Lee Bandy blisters Lindsay Graham's butt good in today's column in The State, and it's about time.

For weeks, the Republican Senatorial candidate Graham has been running this demagogic ad which says his Democratic opponent Alex Sanders actually thinks people have a right to burn the flag.

Well, they do. "Call Alex Sanders and tell him what you think," the ad advises. A few weeks ago, I did. I called up and said I firmly believe in the right of people to burn the flag. They gave me the number of Lindsay Graham's office, in case I wanted to leave the same message with him. I did.

Will this matter? Not in this state it won't. As Neal Thigpen points out in the article: "What it says is that Alex Sanders is not a fellow whose values are in the mainstream, what we view as proper in South Carolina. In this conservative state, it's an emotional thing. It's a wedge designed to divide people."

Bandy also quotes state GOP chairman Katon Dawson: "We stand by the ad. Alex Sanders is not a good fit for South Carolina. If he were running for the Senate from Massachusetts, he'd be just right."

What Bandy doesn't mention, though, is that Dawson goes further in this press release, where he ups the ante to say Sanders "supports flag-burning."

Pure Lee Atwater tactics. The man's a thug. So is his candidate.