Bleh

Speaking of being hot under the collar, ’Bean at Julien’s List and Pam are discussing Hillary Clinton’s latest rightward maneuver: Co-sponsoring a bit of flag-burning legislation with Republican Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah. ’Bean says:

This morning, over bleary-eyed coffee, I realized who the infamous Senator Bennett is. Fortunately, so does Yahoo's Search Engine - so you can read about the disgusting, racist homophobe yourself.

Pam adds:

When we compromise and bite the bullet for the centrist Dems that curry favor with the Right Wing, progressives get a condescending pat on the head and a lecture to be quiet. As we have seen in the case of gay rights, we didn't get a return on the investment -- in fact, we've been fighting the AmTaliban to keep rights from slipping away ever since, state by state, town by town -- with no leadership at the national level willing to give vocal, unwavering support.

And the same can be said for any group with a progressive base. Advocates for reprodutive rights, minority rights, labor rights—we’re all on the back foot, defending against regression rather than fighting for progression. It wasn’t just a cute turn of phrase when Howard Dean referred to the “Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party.” (However, I think that wing is now closed for business.)

In the end, this isn’t even a particularly smart way to curry favor. The legislation would outlaw “intimidating any person by burning the flag, lighting someone else's flag, or desecrating the flag on federal property”? The first two provisions—intimidation and destruction of others’ property—are already covered under existing law. The third is simply a limit of free speech, and, as ’Bean points out, there are liberals and conservatives who “happen to rather LIKE the First Amendment.” The ones who don’t will never vote for Hillary Clinton in a bazillion years, anyway. More useless politicking. More empty pandering. More reason for progressives to distrust and dislike Clinton. Situation: Same old, same old.

(King Cranky’s on this, too.)