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Focused Read 3-15 minutes
dependent on how and how much you choose to read...
Every
four years, the Democratic Party puts together our party platform,
the ideas and beliefs that govern our party as a whole.
What
follows is our 2016 platform — our most progressive platform in our
party’s history and a declaration of how we plan to move America
forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict,
unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment,
and bridges are better than walls.
It’s
a simple but powerful idea: We are stronger together.
In 2016, Democrats meet in
Philadelphia with the same basic belief that animated the Continental
Congress when they gathered here 240 years ago: Out of many, we are
one.
Under President Obama’s
leadership, and thanks to the hard work and determination of the
American people, we have come a long way from the Great Recession and
the Republican policies that triggered it. American businesses have
now added 14.8 million jobs since private-sector job growth turned
positive in early 2010. Twenty million people have gained health
insurance coverage. The American auto industry just had its best year
ever. And we are getting more of our energy from the sun and wind,
and importing less oil from overseas.
But too many Americans
have been left out and left behind. They are working longer hours
with less security. Wages have barely budged and the racial wealth
gap remains wide, while the cost of everything from childcare to a
college education has continued to rise. And for too many families,
the dream of homeownership is out of reach. As working people
struggle, the top one percent accrues more wealth and more power.
Republicans in Congress have chosen gridlock and dysfunction over
trying to find solutions to the real challenges we face. It’s no
wonder that so many feel like the system is rigged against them.
Democrats believe that
cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division,
empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than
walls.
It’s a simple but
powerful idea: we are stronger together.
Democrats believe we are
stronger when we have an economy that works for everyone—an economy
that grows incomes for working people, creates good-paying jobs, and
puts a middle-class life within reach for more Americans. Democrats
believe we can spur more sustainable economic growth, which will
create good-paying jobs and raise wages. And we can have more
economic fairness, so the rewards are shared broadly, not just with
those at the top. We need an economy that prioritizes long-term
investment over short-term profit-seeking, rewards the common
interest over self-interest, and promotes innovation and
entrepreneurship.
We believe that today’s
extreme level of income and wealth inequality—where the majority of
the economic gains go to the top one percent and the richest 20
people in our country own more wealth than the bottom 150
million—makes our economy weaker, our communities poorer, and our
politics poisonous.
And we know that our
nation’s long struggle with race is far from over. More than half a
century after Rosa Parks sat and Dr. King marched and John Lewis
bled, more than half a century after César Chávez, Dolores Huerta,
and Larry Itliong organized, race still plays a significant role in
determining who gets ahead in America and who gets left behind. We
must face that reality and we must fix it.
We believe a good
education is a basic right of all Americans, no matter what zip code
they live in. We will end the school-to-prison pipeline and build a
cradle-to-college pipeline instead, where every child can live up to
his or her God-given potential.
We believe in helping
Americans balance work and family without fear of punishment or
penalty. We believe in at last guaranteeing equal pay for women. And
as the party that created Social Security, we believe in protecting
every American’s right to retire with dignity.
We firmly believe that the
greed, recklessness, and illegal behavior on Wall Street must be
brought to an end. Wall Street must never again be allowed to
threaten families and businesses on Main Street.
Democrats believe we are
stronger when we protect citizens’ right to vote, while stopping
corporations’ outsized influence in elections. We will fight to end
the broken campaign finance system, overturn the disastrous Citizens
United decision, restore the full power of the Voting Rights
Act, and return control of our elections to the American people.
Democrats believe that
climate change poses a real and urgent threat to our economy, our
national security, and our children’s health and futures, and that
Americans deserve the jobs and security that come from becoming the
clean energy superpower of the 21st century.
Democrats believe we are
stronger and safer when America brings the world together and leads
with principle and purpose. We believe we should strengthen our
alliances, not weaken them. We believe in the power of development
and diplomacy. We believe our military should be the best-trained,
best-equipped fighting force in the world, and that we must do
everything we can to honor and support our veterans. And we know that
only the United States can mobilize common action on a truly global
scale, to take on the challenges that transcend borders, from
international terrorism to climate change to health pandemics.
Above all, Democrats are
the party of inclusion. We know that diversity is not our problem—it
is our promise. As Democrats, we respect differences of perspective
and belief, and pledge to work together to move this country forward,
even when we disagree. With this platform, we do not merely seek
common ground—we strive to reach higher ground.
We are proud of our
heritage as a nation of immigrants. We know that today’s immigrants
are tomorrow’s teachers, doctors, lawyers, government leaders,
soldiers, entrepreneurs, activists, PTA members, and pillars of our
communities.
We believe in protecting
civil liberties and guaranteeing civil rights and voting rights,
women’s rights and workers’ rights, LGBT rights, and rights for
people with disabilities. We believe America is still, as Robert
Kennedy said, “a great country, an unselfish country, and a
compassionate country.”
These principles stand in
sharp contrast to the Republicans, who have nominated as the
standard-bearer for their party and their candidate for President a
man who seeks to appeal to Americans’ basest differences, rather
than our better natures.
The stakes have been high
in previous elections. But in 2016, the stakes can be measured in
human lives—in the number of immigrants who would be torn from
their homes; in the number of faithful and peaceful Muslims who would
be barred from even visiting our shores; in the number of allies
alienated and dictators courted; in the number of Americans who would
lose access to health care and see their rights ripped away.
This election is about
more than Democrats and Republicans. It is about who we are as a
nation, and who we will be in the future.
Two hundred and forty
years ago, in Philadelphia, we started a revolution of ideas and of
action that continues to this day. Since then, our union has been
tested many times, through bondage and civil war, segregation and
depression, two world wars and the threat of nuclear annihilation.
Generations of Americans fought and marched and organized to widen
the circle of opportunity and dignity—and we are fighting still.
Despite what some say,
America is and has always been great—but not because it has been
perfect. What makes America great is our unerring belief that we can
make it better. We can and we will build a more just economy, a more
equal society, and a more perfect union—because we are stronger
together.
You can read the (Clinton) 2016
Democratic Platform, by topic or in its entirety here
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Focused Thought
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Focused Action
You can share Brian's Tweet on Twitter here
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Direct source information for Democrats:
The Democratic Party Website
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Thank you for being #StrongerTogether today!
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(Remember 2018...)
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Curated by Gail Mountain, Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
( You can also find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GKMTNtwits )
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