeed.
Even though the House has overwhelmingly voted yes six times since the amendment route was first proposed 16 years ago, the Senate has repeatedly balked. But current '06 head counts find Senate Republicans just one vote shy of the 67 required for passage. And that's because at least 13 Democrats - including Minority Leader Harry Reid and Robert Menendez of New Jersey - reportedly have signed up with the GOP.
The Democrats' exodus doesn't sit well with many of their brethren. Eric Hauser, a liberal strategist in Washington, said Friday, "Any Democrat who is afraid of standing up for the Bill of Rights is not politically mature enough to lead... . Patriotism is the calling card of this election. Defending the First Amendment is a patriotic value. The only way Democrats can recapture power is to show that we're better patriots than the other guys." |
