John Murtha, a leader in the House Democratic caucus, has introduced to allow Congress to prohibit flag burning and allow school prayer.
Looks like we're destroying the first amendment. I convinced a lot of libertarians that this sort of thing wouldn't happen if we elected a Democratic House and Senate in DC. Looks like I lied to them. The heartland Dems obviously don't get it. They have the power they have to the extent they support civil libertarian-minded Democrats.
This sucks the wind out of our sails. We may as well be pissing into the wind out here. Shave 3-5% off our vote count with the flag-burning and school prayer issue and we are screwed. We're going to lose the votes of the upper-middle class secular-minded civil libertarians, not to mention the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus ... Good Work, you stupid motherfuckers.
This begs the question. Are Democrats fucking idiots? Is losing millions of votes worth it?
Yes, I wrote this in response to the diary currently on the recommended list wailing about how Western and other second-amendment supporting Democrats are being betrayed by the Democratic party. The issue of contention is a bill that Carolyn McCarthy introduced that has zero co-sponsors.
It's true that Carolyn McCarthy's husband was killed by gunfire in a very famous case, and that she switched to the Democratic party and beat an incumbent Republican in a traditionally Republican district. But that's not relevant.
The point is that members of Congress introduce thousands of bills each session. Only a very small number of those bills get hearings in committee. Only a small number of those bills get voted out of committee. And even those bills that get onto the House floor have only a relatively small chance of becoming law.
This bill is part of McCarthy's one-woman crusade against gun control. Frankly, Murtha's bills probably have as much or more support in the Democratic caucus than McCarthy's bill does. But there's no indication that Judiciary Chairman John Conyers is going to consider hearings on either bill.
Congresspeople introduce laws that we feel are stupid all the time. For instance, Cynthia McKinney introduced a bill to investigate Tupac Shakur's death last session. It's not going anywhere.
The crime-oriented subcommittee is focused right now on methamphetamine legislation. If an anti-drug war Democrat feels that we're going to lose the meth addict vote or the young people vote or the libertarian vote if we pass the bill, then that's a legitimate concern.
However, bills that have been introduced are not something to be concerned about if they have no chance of passing. So don't ever take the word of a special interest group for granted. Do some research and make sure it's not a cynical ploy first.