HILL BACKS 'BAN' ON FLAG-BURNING By IAN BISHOP Post Correspondent
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has quietly signed on to a Republican measure that makes it illegal to desecrate the American flag - a move that will boost her credibility in the conservative "red" states.
Clinton is the sole co-sponsor of Utah Republican Sen. Bob Bennett's new legislation that outlaws flag-trashing without addressing the issue of a Constitutional amendment to ban it.
It's a delicate dance on a longtime hot-button issue that has major implications in a potential 2008 White House bid for Clinton as she tries to woo heartland voters and block new centrist-Dem darling Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia.
Warner last month fired a warning shot at Hillary's presidential hopes when he helped elect a fellow Democrat to succeed him in Virginia - proving he has the juice to boost other Democrats in red states.
"She has been tagged, just about everywhere, as a likely loser because she can't carry a single red state. With Mark Warner on the rise, she has got to find ways to counter that criticism. This is one of the exhibits," said Larry Sabato, of the University of Virginia.
Seventy percent of Americans want flag-desecration outlawed, according to several polls - and that feeling is even stronger among the moderate red-state voters Clinton needs to make any White House hopes a reality.
Yet the liberal core of the Democratic Party that Clinton must have during the primary season is dead-set against amending the Constitution to banning flag-burning - which the Supreme Court has ruled is protected by the First Amendment.
She hedged on the issue last summer, when the House voted to amend the Constitution and ban flag desecration. It appeared the Senate would vote too - though it hasn't happened.
"I support federal legislation that would outlaw flag-desecration, much like laws that currently prohibit the burning of crosses, but I don't believe a constitutional amendment is the answer," she said at the time.
Her spokesman, Philippe Reines, said she's now following through on her promise.
The bill doesn't explicitly ban anyone from setting the flag afire.
But it makes it illegal for a protester to "intimidate any person or group of persons by burning" the flag - which leaves police with plenty of room for interpretation.
It also outlaws anyone from lighting somebody else's flag on fire and from desecrating the flag on federal property.
Congressional lawyers, who have been poring over Supreme Court rulings, believe the bill will withstand judicial review.
But for Clinton, analysts say the real value is that she can tout her co-sponsorship of the bill on the campaign trail.