Among the more frightening aspects of the platform is its unconstitutional assertion that the president has sole prerogative to make decisions on matters of war, rejecting any role for Congressional “interference” in foreign policy matters. This appears to be a pre-emptive assertion by the Republican Party that, in the event of a John McCain win in November, they would reject any attempt by the likely Democratic-controlled Congress to impose any checks and balances to prevent a possible war on Iran or other dangerous executive initiatives. The Republican platform calls for the development and deployment of both national and theater missile-defense systems. These incredibly expensive weapons systems, which are unlikely to work in any case, violate arms-control agreements signed and ratified under the Nixon administration. Also disturbing is the platform’s classification of immigration as a national security issue, which has serious ramifications in terms of the nature of legislation and enforcement. It also claims that warrantless wiretapping of American citizens is “vital” to America’s national security. And, despite the Clinton administration’s increases in the already bloated military budget after the end of the Cold War, the Republican platform insists that “national defense was neglected and under-funded by the Clinton Administration.” The platform then calls for a significant increase in the size of the American armed forces, even though the United States – at barely 4% of the world’s population – already accounts for over one-half of the world’s military spending.
Tag: Platform
Nader’s Four Point Plan
First, he called for universal health care. This would be a single-payer set-up based upon “private delivery” of medical goods and services. He pointed to the irrationality of the US health care industry, which he said costs twice as much per capita compared to Canada and Switzerland.
Second, Nader called for what he termed a “living wage.” He was not specific about just what this would be, but he seemed to suggest that the current minimum wage should be based upon an incremental increase of the 1968 minimum wage adjusted to subsequent inflation. This would put the figure at nearly $11 per hour, he said.
Third, Nader called for a “massive expansion of law enforcement against corporate crime.” He pointed to the gutting of the regulatory agencies of the federal government as a basic cause of a number of problems, including workplace accidents and environmental degradation.
Fourth, he proposed a shift in US foreign policy in the Middle East. Nader called for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq within six months, and derided Obama’s proposed “withdrawal” that would leave 50,000 US military personnel and permanent bases in Iraq. Nader spent more time, however, discussing the Israeli-Palestinian question. He called for a two-state solution, and criticized Obama’s fervently pro-Israeli position as a betrayal that he sees arising from the power of the pro-Israeli lobbying group AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) over US politics.
Unions At The Democratic Convention
The two main competing factions within the US trade union bureaucracy are temporarily setting aside their bitter rivalry to unite behind the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. One prominent feature of their intervention has been to attribute the lack of enthusiasm among their own members for Obama to white racism, a charge that they make no attempt to substantiate, and in fact is contradicted by polls that reveal growing anger and alienation among workers from the Democrats and the two party system.
Both AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Anna Burger, chair of the rival Change to Win union federation, addressed Democratic National Convention delegates Tuesday night. Both union factions are participating in a series of workshops, and other events throughout the convention designed to boost the Obama campaign. Their uncritical support for Obama and the Democrats further underscores the fact that these organizations have nothing to do with defending the real needs and interests of working people.
The speeches of the two union bureaucrats were carefully scripted and, especially on the part of Sweeney, laced with religious and patriotic references. Sweeney and Burger made almost no direct reference to the actual situation facing millions of working people—the slashing of jobs, the gutting of social programs, surging gas and food prices, widening home foreclosures, eroding wages—referring merely to the fading of the “American Dream.” Predictably, the union leaders avoided any concrete reference to questions of policy, limiting themselves to abstract calls for change. They made no serious attempt to explain how the election of Obama would actually improve the social situation of workers.
This silence is understandable given that the Democrats are presenting a social agenda consisting of a few ludicrously inadequate reforms, in no way commensurate with the magnitude of the unfolding economic disaster facing working people.
Dems In Denver–Day 4 and Last
It is official, Obama is nominated and has accepted the candidacy of president. Now his acceptance speech. A HELLUVA speech. The man was tough, ambitious and very presidential. Obama, as usual, delivered an excellent speech to the point that at times, IMO, he sounded like a State of the Union speech given by the president. He fired the open salvos at McCain and now it is on bitches!
But the media was the most disappoinmting part of the convention. Their coverage was solely for the ratings and at no time was it informative. I was expecting more out of Williams and Brokaw , et al. The viewer still does not have any idea the specifics of the platform, which by the way is 54 pages long. Nothing of the issues was important enough for them to cover, but what Romney, Guiliani and other Repubs was so important to the convention conversation that they got almost as much time as Dem surrogates.
Now on to St. Paul/Minneapolis and the Repub convention.
What To Look For In Denver
Obama has cast himself as the agent of change and has promised much, but ask yourself if he can truly deliver on what he has said.
These promises are:
1–withdrawal of troops from Iraq
2–to reduce the inequality between the classes
3–Universal healthcare–this will not be a priority in the Obama campaign.
4–a green environmental policy
5–End torture and abuse of civil liberties–but voted for FISA
6–commitment to woman’s rights
7–a more humane immigration policy
8–improving conditions is the urban communities
9–Reform drug laws
10-reform political system
Now you have the major points of the Obama camp.
The Democratic convention itself—a carefully scripted and corporate-funded media extravaganza—is to be the culmination of a systematic shift to the right by the Obama campaign.
In this election, once again, the vast majority of the American people who oppose the war in Iraq and the global escalation of American militarism are to be politically disenfranchised.
The political trajectory of the Obama campaign and the preparations for the reactionary media spectacle to be staged in Denver underscore the impossibility of carrying out any struggle against war, political reaction and the destruction of the living standards and basic rights outside of the independent political mobilization of the working class.
JUst remember you heard it first from the mouth of the Professor.
Denver Is For Democrats
It is late August, hot weather, high humidity, yet another Nicholas Cage movie and……oh yeah the Dem Covention starts today. All the usual suspects will be in Denver doing their thing. But will be most interesting will be just how the media will work Phelps into the conversation.
Cable news networks — including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and others — plan extensive live coverage as warranted. ABC, CBS and NBC were planning an hour of coverage beginning at 9 p.m. today through Thursday.
Today Theme: “One Nation”
Headline speaker: Michelle Obama
Others: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California; President Carter; Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill; Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama’s half sister; Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama’s older brother; Jerry Kellman, mentor and friend to Barack Obama; Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Today also features a tribute to Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy.
Tuesday Theme: “Renewing America’s Promise”
Headline speaker: New York Sen. Hillary Clinton
Keynote address: former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner
Others: Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy; Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr.; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland; House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois; Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano; Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell; Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland; New York Gov. David Paterson; Federico Pena, former secretary of energy and transportation and former Denver mayor; Sen. Barbara Boxer of California; Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana; and Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Wednesday Theme: “Securing America’s Future”
Headline speaker: Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, Obama’s selection as running mate
Featured speakers: President Clinton; former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia
Others: include Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada; Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed; Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar; House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina; Florida Rep. Robert Wexler; and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley
Thursday Theme: “Change You Can Believe In”
Headline speaker: Barack Obama accepts the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination
Have The Dems Soften On Abortion?
The Democratic Party has proposed changes to the party’s platform on abortion rights with a new focus on reducing the number of abortions, in an overture to evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics.
The party’s platform now reads: “We stand proudly for a woman’s right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay. … At the same time, we strongly support family planning and adoption incentives. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.”
The proposed changes, drafted by a group of progressive evangelical and Catholic leaders, add that while still firmly backing Roe vs. Wade, “the Democratic Party strongly supports access to affordable family planning services and comprehensive age-appropriate sex education … which help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions.”
Dems Abortion Plank To Platform
Left-leaning opponents of abortion rights are hailing the new Democratic Party platform agreed to last weekend by the Obama campaign and other Democrats as a sign of a new common ground in the abortion debate, right up there with last year’s sleeper hit indie film, “Juno,” in which Page’s offbeat pregnant teen character eschews abortion and gives her baby up for adoption.
On a conference call Tuesday, a half-dozen anti-abortion pro-Democratic thinkers and religious leaders claimed victory for the party’s new abortion plank, which they said took a big step in their direction by more explicitly stating the party’s support for women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term. By doing so, they said, the Democrats were moving closer to the middle ground where most Americans reside — not wanting to criminalize abortions, but wanting to reduce the number performed.
New plank:
The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.The Democratic Party also strongly supports access to affordable family planning services and comprehensive age-appropriate sex education which empower people to make informed choices and live healthy lives. We also recognize that such health care and education help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions. The Democratic Party also strongly supports a woman’s decision to have a child by ensuring access to and availability of programs for pre and post natal health care, parenting skills, income support, and caring adoption programs.
Convention Battle For McCain?
Conservative activists are preparing to do battle with allies of Sen. John McCain in advance of September’s Republican National Convention, hoping to prevent his views on global warming, immigration, stem cell research and campaign finance from becoming enshrined in the party’s official declaration of principles.
McCain has not yet signaled the changes he plans to make in the GOP platform, but many conservatives say they fear wholesale revisions could emerge as candidate McCain seeks to put his stamp on a document that currently reflects the policies and principles of President Bush.
A platform fight at the convention could disrupt that carefully choreographed effort by highlighting the stark differences in vision for the party separating McCain from some of the GOP’s most dedicated activists.
The battle may not be avoidable. The current GOP platform is a 100-page document, and all but nine pages mention Bush’s name. Virtually the entire platform will have to be rewritten to lessen the imprint of the president, who has the highest disapproval rating of any White House occupant since Richard M. Nixon.
McCain is “really out of step with the strong majority of his party,” said Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which opposes McCain’s positions on climate change. “He might get what he wants. And he might get a change. But I don’t think it’s going to sit well with a lot of Republicans.”
Officials in the Republican National Committee and in McCain’s campaign say they have much in common with conservatives. They say their conversations as they approach the convention suggest there will not be a nasty platform fight.
McCain will have to make peace with the conservatives, the hard core ones, if he is to get the totally support that he will need to be the president elect.