Democrats hammer out platform planks for party
By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Monday, July 21, 2008
Brian Lehmann / The Rocky
Jana Everett posts notes on the wall of her Denver loft about what party members would like to see in the Democratic platform. Similar gatherings are being held across the country.
Eight people sat in Jana Everett's loft Sunday afternoon and began the daunting task of carving out a platform for the Democratic Party.
Iraq. Health care reform. Energy and environment. They began to discuss the issues in earnest when Geoff Hunt called a timeout.
"We're not going to do the platform ourselves. A consensus will come out of these gatherings," he said. "That's liberating for us. We don't have to go to the barricades."
The 56-year-old history teacher was technically correct.
This is a big experiment, launched two weeks ago. Barack Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee are opening up the process to the public for the first time in history.
The DNC and the Obama campaign are seeking input on the platform through meetings being held in homes across the country such as Everett's.
The meetings are being held through July 27. After that, the findings from each can be submitted in writing to the Platform Drafting Committee.
"From the beginning, we said we were going bring down the traditional walls of the Democratic convention and make this event more accessible and include as many people as possible," DNC Chairman Howard Dean said in a statement.
"This process will empower Americans in all 50 states to make their voices heard as they help write the document that embodies our party's values and vision for the future," he said.
The group at Everett's broke into three smaller groups to discuss foreign policy, energy and the environment, and health care.
While Loring Abeyta, a professor of foreign affairs at the University of Colorado at Denver, began to talk about recent developments stemming from Obama's visit to Afghanistan, Rebecca Hunt was already pretty clear on what she wanted the platform to say about Iraq.
"We need to withdraw from Iraq," she said simply.
Hunt has a son - a 36-year-old U.S. Marine - who has been on two tours there. She said she opposed the war from the beginning and doesn't want the United States lingering there any longer.
On the energy and environment side, the group was discussing what Geoff Hunt called "a Marshall Plan for the environment."
Mary Brashner, sitting on the table as one of Everett's cats sauntered across it, said the nation had to get free of its dependence on fossil fuels.
Melissa McCoy wants the government to require auto manufacturers to make cars that get 80 miles per gallon.
After discussion, the group eventually settled on 60 miles per gallon.
Universal health care was at the top of the list for Brenda Bell Ennis and Everett, followed closely by reining in rising health care costs.
Everett took notes of everyone's ideas as they nibbled on grapes, chips and salsa, and cookies during the two-hour meeting.
She said she planned to send the suggestions off, though nobody quite knew how they would be received by the DNC or the Obama campaign.
A national hearing is being held Aug. 1 in Cleveland by the Platform Drafting Committee. Then the committee - chaired by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano - will meet over the next two days to draft the Democratic platform.
The full Platform Committee will meet and recommend adoption of the final platform on Aug. 9 in Pittsburgh.
monterod@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5236
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July 21, 2008
9:09 a.m.
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jbowen43 writes:
That is what democracy really looks like.
July 21, 2008
11:06 a.m.
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thedude writes:
The Colorado Democratic Party already has a pretty nice platform
(http://coloradodems.org/docs/2008Plat...)and these folks could save some time by using it as a reference. The current 2008 Colorado Democratic Platform (like its predessesors 2004 - 2006) is concise, easy to read, and gets to the point unlike John Kerry's rambling prose platform of 2004, which did not represent the party faithful.
It is great Obama is opening up the process - but grassroots elements are always active in the platform process - it already reflects elements of democracy - delegates are elected by party members - the problem is that while platforms generally reflect the party grassroots; too often elected officials do not pay attention or abide by them. Colorado's nationally elected Democrats often fail to support the issues and positions represented in the Colorado Democratic party platform - in fact most of them are pretty far away from it in their voting records. So creating a great platform is only part of the process - getting elected officials to recognize the issues and positions contained in them is another issue.
If our Colorado democrats supported our platform they would all be supporting investigation and impeachment of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney, none of them would be continuing to support the occupation of Iraq, and they would be supporting universal single payer health care and fair trade instead of pro corporate free trade.
July 21, 2008
1:33 p.m.
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JohnHKennedy writes:
We hope this paragraph from the 2008 Colorado Democratic Party Platform ends up in the National Democratic Party Platform. If not, some Democrats may bolt the Party.
"We urge the US Senate and House Of Representatives to restore constitutional order by fully investigating members of the Bush Administration for violations of Constitutional Law, statutory law and international law with respect to the Iraq War and Occupation, electronic surveillance inside the United States in violation of FISA, extraordinary rendition, torture and illegal wiretapping, and attempts to retro actively legalize such violations, and to pursue impeachment and further prosecution if it is found to be appropriate. No elected or appointed government official should be above the law or immune to appropriate prosecution."
John H Kennedy Denver CO 43 yr Democratic voter
Impeach Colorado Coalition http://ImpeachCO.com
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July 21, 2008
4:16 p.m.
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7_ogNiOj writes:
"the Democratic National Committee [is] opening up the process to the public for the first time in history."
So, for "the first time in history" the DNC is allowing the people to participate in a simulated direct democracy process in choosing their party's platform!!? My god, the illusion du jour: "Here, meet and put some stuff down on paper....sure we'll consider it."