Flag-Burning Amendment Fails

By a single vote today, the proposed flag-burning amendment again came to a halt in the Senate, with three Republicans voting against it. Yet as my friend pointed out, the long-term consequences of the failure implicitly favor the Republicans as we can trot it out again next year or the year after, whatever it takes to mobilize our base (though what we use to motivate them after we succeed in passing it I'm not sure)...yet perhaps he's being a little too cynical about my party's motives. Also of note is the fact that the majority of Democrats in competitive Senate races this fall voted for the ban - both Nelsons, Menendez, and Stabenow. The only real surprise was the absence of Cantwell - but with the troubles on her left flank, it may not be so short-sighted a move after all. Also, the three Republican nays (McConnell, Bennett, and Chafee) weren't at all surprising; Chafee's vote will harm him in his primary but no doubt reflects the feelings of the vast majority of Rhode Islanders.