Democratic Party Platform In Brief

Late yesterday the Democratic Party announced their party platform to go before the convention in Denver later this month. Party platforms are stated principles of the party, while adopted by most candidates, they are not mandatory.

Here are the highlights from the platform committee.

Guaranteed Heatlh Care for All: they say this is not universal health care and not a single payer government system but they fail to define how they would guarantee it. 

Iraq War: expect to complete redeployment within 16 months.

Woman's Rights: it makes mention of "18 million cracks in the highest glass ceiling," a direct reference to Hillary, who believed she was the victim of sexism during the primary.

Energy Rebates: something John McHugh and Hillary have already proposed.

It also identifies pension subsidies, crackdown on predatory lending, an increase in taxes for higher income families (wealth redistribution) and re-working NAFTA

Diplomacy: high level diplomacy without preconditions, such as the talks Obama suggested he would have with Iran.

The party increased their abortion stance. Right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay.

Various other items include: tough, practical and humane immigration reform, calls for a ban on assault weapons and "reasonable regulation" on gun ownership, and calls for the closing of Gitmo.