Back in the Day, when knights were bold and maidens were fair, we
Democrats gathered for our county convention. There we would hammer
out our platform and select which candidates we would support with a
few dollars from our treasury.
We then went to the State Convention where we would push through as
much of our platform as possible. Since we were the most populous
county, we carried more clout than small, rural counties. But then
one fine day while we were attending the county convention, a fellow
stood up and said he was seeking support for his run at becoming our
district congressman. We were surprised, to say the least. No one
knew this fellow. Oh sure, a few folks knew of him, but he was not
even a member of our Democratic Club. We decided not to support him.
He said he already had a war chest of some $35 thousand, a princely
sum back in the Day. And so he went forth without the Party
Endorsement, and raised additional money by promising God only knew
what, and got himself elected. Now just how committed to our
wonderful Platform do you think he was? Maybe the first question
would better be, had he ever even read it?
Today the national parties gather and set forth their platforms. But
those politicians holding office, or are in financial position to
assume an office, they do not need Party money. Yet it was always
Party money that held the feet of our Party Members to our Platform.
With outside money, their feet are set on someone Else's platform. So
go for it, Bernie. Do your best to get your planks into the Party
Platform. Just remember, most of those claiming to be Democrats are
already bought and paid for, and will simply close their eyes to the
Party Platform, and go about serving their own Masters.
Carl Jarvis
On 7/4/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Sanders writes: "Unfortunately, there were a number of vitally important
proposals brought forth by the delegates from our campaign that were not
adopted."
Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders holds up his
notes while speaking about his attempts to influence the Democratic party's
platform during a speech in Albany, New York in June. (photo: Brian
Snyder/Reuters)
Party Platform Still Needs Work
By Bernie Sanders, Philly.com
04 July 16
The Democratic Party platform drafted in St. Louis is an excellent start
in
bringing forth policies that will help end the 40-year decline of the
American middle class. These initiatives, if implemented, will create
millions of good-paying jobs, significantly improve health care, and
reverse
the dangerous trend in this country toward an oligarchic form of society.
But, let us be clear, this is a document that needs to be significantly
improved by the full Platform Committee meeting in Orlando on July 8 and 9.
Here are some very positive provisions in the platform as it stands today:
At a time when huge Wall Street financial institutions are bigger now than
they were before the taxpayers of this country bailed them out, the
platform
calls for enacting a 21st-century Glass-Steagall Act and for breaking up
too-big-to-fail banks.
The platform calls for a historic expansion of Social Security, closes
loopholes that allow corporations to avoid paying taxes, creates millions
of
jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, makes it easier for workers
to
join unions, takes on the greed of the pharmaceutical companies, ends
disastrous deportation raids, bans private prisons and detention centers,
abolishes the death penalty, moves to automatic voter registration and the
public financing of elections, eliminates super PACs, and urges passage of
a
constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, among many other
initiatives.
These are all major accomplishments that will begin to move this country in
the right direction. I congratulate Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.),
chairman
of the Platform Drafting Committee, and all 15 members of the panel for
their hard work.
But, unfortunately, there were a number of vitally important proposals
brought forth by the delegates from our campaign that were not adopted. My
hope is that a grassroots movement of working people, environmentalists,
and
human-rights advocates will work with us to demand that the Democratic
Party
include these initiatives in the platform to be adopted by the full
committee in Orlando.
We need to have very clear language that raises the minimum wage to $15 an
hour, ensures that the promised pensions of millions of Americans will not
be cut, establishes a tax on carbon, and creates a ban on fracking. These
and other amendments will be offered in Florida.
Further, one of the most important amendments that we will offer is to make
it clear that the Democratic Party is strongly opposed to the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.
In my view, the Democratic Party must go on record in opposition to holding
a vote on this disastrous, unfettered free-trade agreement during the
lame-duck session of Congress and beyond.
Frankly, I do not understand why the amendment our delegates offered on
this
issue in St. Louis was defeated with all of Hillary Clinton's committee
members voting against it. I don't understand that because Clinton, during
the campaign, made it very clear that she did not want to see the TPP
appear
on the floor during the lame-duck session.
If both Clinton and I agree that the TPP should not get to the floor of
Congress this year, it's hard to understand why an amendment saying so
would
not be overwhelmingly passed.
Let's be clear: The trade agreement is opposed by virtually the entire
grassroots base of the Democratic Party.
Every trade union in this country is strongly opposed to the pact. They
understand that this agreement will make it easier for corporations to
throw
American workers out on the street and move factories to Vietnam, where
workers are paid 65 cents an hour.
Virtually every major environmental group is opposed to the TPP because
they
understand that it will make it easier for the biggest polluters in the
world to continue despoiling our planet.
Major religious groups are opposed because they understand that it will
reward some of the biggest human-rights violators in the world.
Doctors Without Borders is strongly opposed to this agreement because its
members understand that it would increase prescription-drug prices for some
of the most desperate people in the world by making it harder to access
generic drugs.
This agreement also threatens our democracy. We cannot give multinational
corporations the ability to challenge our nation's labor and environmental
laws simply because they might reduce expected future profits through the
very flawed Investor State Dispute Settlement system. That would undermine
the democratic values that our country was founded on.
During the coming days and weeks our campaign will be reaching out to
grassroots America to do all that we can to oppose the TPP and make sure
that it doesn't get passed.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not
valid.
Democratic presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders holds up his
notes while speaking about his attempts to influence the Democratic party's
platform during a speech in Albany, New York in June. (photo: Brian
Snyder/Reuters)
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160703_Sanders__Party_platform_still_
needs_work.htmlhttp://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160703_Sanders__Party_
platform_still_needs_work.html
Party Platform Still Needs Work
By Bernie Sanders, Philly.com
04 July 16
he Democratic Party platform drafted in St. Louis is an excellent start in
bringing forth policies that will help end the 40-year decline of the
American middle class. These initiatives, if implemented, will create
millions of good-paying jobs, significantly improve health care, and
reverse
the dangerous trend in this country toward an oligarchic form of society.
But, let us be clear, this is a document that needs to be significantly
improved by the full Platform Committee meeting in Orlando on July 8 and 9.
Here are some very positive provisions in the platform as it stands today:
At a time when huge Wall Street financial institutions are bigger now than
they were before the taxpayers of this country bailed them out, the
platform
calls for enacting a 21st-century Glass-Steagall Act and for breaking up
too-big-to-fail banks.
The platform calls for a historic expansion of Social Security, closes
loopholes that allow corporations to avoid paying taxes, creates millions
of
jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, makes it easier for workers
to
join unions, takes on the greed of the pharmaceutical companies, ends
disastrous deportation raids, bans private prisons and detention centers,
abolishes the death penalty, moves to automatic voter registration and the
public financing of elections, eliminates super PACs, and urges passage of
a
constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, among many other
initiatives.
These are all major accomplishments that will begin to move this country in
the right direction. I congratulate Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.),
chairman
of the Platform Drafting Committee, and all 15 members of the panel for
their hard work.
But, unfortunately, there were a number of vitally important proposals
brought forth by the delegates from our campaign that were not adopted. My
hope is that a grassroots movement of working people, environmentalists,
and
human-rights advocates will work with us to demand that the Democratic
Party
include these initiatives in the platform to be adopted by the full
committee in Orlando.
We need to have very clear language that raises the minimum wage to $15 an
hour, ensures that the promised pensions of millions of Americans will not
be cut, establishes a tax on carbon, and creates a ban on fracking. These
and other amendments will be offered in Florida.
Further, one of the most important amendments that we will offer is to make
it clear that the Democratic Party is strongly opposed to the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.
In my view, the Democratic Party must go on record in opposition to holding
a vote on this disastrous, unfettered free-trade agreement during the
lame-duck session of Congress and beyond.
Frankly, I do not understand why the amendment our delegates offered on
this
issue in St. Louis was defeated with all of Hillary Clinton's committee
members voting against it. I don't understand that because Clinton, during
the campaign, made it very clear that she did not want to see the TPP
appear
on the floor during the lame-duck session.
If both Clinton and I agree that the TPP should not get to the floor of
Congress this year, it's hard to understand why an amendment saying so
would
not be overwhelmingly passed.
Let's be clear: The trade agreement is opposed by virtually the entire
grassroots base of the Democratic Party.
Every trade union in this country is strongly opposed to the pact. They
understand that this agreement will make it easier for corporations to
throw
American workers out on the street and move factories to Vietnam, where
workers are paid 65 cents an hour.
Virtually every major environmental group is opposed to the TPP because
they
understand that it will make it easier for the biggest polluters in the
world to continue despoiling our planet.
Major religious groups are opposed because they understand that it will
reward some of the biggest human-rights violators in the world.
Doctors Without Borders is strongly opposed to this agreement because its
members understand that it would increase prescription-drug prices for some
of the most desperate people in the world by making it harder to access
generic drugs.
This agreement also threatens our democracy. We cannot give multinational
corporations the ability to challenge our nation's labor and environmental
laws simply because they might reduce expected future profits through the
very flawed Investor State Dispute Settlement system. That would undermine
the democratic values that our country was founded on.
During the coming days and weeks our campaign will be reaching out to
grassroots America to do all that we can to oppose the TPP and make sure
that it doesn't get passed.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
