When their convention ended, the Democrats gathered up all 12,000 of their decorative flags and — threw them in the garbage.
Here’s the photo:
This will annoy Republicans for obvious reasons.
It will annoy the few remaining honest Democrats because the flags weren’t recyled.
Way to go to the underrated David Harsanyi, for breaking this story.
PS: have no fear — the GOP saved the flags from the landfill and are using them in a McCain rally today. Heh.
Hell, even this here lowly Canadian girl knows about the US Flag Code. Without even having to look it up, I can tell you that the American flag can only be disposed of by burning, and then only when it becomes too shabby to display.
Jeez, what a world.
Please pass this story around.
UPDATE:
Stop the ACLU broke this story September 1 and has more photos, which they in turn got from Radarsite.
UPDATE 2:
Obama’s camp now says RNC “stole” the flags, but Radarsite’s original pix prove that delegates threw out their flags with other unwanted rubbish. Even if this rubbish was meant to go to recycling, it still shouldn’t have — see “US Flag Code” above.
(I’m assuming that janitor at Invesco Field probably knows the difference between trash and stuff the stadium’s most recent client has left behind for pickup later. There are special staging areas, garbage areas and so forth. Yes, putting on such a huge event involves hundreds of staff, both DNC and Invesco and they probably don’t necessarily get along or communicate. BUT: if the DNC isn’t lying, and they really did mean to “pick up the flags later” — when was “later” going to be exactly, and can they not be more careful with their own property? Is it really appropriate to transport American flags in Glad bags whatever their destination? Is that even legal? Again, I say no but I’m just a stupid Canadian conservative, I guess.)
You’d think American citizens and party delegates would know more about their country’s customs and laws than an outsider like me. That Dems don’t speaks volumes to their patriotism, consciences and intelligence.
UPDATE 3 from Ed at HotAir.com:
They claim that the flags were “bundled” for return to their manufacturer. If so, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone bundling returned merchandise in Hefty bags and storing them “in and around dumpsters” while awaiting the RMA.
I sincerely doubt that these flags got sold to Team Obama in Hefty bags. And let’s try to parse this story down with some common sense:
* Why would a manufacturer provide a refund on open product? They certainly couldn’t resell them, especially not after being left like this at Invesco.
* 12,000 flags must have cost at least $2,000 or so, and probably more. Once Democrats discovered the “theft”, why didn’t they report it to the police? It’s been more than a week apparently since they were “stolen”, and Team Obama just discovered it?
* Leaving material in and around dumpsters, especially in Hefty bags, makes it look like trash. That’s hardly a way to store American flags, and it’s certainly not a way to keep janitors and waste management people from taking them to landfills.Instead of just saying that their people made a really stupid error and apologizing, though, Team Obama decided to tell a ridiculous lie to get themselves off the hook.
