GOP Senators Know What Is Important Issue In 2021 America: Flag-Burning
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A group of Republican senators led by Steve Daines (R-Montana) marked Flag Day Monday by introducing yet another constitutional amendment to ban the "physical desecration of the American flag." In a possible nod to the First Amendment, the mental or verbal desecration of the flag would presumably remain legal. This is the third time Daines has introduced such an amendment.
Daines's amendment was co-sponsored by fellow Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), Kevin Cramer (North Dakota), and Mike Crapo (Idaho). It's unclear whether any senators farther along in the alphabet than Daines would be joining in.
It's also not clear whether there's really much support for another go at banning flag burning; as culture war issues go, it feels like its day has passed. When we hear about amending the Constitution to protect the stars and stripes, we think of Michael Dukakis riding around in a tank and President Dana Carvey saying "Nah gunnah duuit."
But then, we thought Donald Trump would fail at igniting a fight over how American history should be taught, so we may not be the best judges of what shiny object the Right will fixate on next.
In a statement, Daines said the sacred piece of fabric must be protected, because the troops and also liberty:
The American flag is a symbol of liberty and a beacon of hope. It represents the ideals that our nation was built upon and for decades, brave men and women have carried its colors into battle to defend the United States of America. The Stars and Stripes are a representation of freedom. We must always protect and respect the American flag.
That's actually a good bit longer than the actual text of the proposed amendment, which simply reads, ''The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.''
When Daines first introduced his pet constitutional amendment in 2018, he also included a list of 50 incidents of flag burning or desecration that occurred since 2014, so there's your crisis. It includes at least two flags burned during Black Lives Matter protests, a number of flag burnings in protest of Donald Trump, and quite a few incidents where flags were anonymously taken down and burned/vandalized during the night.
Also, since March of last year, 600,000 Americans died of COVID-19, so we really need to make sure their memory is honored by preventing the symbolic desecration of a symbol.
Also, let's not forget that the Right loves America's flag so much that they consider it the perfect thing to bludgeon police with while trying to overturn a democratic election.
No telling whether Daines's amendment will catch fire. Earlier this year, Matt Gaetz got nowhere when he tried stirring up patriotic fervor by demanding that each meeting of the House Judiciary Committee begin with the Pledge of Allegiance, particularly since everyone pointed out that the full House says the pledge every morning.
There are so many other objects of "patriotic" backlash these days, stoking paranoia about cancel culture, attempts to cancel the teaching of accurate American history, the burning need to cancel appropriate medical care for trans teens, and moves to cancel the wrong sort of Americans from voting. A lot will depend on whether the rightwing mediasphere decides to push it. If Tucker Carlson starts crying about the dangerous antifa and Black Lives Matter flag burners, then you'd better bet the amendment will become an issue in the 2022 midterm elections.
Or maybe by then the Right will have found some glorious new fuckery to lose its shit over.
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Does making "Juneteenth" a national holiday make any sense?
Columbus Day doesn't make any sense to me.
Let's just say the name Crapo fits....
What a wonderful group of patriots. Thank goodness they are on top of it after Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head failed.
Republicans. Trying to gain power by one stupid wedge issue at a time.
And what powers are Republicans trying to gain with this proposal?
What powers will Democrats grant them because of this?
What powers? Do you look at them as superheros?
Why, THESE "powers" you SPECIFICALLY talked about.
Here is your post:
Seriously, following the conversation, what powers do you really think I am referring to here?
Why, the powers you claim Republicans are trying to gain!!!!
If you cannot see that being in control is itself power, I cannot help you.
I didn't ask for help--I asked for elaboration on your "point".
BTW, which party has control now?
And how on earth would this proposed bill change that power dynamic, even if the bill was passed and signed into law?
I can not see where you have made any cogent points here.
Not surprised. It is basic stuff.
Then you should at least attempt to explain yourself instead of dodging.
Why should I if you won't get it.
Hell my comment at 3.1.4 really explains it all.
You didn't make any cogent points here
3.1.4 If you cannot see that being in control is itself power, I cannot help you.
Once again, simple questions, who holds the power now, and how would this bill change it?
look, if you can't support your statements, just say so and I won't ask further questions of you.
Not my problem if people can't understand them.
If you cannot see that they use issues like this and bills like this to drum up support for elections, like I said, I cannot help you.
Like I stated, I never asked for help from you.
Drumming up support is a far cry from gaining power.
And who would change their votes based on this one proposed law?
You seem like you are really stretching to make any valid points here,
What is the stretch here is trying communication with you. I forgot and did for some reason.
It is always pointless. So back to ignore.
Put me on there too
Typical and expected.
Hallelujah!
Cogent!
Looks like someone learned a new word today.
(Nice to see so many people "Getting Smarter Here"!)
Yeah...because wearing a bikini made out of a flag doesn't desecrate it at all...../s
Or shoes, or...
...underwear....back packs...scarves...
Biggest desecration of all...
And the so-called Christian patriots on NT should be ashamed and embarrassed because this makes him a god. That's blasphemy to our flag and to God
Does a diesel pickup with stacks blowing soot all over it as it flies valiantly stuck in the pickup bed count as patriotic?
You fuckin know it does. I could only get a bigger boner if the flag had the goddamn Bud Lite logo on it.
You said boner - hehehehe
Star spangled baby!
According to what I was taught, care must be taken to not dirty the flag. It must also never touch the ground and when a flag becomes torn or dirty it should be burned
I learned that n the Girl Scouts. Aren't I clever????
Yes, you are. You've earned a gold star or badge...take your pick
oooohhhhhh I wanna Gold Star.
Heh heh, you're cool, heh
Thank you....
If flags are so unimportant then why the outrage over a Confederate flag?
Funny, I have never seen anyone, except maybe some people that believe the south will rise again, get upset about the burning of the confederate flag.
Anyway, nice squirrel statement.
OOOOO! That gives me an idea for the 4th of July! Find a confederate flag, burn it, video it, and post in on Face Book!
True. In the world we have genocide, starvation, water supplies running out, never ending war...yet...what are them Americans worried about? Someone hurt one of their flags....
The premise of the seed is that any attention given the American flag represents a pointless waste of time and effort. So, why have there been laws written to ban display of a Confederate flag? Why was that a priority?
Would the the author of the seed claim that an amendment to ban display of a Confederate flag would be as unimportant as an amendment to ban desecration of the American flag?
Very simple really. One is talking about desecration of a flag that represents all of us, the other is about flying a flag of oppression over its own people.
Should a nazi flag be able to fly on public property?
Someone had to make a pointless argument. Nerm volunteered.
Anyway, nice squirrel statement.
Another failed retort from you
Another non reply about the actual story from you.
If a Confederate flag represents oppression then it follows that the American flag represents the fight against oppression.
Why should we allow the symbol representing the fight against oppression to be desecrated?
More importantly, why do we fly the American flag on public property? The American flag, as a symbol of the fight against oppression, would naturally be opposed by those wanting to oppress all of us.
Why shouldn't an amendment protecting the symbol of the fight against oppression be a priority?
Not everything is cause and affect.
If you tell someone that they cannot burn their own flag, is that itself not oppression?
Besides, the proper way to dispose of flags is burning.
Why would anyone want to burn an American flag, as political speech, if not to oppress all of us?
The American flag is supposed to represent all of us. So attacking the American flag is an attack on all of us, too.
Some people see it as a means of making a statement about any injustice they see under the banner.
So, those individual statements of injustice are really an attempt to impose a minority viewpoint onto government and society by attacking all of us. Why is that not oppression? Isn't that how Confederates did things? Isn't that how Nazis did things?
We've been told the American flag also represents democracy. Those political statements of injustice are supposedly subordinate to the democratic majority. So, burning the flag really is an attempt to oppress the democratic majority and impose a minority viewpoint onto all of us. Isn't that what Adolf Hitler accomplished?
The author's opinion is that of all the problems the country faces, an amendment to protect the American flag is so unimportant that such an effort must be disparaged. Consider the possibility that some of the country's problems and the country's inability to address some of those problems is because we don't protect the American flag.
Pretty sure exactly none of our country’s problems are because flag burning is legal. Name a single one that will be solved if someone can’t burn the flag. And I mean national problems, not personal feelings.
To some conservatives apparently beating a capital police officer with a flag and flag pole should warrant a slap on the wrist but burning a flag in protest should lead to jail time.
And absolutely no one will care.
Not according to liberals, it doesn't. Way too many stories of triggered leftists over the offensive display of the American flags.
Ah..but was his RETORT totally COGENT?
Retort!
Looks like someone learned a new word today.
(Nice to see so many people "Getting Smarter Here"!)
Lol !
Wanna bet? I would have hundreds of people threatening to burn me. I know a lot of assholes on Face Book
Your problem, not mine.
Did I say it was?
Never said you did.
Your point?
The attitudes and motivations for burning an American flag, as a means of political protest, are very similar to attitudes and motivations for attacking police precincts and the US Capitol as political protest. Burning American flags really does lead to attacking the institutions of society. If burning an American flag is acceptable political speech then burning the US Capitol is acceptable political speech, too. That's not a false equivalency because the attitudes and motivations are the same. The intent for burning an American flag and attacking institutions of society is the same.
The motivations for desecrating the symbols of civil society are the same motivations for attacking civil society, itself. It's impossible to defend democracy by tearing down the institutions of democracy.
Is that the only way you can communicate? A stupid assed meme.**
**Disclaimer - Taken without permission from an iconic (hehe) fixture here at NT and therefore perfectly acceptable as a response
Priceless!!!!!!
That's twice now that I've seen you use that same comment. I think one more time and it could be considered SPAM...I could be wrong. I've been wrong a lot this week
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I see conservatives respond with dumbass memes and pics all the time. Probably not the hill to die on.
The photo is not a meme. It is an actual historical record of one of many events in Nazi Germany as the new anti-elite ruling class prepared the public for the new order.
And then complain about others using memes
So Jim and you never use memes to respond to a comment?
Real Nazi-esque response.
And this, is a meme.
No it isn't, It's a cartoon.
Does this mean that Trumptards will need to find a new weapon to impale Capital Police with?
No, see that’s okay because they are being patriotic and shit while they do it. Kinda like how it’s okay to wear the flag as a bathing suit while you are getting shit faced at a lake party and pissing yourself, because… well… yeah.
Literally, lol.
They thought they were being patriotic when they shit and pissed in the halls of the U.S. Capitol.
Rah rah, ya'll.
Thank Christ someone is finally doing something about this! If this passes then it will… ummm, well not do a whole lot really. But it’s the thought that counts I suppose?
Why thank Him? I sincerely doubt He appreciates those that worship The Grifter.
Well because after Jesus wrote the Constitution and magice’d that motherfucker to the founders he then personally designed the US flag, he is a part-time fashion designer you see, and told the founders to stash it away until 1959. So burning the flag is really an insult to him.
Yeah well, I read through all of the above. There are those who have their foot firmly planted on the rock and others continuing the mud slide with their subtle, unmentioned support for The Grifter and his Hench folk.
GOPERS don't like flag burning? Good for them. Besides, it was always more quaint to beat someone with the pole especially if the Chinese fabric was emblazoned with the Trump brand.