Let's put together a test Dem party platform to see what we all agree on.

There's a lot we all agree on here at DU. There's a lot we disagree on. To enhance party unity, I thought it might be useful to come up with a test party platform that incorporates all of the most important things we would like to see happen in our government.

I've started with a few things I thought we could agree on. Please comment if you disagree, and offer your own suggestions on what should be included. Let's find our common ground and stregthen our unity in the process.

What I came up with to start it off:

"Test Party Platform

1. The public has become tired of the corruption rampant in Washington politics. It’s the opinion of the people that this corruption should stop, and those whom we elect should ensure that it does or be held accountable for their failure to act.

2. The future of our children demands an environment conducive to life. It’s important that we act to protect our environment so our children have a healthy world in which to live.

3. The US does not and should not tolerate torture, imprisonment without trial or rights, or the cover-up of these abuses. Our elected officials should put a stop to these practices immediately.

4. The budget should be balanced, and costs associated with this process should be spread fairly across the population and not borne exclusively by the poor and middle-class. Corporations should also pay their share to ensure the US has a strong economic foundation. Every effort should be made to reduce the current debt of $27,000 for every man, woman and child in the country, and to prevent the further accumulation of debt.

5. A woman’s right to make her own health care decisions without interference by the state should be protected. This right should not be superceded by rights of pharmacists or others to object to methods of her health care as agreed to by her and her doctor.

6. The invasion of Iraq has placed the United States in a difficult and unsustainable position. The continuance of hostilities in Iraq increase the deficit and tax burden on American citizens, and the continuing deficit growth is unsustainable. A plan should be developed for the withdrawal of our troops and the end of hostilities.

7. FEMA should be appropriately funded and staffed to allow for effective responses to national disasters. Unqualified people should not be appointed to FEMA.

8. The lives of the poor and disabled should be valued by the United States, and these individuals should have the resources to buy food and obtain housing and adequate medical care. The resources of private charities are insufficient to meet the needs of the poor and disabled in our country, and the nation must do it’s part in helping the most vulnerable among us.

9. Social Security should be strengthened to make it secure for future generations. The promises of the government to our elderly and disabled citizens should not be broken. The government securities currently in the Social Security trust fund should be honored like all other government securities.

10. The federal government should be authorized to negotiate lower drug rates based on volume in the Medicare drug program.

11. The pension promises made to workers by Corporations should be honored, and these obligations should not be discharged through bankruptcy. Pensions should be properly funded, and fines assessed to those companies who fail to adequately fund their pension programs.

12. The right of each citizen to cast a vote, and to have that vote counted accurately, should not be denied. Suggested by MissWaverly: Voting machines shall have code that is accessible by election officials and shall meet certain minimum standards, in addition there shall be random quality checks performed on
election day to ascertain that the system is performing accurately, there shall be a mechanism in the machine to allow recounts and there will be established national standards
for procedures for recounts.

13. The rights guaranteed to our citizens in the Bill of Rights should not be limited by subsequent legislation like the Patriot Act.

14. Tax incentives to enable and enhance the ability of American companies to move jobs overseas should be repealed, and a tax assessed for the same activity.

15. Suggested by Warpy, wording by me: All tax cuts enacted by the George W. Bush Administration should be repealed, and new budget sensible tax cuts enacted that are fair across the board.

16. Suggested by Peacebird, wording by me: Campaign ads shall be truthful and accurate, and the funding source of ads shall routinely be disclosed in detail. Elected officials shall be limited to two terms in office to reduce corruption of public officials."

What are your thoughts?

at some point we should take some sort of stance on gay rights...that would be nice...but we need to win first i suppose.

Perhaps something like this:

The rights of American citizens shall not be abridged regardless of sexual orientation.

Or something different?

constantly it is always "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion," "sexual orientataion,"
WHAT ABOUT FUCKING GENDER IDENTITY GODDAMN IT!!!??

I AM SICK AND FUCKING TIRED OF THE GODDAMN GAY COMMUNITY IGNORING OUR NEEDS IN THE TG COMMUNITY GODDAMN IT.

The rights of American citizens shall not be abridged regardless of sexual orientation OR GENDER IDENTITY.

How fucking hard is that?!!?

I am so goddamn sick and fucking tired of the gays and lesbians ignoring our needs in the TG community! It really pisses me the fuck off! Badly.

WE need protection FAR WORSE than you guys do. When you can honestly say that 70 percent of YOUR people are un- or under-employed, then talk to me.

I'm disabled - and yes, 70% of those with Epilepsy (which I have) are unemployed. ADA doesn't help us either.

I'm just trying to get feedback from you on what you'd like to see in a platform. Don't bite my head off if I'm not a mind reader today, OK?

What does everyone else think about this plank? Does what we have cover it, or would you like to see something else?

orientation. (ok, for gender identification either. - I don't want to get my head bit off too).

Clearly, homosexual rights are the last Civil Rights frontier in America.
What that means, is that all rights extended to heterosexuals should also be extended to homosexuals.
Homosexuals should have the same right to get "married", or to at least to declare their committment to one another in a civil, or even religious ceremony. (if the particular church recognizes the right, that is). Homosexuals lack so many rights that everybody else has. Getting mortgages, getting pension/social security and survivors rights. Probate rights. They can even be denied the right to visit their partners in the hospitals, when "married" people would be allowed. I'm sure there are many other instances of Civil Rights being denied to homosexuals, and there is no justification for this.

I have been an activist for transgender rights ever since I first came out as transgender myself. And I have watched while my TG brothers and sisters have been constantly sold down the river in the name of political expediency by our so-called allies, the gay and lesbian community.

With friends like HRC, we transgender people don't need no frickin' enemies!

I went to lobby my congresscritters, in 1997, to include TG in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act...only to find out that the bastards at HRC pre-lobbied us, and told our Congresscritters not to include us. They said it wouldn't pass with us being included...that taking out TG would make the bill more "palatable" to conservative Congresscritters who might vote FOR it if we TG's were taken out of it.

I have never gotten over the bitter taste that one left in my mouth...MORE FUCKING "PALATABLE??"

Holy shit, you have no idea how much anger I have towards HRC in particular, and all gays and lesbians in general, for allowing us to be their sacrifical lambs on the altar of gay-only rights!

The gays and lesbians seek to have their rights by sacrificing OURS!! Now that really pisses me off!

Did MLK say....ok, only give rights to the lighter-skinned blacks? NOOOOOOOOOOPE!!!

In essence, that is what gays and lesbians in general...and HRC in particular...have been advocating for the last fifteen years, and I am very pissed off and very angry, and very bitter over it. As are a hell of a lot of TG folk. You are really hitting a RAW NERVE.

...expired. :(

Let's see someone avocate that they get rights, AT YOUR EXPENSE...and then see how YOU feel.

except I was thinking in terms of rights for TRANSGENDER PEOPLE!!

We need them worse than y'all do. We are by far more vulnerable, more visible, and it is a hell of a lot harder for us to hide.

Seventy percent of transgender people are un and or under-employed. Can you say that about gay folk? I don't think so.

Voting machines shall have code that is accessible by election officials and shall meet certain minimum standards, in addition there shall be random quality checks performed on
election day to ascertain that the system is performing accurately, there shall be a mechanism in the machine to allow recounts and there will be established national standards
for procedures for recounts.

I think I'll edit to add it.

It's about time that people realize that Democrats care about what happens to this country.

otherwise I think it is a great start....
:toast:

...term limits?

You can't stifle free speech but you should be able to at least force truth in advertising - two ways: Ads must be accurate AND must state clearly who is paying for them and what their connection is. I realize that accuracy is hard - because there are two ways to represent just about everything... But it would stop blatant misrepresentations like those ads used against Max Cleland and Kerry defaming their military records and calling them cowards.

Term limits are easier - flat out - everyone has a maximum 2 terms and then no more. If two is good enough for Pres it is good enough for congress. Hopefully term limits (mandatory) could at least help prevent the corruption and cronyism we have in the capital now.

that. And term limits sound good, too, in light of the excessive corruption uncovered of late.

I say three tems for House, because they only get 2 years at a time. Pres can have up to eight years.

Two terms makes sense for Senate, because then they get 12.

Three terms makes sense for House, because then they get 6...and they can always try for Senate once their House limits are up.

:hi:

What about a plank that provides for recall when a president consistently polls at less
than 45%. I think there should be a mechanism for recall, this every 4 years is not reasonable today with the US a superpower. We have too much power to invest it in a president that does not represent the wishes of the majority of the American people.

but that is exactly what will be necessary if we're to rebuild our industrial and service infrastructures. Nobody would ever claim that free trade hasn't been good for most nations on earth. It has simply been a disaster for the US and its people. There has to be some sort of a balance, and punitive tariffs assessed for any corporation that has moved jobs offshore but still relies on the US for, say 50% or more of its market.

Along with that has to be a mechanism to ensure living wages.

The Bush tax cuts, especially the end of the inheritance tax, MUST be repealed.

None of this will stop the impending disaster, but it may begin the rebuilding after it has occurred.

I've also thought about having some sort of disincentive for shipping all the jobs overseas while trying to sell all the product in the US. The problem is we also have the World Trade Organization, and if we implement punative tariffs, we could get slammed and penalized by the WTO. If I had a big, underhanded multinational and I were threated with this, I'd move my corporate headquarters to a friendly 3rd country and take the issue to the WTO. Not a good thing and almost certainly reversable. Anyone out there familiar with all the ins and outs on this issue who might contribute?

WRT wages, I think if the first problem could be resolved, it might fix the second problem, too. Our low wages are a result of competitive pressures from overseas.

I agree with the taxes thing, and I think I'll edit to add that.

I might add universal health care. I saw an excellent argument suggesting that it would be CHEAPER to all tax payers by far, if medical was available to everyone, than the systems we have in place now.

but wrt to everything else you've just laid out, i don't think you're going to find disagreement - they seem pretty common sensical to me. :thumbsup:

But then, people like MrBenchley calls me an extremist because of my position on the war - so maybe FormerRepublican is also an extremist <grin> ;)

just kidding...

It's time the Dem's put out their own "Contract with America"

:toast:

Not perfect, but definately a good foundation, that can be built upon. I agree with almost all of it. #13 seems moot, because any unconstitutional law could be overturned by our justice system, if it weren't captive of the gestaopublicans. Maybe we need a plank that says "stupid-assed judges and stupid-assed politicians aren't allowed to corrupt our justice system to meet their stupid-assed agendas"? As for #16, I disagree with the term-limits part. I feel I have a right to vote for whomever I want, and no body on this planet has a right to tell me otherwise. Nobody.
Otherwise, excellent job Former! Glad to hear you've left the dark side!

Everybody in, nobody out, no exceptions.

Add Mermaid's statement about civil rights not being limited by gender identity or sexual orientation to title VII of the Civil Rights Act which defines protected classes under federal law. Being in a protected class gives you the right to sue the EEOC for redress if you have been discriminated against.

Here's a link to the protected classes which are already defined.

http://www.hr-guide.com/data/G714.htm

Everyone needs equal access to justice and the protection of law, so it should not be that difficult to add those words.

I'm also wondering if we could consider putting a cap on the profits of the pharmaceutical companies. Right now their profits are running over 50% above the percentage of profits for other types of businesses. Since they are providing substances necessary to life, it is obscene that they can gouge people who need medication to live.

In California we passed a proposition about car insurance. I know, apples and oranges, but I'm getting there. At the time the insurance industry profits were disproportionately high and the consumers were really suffering. The insurance companies spat snakes and threatened to pull out of the state entirely. The voters passed the proposition anyway and of course the insurance companies did not leave. Their profits are regulated by the state, the consumers have paid less and we have co-existed much better. If you capped the profits of the drug companies and made them also charge for prescriptions based on the ability to pay, they would scream bloody murder, but in the end they would do it. Something is better than nothing and we are a very profitable market for them. We don't have to subsidize their greed, however.

I also like the idea of universal health care and subsidies for shelter for people who are unable to earn enough to provide it for themselves. Food, shelter and health care go hand in hand with the rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness guaranteed by the Constitution. Without them, you're not going to live very long or very well, you have no freedom, and you're certainly not happy.

A must!

You shall not not lobby any pol unless you are from that pols district.