Flag burning? Again? Come on, really?

Yes, it might "Thune" be a reality (sorry, couldn't resist). A constitutional amendment, that is, and Senator John Thune of South Dakota (the guy who ungraciously unseated former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle -- for how he did so, see here) is the leading sponsor in the Senate. The Carpetbagger Report has the story. It looks like the amendment, now in its seventh go-around, will pass the House (where the right goes largely unchecked), but now there's some concern that it might even get through the Senate, usually a much more stable, deliberative body. The reason? New Republican senators like Thune, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and David Vitter of Louisiana. All of them "voted for the amendment as House members and plan to do so again".

Need I even comment?

During Bush II's presidency, there have thus far been two major constitutional amendment proposals. The first was the marriage amendment that would have legally restricted marriage to heterosexual couples. The second is this one. The first is an amendment that would, for the first time, constitutionalize discrimination against a specific group of American citizens (gays and lesbians). The second is an amendment that would, for the first time, undercut the First Amendment by restricting individual liberty.

Both are dangerous. Both are un-American. And both are insane.

But the second, at least, is now on its way through Congress. I suspect that the amendment wouldn't get past the states, even it survives the Senate, but I wonder if this isn't yet another example of Republican over-reach. If so, it could backfire against the Republicans in 2006 by persuading some moderates to move over to (or back to) the Democrats and by mobilizing the Democrats' more liberal base. But I'm not sure I want to take that risk.

This story isn't getting much attention at the moment, but it's incredibly bad news for anyone who cares about the Constitution and the protection of liberty that it enshrines as one of the foundations of American life. What is the rest of the world to think when it sees America reverse the spread of liberty right at home by tampering with the First Amendment?