James Webb has come out against the Flag burning amendment...
Allen's Democratic challenger, James Webb, said Monday that if he were a senator today, he would vote no.
"Jim Webb has great respect for our national flag and great respect for the Constitution, and is proud of the many contributions his family has made in defense of both," said Kristian Denny Todd, Webb's spokesperson. "Like many combat veterans such as Gen. Colin Powell and former Senators John Glenn and Bob Kerry, he does not believe it is necessary to amend the Constitution in order to protect the dignity of our flag."
...Hopefully this strategy works as well for Webb as it did for George Allen's past opponent, Chuck Robb:
In his stance against the amendment, Webb also placed himself on somewhat uncertain ground, given Virginia's political history.
Attempts at a flag-burning amendment were made in 1995 and 2000, and supporters failed to get the necessary two-thirds vote in the Senate both times. In 1995, the vote was 63-36 in favor. In 2000, it was 63-37, and one of those voting against was Virginia Democrat Chuck Robb.
Like Webb, Robb is a Vietnam War veteran, and during debate in the Senate, he said, "Freedom of speech is the foundation of our democracy, and silencing that speech would have been against everything I fought for in Vietnam."
Robb's opposition to the amendment cost him dearly in his re-election bid when the Allen campaign used it against him.
