It appears the Grand Old Party wants to play "Gotcha."
Seeking a wedge issue that could break a spring of solidarity from the Democratic Party on issues like the Bolton confirmation, the Filibuster showdown, Social Security reform, and others, they have dusted off their efforts to pass a Constitutional Amendment that would ban the desecration of the American flag.
While the issue is wholly irrelevant when compared to various pertinent issues facing the US at the moment, it is nether the less politically significant. The question is, 'how can Dems get through this process with clean hands?'
The one lined amendment to the Constitution would read:
"The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."
If approved by the Senate (it has alraedy cleared the House) it would then be subject to approval by the state legislatures, of which 38 would need to ratify it by 2012 for it to become a permanent addendum to the US Constitution, as approved by convention in 1789.
This will get a vote in the Senate, and those votes will be used in every political commercial during the 2006 election year if valuable.
Some Dems, like Ken Salazar (D-CO) a first term senator, have expressed support for the resolution. While others like Joe Biden (D-DE) have said they will vote against it.
This is exactly the kind of wedge issue the GOP is looking to use to break the united Democratic front. They want a "Tom DeLay" issue to hang around our necks in November 2006.
The question for you out as Kos is how do we get through this without a) sacrificing our convictions and b) leaving ourselves vulnerable to their attacks...
Out of our 45 senators, I think we can safely keep this down without forcing the hands of those who would be in greater electoral danger by voting for it. But I am more interested in what you think. This is a mega-Kos brainstorm for the benefit of the Democratic Party.