SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'We Have Just Written Half of the GOP Platform': Progressives Dismayed by Dem Party Platform
Sanders supporters celebrated $15 minimum wage amendment and declaration of 'climate emergency,' but condemned Clinton surrogates' rejection of a postal banking system and an end to corporate welfare
Jul 09, 2016
As the contentious Democratic Party platform drafting committee negotiations come to an end, many Bernie Sanders surrogates have watched in disbelief as core progressive principles have been waylaid--largely by Hillary Clinton supporters.
"Congratulations everyone! We have just written half of the GOP Platform tonight, Democrats!"
--Nomiki Konst, progressive commentator
The trend continued on the second-to-last day of platform negotiations in Orlando, Florida, when Clinton surrogates on Friday rejected an amendment supporting the creation of a postal banking system, modeled on the one in North Dakota, as well as measures that would end corporate welfare and lay penalties on companies for offshoring jobs, lift the $250,000 income cap on the social security tax, and expand cost of living increases for senior citizens' social security benefits.
Yet there was one "real victory," as former NAACP leader Ben Jealous put it, when the committee passed an amendment supporting a $15 minimum wage and union protections. The amendment was introduced by Ohio state senator Nina Turner and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Mary Kay Henry.
Progressives in attendance and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders cheered the amendment's passage on Twitter:
That exact moment Dem platform adopted #FightFor15. Congratulations & many thanks to @ninaturner & @BernieSanders ! https://t.co/AYXv77ZN0A
-- Bill Cimbrelo (@Bill_Cimbrelo) July 9, 2016
Environmentalists also applauded the passage of a declaration of a "climate emergency" proposed by committee member and climate activist Russell Greene.
The amendment reads in part: "The reality is that the climate emergency and the objective of expanding the middle class demands that we make the most ambitious investment in American infrastructure since President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system."
At other points during the protracted negotiations--they lasted until 1:30am local time--progressives decried the platform committee's rejection of what they argue were once core Democratic Party principles.
Journalist Nomiki Konst voiced her frustration on Twitter at one point: "Congratulations everyone! We have just written half of the GOP Platform tonight, Democrats!"
Progressives took to social media to voice disappointment, confusion, and anger:
The final session of platform negotiations begins in Orlando on Saturday at 10am Eastern Standard Time.
The first item on the agenda? The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which both Clinton and Sanders oppose--but Clinton supporters on the platform committee have fought to voice support for it within the Democratic Party platform.
Other divisive issues to be discussed are fracking, healthcare, and foreign policy.
Watch the meeting live on CSPAN here.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
ben jealousbernie sanderscorporate powercorporate welfaredemocratic partyelection 2016hillary clintonjohn nicholslaborminimum wagenina turnerpublic bankssocial security
As the contentious Democratic Party platform drafting committee negotiations come to an end, many Bernie Sanders surrogates have watched in disbelief as core progressive principles have been waylaid--largely by Hillary Clinton supporters.
"Congratulations everyone! We have just written half of the GOP Platform tonight, Democrats!"
--Nomiki Konst, progressive commentator
The trend continued on the second-to-last day of platform negotiations in Orlando, Florida, when Clinton surrogates on Friday rejected an amendment supporting the creation of a postal banking system, modeled on the one in North Dakota, as well as measures that would end corporate welfare and lay penalties on companies for offshoring jobs, lift the $250,000 income cap on the social security tax, and expand cost of living increases for senior citizens' social security benefits.
Yet there was one "real victory," as former NAACP leader Ben Jealous put it, when the committee passed an amendment supporting a $15 minimum wage and union protections. The amendment was introduced by Ohio state senator Nina Turner and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Mary Kay Henry.
Progressives in attendance and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders cheered the amendment's passage on Twitter:
That exact moment Dem platform adopted #FightFor15. Congratulations & many thanks to @ninaturner & @BernieSanders ! https://t.co/AYXv77ZN0A
-- Bill Cimbrelo (@Bill_Cimbrelo) July 9, 2016
Environmentalists also applauded the passage of a declaration of a "climate emergency" proposed by committee member and climate activist Russell Greene.
The amendment reads in part: "The reality is that the climate emergency and the objective of expanding the middle class demands that we make the most ambitious investment in American infrastructure since President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system."
At other points during the protracted negotiations--they lasted until 1:30am local time--progressives decried the platform committee's rejection of what they argue were once core Democratic Party principles.
Journalist Nomiki Konst voiced her frustration on Twitter at one point: "Congratulations everyone! We have just written half of the GOP Platform tonight, Democrats!"
Progressives took to social media to voice disappointment, confusion, and anger:
The final session of platform negotiations begins in Orlando on Saturday at 10am Eastern Standard Time.
The first item on the agenda? The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which both Clinton and Sanders oppose--but Clinton supporters on the platform committee have fought to voice support for it within the Democratic Party platform.
Other divisive issues to be discussed are fracking, healthcare, and foreign policy.
Watch the meeting live on CSPAN here.
As the contentious Democratic Party platform drafting committee negotiations come to an end, many Bernie Sanders surrogates have watched in disbelief as core progressive principles have been waylaid--largely by Hillary Clinton supporters.
"Congratulations everyone! We have just written half of the GOP Platform tonight, Democrats!"
--Nomiki Konst, progressive commentator
The trend continued on the second-to-last day of platform negotiations in Orlando, Florida, when Clinton surrogates on Friday rejected an amendment supporting the creation of a postal banking system, modeled on the one in North Dakota, as well as measures that would end corporate welfare and lay penalties on companies for offshoring jobs, lift the $250,000 income cap on the social security tax, and expand cost of living increases for senior citizens' social security benefits.
Yet there was one "real victory," as former NAACP leader Ben Jealous put it, when the committee passed an amendment supporting a $15 minimum wage and union protections. The amendment was introduced by Ohio state senator Nina Turner and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Mary Kay Henry.
Progressives in attendance and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders cheered the amendment's passage on Twitter:
That exact moment Dem platform adopted #FightFor15. Congratulations & many thanks to @ninaturner & @BernieSanders ! https://t.co/AYXv77ZN0A
-- Bill Cimbrelo (@Bill_Cimbrelo) July 9, 2016
Environmentalists also applauded the passage of a declaration of a "climate emergency" proposed by committee member and climate activist Russell Greene.
The amendment reads in part: "The reality is that the climate emergency and the objective of expanding the middle class demands that we make the most ambitious investment in American infrastructure since President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system."
At other points during the protracted negotiations--they lasted until 1:30am local time--progressives decried the platform committee's rejection of what they argue were once core Democratic Party principles.
Journalist Nomiki Konst voiced her frustration on Twitter at one point: "Congratulations everyone! We have just written half of the GOP Platform tonight, Democrats!"
Progressives took to social media to voice disappointment, confusion, and anger:
The final session of platform negotiations begins in Orlando on Saturday at 10am Eastern Standard Time.
The first item on the agenda? The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which both Clinton and Sanders oppose--but Clinton supporters on the platform committee have fought to voice support for it within the Democratic Party platform.
Other divisive issues to be discussed are fracking, healthcare, and foreign policy.
Watch the meeting live on CSPAN here.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.