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Flag-Burning Amendment Fails

By Jeralyn, Section Constitution
Posted on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 05:07:09 PM EST
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Score one for the Constitution. The Senate, by one vote, rejected a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning.

Here's the vote tally.

The ACLU says:

"The Senate came close to torching our constitution, but luckily it came through unscathed," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "We applaud those brave Senators who stood up for the First Amendment and rejected this damaging and needless amendment.

"America prides itself on tolerance and acceptance; it is essential that we not amend our founding document to allow censorship, even when the speech in question is reprehensible," Fredrickson added. "Today the First Amendment and, indeed, the entire Bill of Rights remain untarnished and more meaningful than ever. It is our hope that the Senate will now move on to the real problems this country faces."

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    Flag-Burning Amendment Fails | 19 comments (19 topical)
    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#1)
    by roger on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 05:19:26 PM EST
    Not quite 2/3 of our elected officials are not insane. Oh goody!

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 06:03:20 PM EST
    One has to love the ACLU hyperbole here. If the past few weeks haven't taught us an easily forgotten civics lesson, here it is again, in outline format: Save your worrying, the Constitution is a mother to amend.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#3)
    by Che's Lounge on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:28:29 PM EST
    Anyone in CA have a candidate to run against Feinstein next time around?

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:32:14 PM EST
    I object to the use of the term "hyperbole" in connection with the ACLU's stance on this. The administration uses the Constitution for toilet paper, and this issue has been settled and again. It flat out is free speech to burn the flag. For the first time in my long life, I feel like jumping up and down on it, grinding it into the mud, letting the heat of the Shara al Hijara scorch it to a crisp, and flinging the filthy thing like a frizbee into the Rose Garden for Barney to gnaw on, and then burning it. I'm pretty sure that would get my message across, and it is a guaranteed right in the Constitution. The two thirds who voted against my rights in the Senate, as Steven Colbert would say, are dead to me. Let's, please, all work to prevent the rampant election fraud from keeping these useless excuses for legislators in a position to ruin our lives, or letting in any more of them. We need our country back. The flag is a stupid piece of cloth, while there are real humans literally dying for lack of attention from this Congress.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:36:52 PM EST
    Che! I'm never voting for her again. No matter what. Isn't Dan Hamburg some kind of nice progressive Green, who could just switch over to Democrat? We have six more years before we can pick another.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:49:06 PM EST
    We need to offer an alternative to the flag burning amendment, a change in the Pledge of Allegiance to say: "I pledge allegiance to The Constitution of the United States of America for which this flag stands..." If the military pledges to uphold the Constitution, why not the public. I send money every month to the ACLU, but if they were ever to ask for more money to advertise the vital importance of the Constitution to the American way of life, I would send them more. Right now, more teenagers can name the Three Stooges than the three branches of government, and far more can name the five Simpsons than the five freedoms of the First Amendment. I am saying in all seriousness, that the Constitution needs promotion and "branding" by the right people such as the ACLU. If those words are too scary, then find another name for them, because we ignore the lessons and power of marketing at the Constitution's peril. Another first step, besides changing The Pledge, would be to seek legislation that the Constitution be posted in all schools ala The Ten Commandments legislation. It is, after all the law of the land.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#7)
    by bad Jim on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:50:03 PM EST
    Realistically, we're stuck with Dianne. Pro-war, pro-death penalty. At least she's good on some issues. I think we have Senator McConnell (R) of Kentucky to thank for holding fast on this one.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 09:24:34 PM EST
    respectisthecentralissue said:
    the Constitution needs promotion and "branding" by the right people such as the ACLU. If those words are too scary, then find another name for them, because we ignore the lessons and power of marketing at the Constitution's peril.
    huzzah! this is what i was referring to earlier when i said i have no more regard for a flag or some flag-themed ribbon magnet stuck to the tail of an SUV than i do any Taco Bell wrapper blowing across my path; just more marketing detritus. if were going to Brand the USA, lets not dilute the symbolic power and the ideals a flag might wield with ticky tacky gimcracks; the "Constitution" Brand would have the flag as it's logo, but would be backed by the market appeal of 230 years of customer satisfaction (mostly), essential liberties (still TBD), and-unless you're George Bush-the Rule of Law. everyone would have to read the actual document and pass an "citizenship test" before they are licensed to fly a flag. this excludes legal immigrants, many of whom know more about the Bill of Rights than natural citizens. Replace the 10 commandments with the constitution? i'll go one better: a new religion! we'll call it Constitutionetics! can we get Clooney to front our campaign?

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#9)
    by aw on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 10:08:36 PM EST
    Menendez voted yea which is a disappointment. I wish Corzine had appointed Rush Holt instead.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 11:24:19 PM EST
    respectisthecentralissue That was a great post. Thanks.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 11:30:30 PM EST
    bad Jim I can't remember what issues she's good on anymore... putting her opening statements into the record in writing so as not to waste her allotted time in committee, and then they NEVER show up. She doesn't want to show her true politics, even as her every move should be public record. Then when it is in the public record, it's votes like yea on this STUPID ammendment. I'm really irked. (If you hadn't noticed. :-)

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#12)
    by bad Jim on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 12:51:58 AM EST
    99 (Cue Toto's tune) I don't disagree. Feinstein's been on the wrong side since she was a San Francisco councilwoman. I live in Orange County, and perhaps that lets me tolerate any Senator with a (D) beside her name. And, yes, I'm a feminist, and perhaps I support any (F) (hey, California's got two girl Senators! In what way is that not cool?) It's, as usual, the soft bigotry of low expectations, the history of creampuff California senators (Cranston, Wilson, Hayakawa, Tunney, Salinger, Kuchel, and ... what? Nixon? aaak!) I always vote for Feinstein, but I no longer contribute to her campaigns. Boxer's another matter.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#13)
    by cpinva on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 02:55:03 AM EST
    it's frightening that it failed by just one vote. it's even more frightening that 14 dems voted for it, and that clinton offered an alternative. what the hell were these people thinking? this, along with the proposed marriage amendment, are two of the most venal pieces of legislation offered in recent memory, by this congress. i would say shame on them, but i realize, to get to that level, you need to have long since discarded any sense of shame you might have grown up with.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 05:22:24 AM EST
    Che's Lounge: DF is up for re-election this year, having won the Democratic Primary on June 6. Its probably too late to do anything this time around, so we get to put up with this nonsense for another 6 years. :(

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 08:58:24 AM EST
    How is that no one seems to be linking this to the Mohammed cartoons issue? The right was outraged that people who were deeply offended by free speech tried to stifle it, and now they try to make speech illegal in their own country?

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 11:07:40 AM EST
    Thank God for the Congress, I was just itching to burn a flag today.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#17)
    by glanton on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 11:33:48 AM EST
    This time next year they'll have enough votes. In the earlier thread Big Tex wrote:
    I suspect had Clinton proposed the amendment liberals would embrace it with open arms.
    Big Tex, this comment is beneath you. It is, in fact, beneath any moderately sentient being. It only makes sense if youjr definition of "liberal" includes Salazar and Feinstein and any number of Democrats attempting to win by pandering to the ignorant rednecks for whom this is an important amendment that deserves respect. (Was anyone else as shocked as I was that Hillary Clinton voted no? I guess her pollsters came up with a new demographic model. What a tool that woman is). Those of us, on the other hand, who are really liberals in the sense that we actually value freedom for all, and not just the mainstream status quo middle class right to continue that status quo--for such citizens, the proposed amendment looks like exactly what it is, regardless of who is sponsoring it.

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#18)
    by aahpat on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 11:51:13 AM EST
    So that we Americans can better know the fascists in the United States senate, who we vote for over and over, the senate roll call vote can be found here: U.S. senate Flag Burning Amendment vote 6/27/2006 LeftIndependent blog

    Re: Flag-Burning Amendment Fails (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 12:52:04 PM EST
    my take on the one-vote-shy scenario is that Cheney's power must be in decline. how often has Cheney's phone calls prompted senators to pull a 180, e.g. Olympia Snowe on the NSA eavesdropping inquiry. Wonder what ol' dick whispers to them to get them to do their embarassing about faces?

    Flag-Burning Amendment Fails | 19 comments (19 topical)