Democrats approved a party platform at their national convention Tuesday that echoes President Obama’s call for higher taxes on wealthier Americans while backing same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
Delegates voted Tuesday to adopt the platform, which reflects the president’s argument that his work is unfinished and he deserves another four years to complete the job.
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“Today, our economy is growing again, al-Qaeda is weaker than at any point since 9/11, and our manufacturing sector is growing for the first time in more than a decade. But there is more we need to do, and so we come together again to continue what we started,” the platform said.
The document is a sharp contrast from the Republican blueprint that the GOP adopted at its convention last week. The Republican plan would ban abortion and gay marriage, repeal Obama’s health care overhaul law and shift Medicare into a voucher-style program. It also recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Democrats acknowledged that divergent views.
“This election is not simply a choice between two candidates or two political parties, but between two fundamentally different paths for our country and our families,” the Democrats said.
TAXES
The Democratic platform calls for extending the middle-class tax cuts for the 98 percent of families who make less than $250,000 a year, and promises not to raise taxes on them. The platform claims a typical family has saved $3,600 during Obama’s first term. “Now he’s fighting to stop middle-class families and those aspiring to join the middle class from seeing their taxes go up and to extend key tax relief for working families and those paying for college, while asking the wealthiest and corporations to pay their fair share,” the platform says.
ABORTION
The Democratic platform states that the party “unequivocally” supports Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal, and “supports a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy, including a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay.”
The platform states: “Abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor and her clergy; there is no place for politicians or government to get in the way.”
GAY MARRIAGE
The Democratic platform supports the movement to get equal treatment under the law for same-sex couples.
The platform says: “We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.” The platform opposes “federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection under the law” to same-sex couples.
IMMIGRATION
The platform says “Democrats are strongly committed to enacting comprehensive immigration reform.” Immigration overhaul would include bringing “undocumented immigrants out of the shadows,” requiring illegal immigrants “to get right with the law, learn English and pay taxes” to get on a path toward citizenship. It also calls for a visa system that meets the country’s “economic needs, keeps families together and enforces the law.” It acknowledges that administrative fixes are not permanent. “Only Congress can provide a permanent, comprehensive solution.”
The Republican platform opposes “any form of amnesty” for those who intentionally violate the immigration laws.
MEDICARE
Democrats say the new health care law makes Medicare stronger by adding new benefits, fighting fraud and improving care for patients. Over 10 years, the law will save the average Medicare beneficiary $4,200, the platform says. “Democrats adamantly oppose any efforts to privatize or voucherize Medicare,” the platform says.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
The Democratic platform criticizes the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which lifted restrictions on independent political expenditures by corporations and unions, and calls for “immediate action to curb the influence of lobbyists and special interests on our political institutions” — with a constitutional amendment, if necessary, in the cause of campaign finance reform.
“We support requiring groups trying to influence elections to reveal their donors so the public will know who’s funding the political ads it sees,” the platform says.
HEALTH CARE
The platform pledges to continue building on the new health care law. It says accessible, affordable, high-quality health care is part of the American promise, that Americans should have the security that comes with good health care, and that no one should go broke because they get sick. “No law is perfect and Democrats stand willing to work with anyone to improve the law where necessary, but we are committed to moving forward,” the platform says.
ISRAEL
Democrats have dropped from their platform recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The platform instead expresses “unshakable commitment to Israel’s security.”
DEFENSE
The platform says Democrats have responsibly ended the war in Iraq, put the al-Qaida terrorist organization on the path to defeat with the killing of Osama bin Laden and reversed the Taliban’s momentum to set the stage for the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Democrats back further reductions in the nuclear weapons stockpile. Democrats also say Obama will do all in his power to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
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