Sunday, September 7, 2008

DNCC's Old Glory Whodunit: The trashman cometh

Somehow 12,000 American flags ended up in hefty bags in and around dumpsters in Denver following the Democratic convention and were left for more than a week waiting for garbage pickup until an Invesco Field worker rescued them. The Democrats admit the abandoned flags were theirs, but how dare you question their patriotism! Which is exactly what John McCain and Sarah Palin did at a rally Saturday in Colorado Springs, where they passed out the rescued flags to the estimated crowd of up to 50,000 attending.

Below is the Fox News video and here's the Fox News story on the controversy.

AP posted this photo of Dem VP Joe Biden, sitting with his wife and Michelle Obama during the DNC convention. Note the American flag lying with the water bottle at Biden's feet. Not exactly the proper disposal of Old Glory, which I learned in Boy Scouts should never touch the ground or the floor.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., ...
AP Photo.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air reports on The Recycled Flags of the DNCC, plus Pathetic Spin by Team Obama.

Morrissey reports a Team Obama response, claiming the flags were "stolen" by the GOP:
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 (trash pickup).

... 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.

Gateway Pundit has a rundown of the trashing of Old Glory with several links, including this note which puts the lie to the Obama campaign's claim that the GOP "stole" the flags:

The flags were rescued by local boy scouts after the Obama gig.

UPDATE 2: Here's the proof-- A photo of flags in the trash after the DNC Convention:



Sorry, Democrats-- There's more photos of the Democratic trash here.
More photos are here, via Doctor Bulldog.

Here's another photo of the Democrat's trash:

Via The Denver Post.

And Thomas Lifson at American Thinker also has a roundup of the fiasco, and says:

Actions do speak louder than words. Democrats tossed 12,000 American flags in the garbage following their convention. This sort of thing takes the breath away. How much do you have to hate America to do such a thing? Have they never heard of the fine people of the VFW and American Legion who proudly help dispose of worn and otherwise useless flags with dignity?

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