Does this platform committee thing seem fishy to you? Part 2 (HRC GP)

[Her Sister]

SaschaHM (785 posts)

Does this platform committee thing seem fishy to you?

The committee crafted a lengthy platform and then on the final day in front of cameras, the Bernie folks come out with amendments on major issues that were already settled in the platform. Smells like a publicity stunt. There is no way that trade, healthcare, Israel/Palestine, and the minimum wage weren't discussed/hashed out before the final day.

Part 1 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1107171015

[Her Sister]

1. Sasha here is an interesting AlGiordano thread on the matter of the platform.

https://twitter.com/AlGiordano/status/746734400746905603

The whole thread is gooooood!

[SaschaHM]

7. Thanks! This is par for the course for them, sadly.

[geek tragedy]

14. Hopefully he will stop being an obstacle to victory in the fall.

Not sure when that would happen though.

[TwilightZone]

22. So, Sanders' own members voted against some of the proposals.

That's going to make for an interesting time when the roll call votes are made public.

[radical noodle]

2. It's my understanding that there really is a $15 minimum wage

in the platform, even though some have claimed Democrats failed to adopt it.

[DemonGoddess]

4. on the $15 minimum thing

it's a good thing in concept, but in reality, it can't be enacted all at once. I hope that's noted somewhere.

[radical noodle]

8. Yes. I think that's the big conflict

but it is in there. I believe on a incremental basis rather than all at once.

[DemonGoddess]

10. Incremental is sensible

ESPECIALLY if they get it passed where it's tied to an inflation index, which BOTH candidates came right out of the gate supporting.

[LannyDeVaney]

24. That point is rarely mentioned in ANY minimum wage article I've seen...

the media makes it seem like "tomorrow the minimum wage will increase to $15", doom to all small businesses.

Even with the lower minimum wage proposals, there is a "ramping up" period over a few years. Nobody ever mentions that. It's just a scare tactic funded by business interests.

Another thing that grinds my gears - do some reporting on the areas that have already increased their minimum wage (again, in steps). Things have turned out pretty well. Jobs are still there and the costs of goods sold hasn't skyrocketed. Again, just scare tactics pumped out by business interests to the naive who can't read more than 140 characters in one sitting.

[DemonGoddess]

25. scare tactic from one side, and unrealistic expectations from the other

You have BOTH sides who are spouting the all at once thing, doing it for two purposes. On the side against, doing it all at once would be harmful, which is TRUE. The against side isn't looking at the fact that it's being done in STEPS, not all at once. So, they use fear mongering as a tactic to get their point across, instead of actual facts of how the incremental increases are working.

The for side isn't looking at the necessity of doing this in steps, particularly in areas with economies which will NOT support an increase of this size, all at once. Instead, there is a distinct "feel" of we need it all at once, EVEN IN AREAS which cannot support it all at once, as a form of punishment and resentment against big business. What they don't take into account, is in these areas, the SMALL businesses are what will be affected negatively with this kind of a jump all at once. So, in the interest of punishing the "big guy", the end result would be punishing the LITTLE guy. But that never gets mentioned either.

[LannyDeVaney]

26. Great point. I've never seen a wage increase proposal that wasn't done in steps.

However, I've never seen an *article* about wage increase proposals that emphasized it was done in steps.

[DemonGoddess]

27. Nor have I n/t

[MADem]

3. With guns and Brexit, the truth is that no one CARES about the platform.

We know what it means to be a Democrat. We also know that there are some issues where there's a bit of variation in view between Democrats, but we're all headed in the same general direction.

How often, in past years, has "The Party Platform" taken center stage?

Last time I remember it being even discussed on the nightly news was during the Vietnam era. It got maybe twenty seconds.

The bottom line is this: A Party Platform is an ASPIRATIONAL document in advance of a convention--it is not a "rule book."

You know who writes the real "party platform" when all is said and done? The President of the United States--assuming she wins the election and I'm confident she will.

[NYC Liberal]

5. Right. How many of these people were so concerned about the platform and the committee

before this year? How many even knew there WAS a platform committee that decided what goes into the official platform?

I mean this is a routine event that happens every four years but NOW it's a BIG FUCKING DEAL™?

Reminds of how the debt ceiling was something no one ever gave a thought to (or likely even knew existed) until Obama was elected.

[MADem]

6. It doesn't really matter--the only place this story is getting any traction is with those who

are still fighting a fight that ended when we had our presumptive nominee.

[BlueMTexpat]

12. + a million! eom

[LeFleur1]

21. Actually

The platform is a big deal to those who are new to politics or are not sure who they want to vote for.
Reading the platform gives such new voters or undecided voters an idea of what a candidate will work toward and support. The platform should always reflect what the party stands for and will work for.

[Walk away]

9. Oh my god!!!! Stop the presses!!!! Whoop Whoop!!!

Pathetic.

[cosmicone]

11. Sounds like a publicity stunt to save face n/t

[Her Sister]

15. Yep, stunts are a'coming!

[Thinkingabout]

13. Hopefully the platform has bden agreed and its time to move on to the

Convention and GE.

[NurseJackie]

16. That's pretty much been the whole theme of the entire primary, hasn't it?

Amateurs.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

17. Probably has everything to do with this

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bernie-fights-for-relevance/ar-AAhCpqc?li=BBnbcA1

[Her Sister]

23. Perfect article, yes it's got a lil to do with that!

Probably has everything to do with this

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/bernie-fights-for-relevance/ar-AAhCpqc?li=BBnbcA1

[Cha]

18. Thanks for highlighting this, HS!

[Her Sister]

19. Thanks Cha! But those are Sascha's words

From her or his OP thread. Part 1
It is interesting/infuriating so wanted to bring back.

[Cha]

20. I know.. I got his thread, too. Al Giordano!

[displacedtexan]

28. The national party platform is where you park both your workhorse & your unicorn.

I've been involved with party election campaigns for decades, and I've never heard anyone at any level really challenge either the drafting committee or the document, itself. The platform has always been a mix of to-do action items and wishlist.

As for the $15 per hr pay hike, the only person here in SF who complained loudly was the owner of a used sci fi book store, who said he would have to close his business because of it. Local reporters exposed a lot more problems with his business than just paying workers a bit more money.

[ismnotwasm]

29. FWIW, Hillary's minimum wage plan is the correct one

I'm certainly happy the language is in the platform, very UNHAPPY with ridiculous shenanigans. There is no need to cause trouble just to cause trouble. Yet, here we are.

In Seattle, the minimum wage hike had been incremental. ( I just like using that word) The restaurant industry and the fast food industries took a immediate hit (The price of a say, Macdonalds item went up rapidly--it was supposed to readjust, I don't eat there often enough to know if it did, they messed around with gratuities for servers)

The point to remember Seattle is a prosperous city, yes, but with very high cost of living

A year in, ‘the sky is not falling’ from Seattle’s minimum-wage hike

The city’s multistep minimum-wage law, heading to $15 for all by 2021, has lifted up some low-income earners, shaken up some business models and stirred up controversy while prompting similar moves elsewhere.

Yigzaw began earning $13 per hour Jan. 1 at his 40-hour-a week job at a parking garage in South Lake Union. When he started working there 10 years ago, he was making only $8 per hour.


“I’m a low-income person,” he said. “Even 25 cents makes a difference.”

Only a year into Seattle’s journey toward a $15 minimum wage, local economists tracking the impacts say it’s too early to make conclusions about how the city’s minimum-wage “experiment” is going, but so far, critics’ dire predictions of mass job loss have not come true

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/a-year-in-the-sky-is-not-falling-from-seattles-minimum-wage-hike/