Party Platforms

There seems to be various answers when it comes to the effect, if any, party platforms have on the voters. An ABC newscaster says no one pays attention to the platforms. Others point the record in which liberal influence on the GOP platform resulted time and again in the defeat of the party’s presidential candidate. This year the GOP has offered an opportunity to the public to make inputs to the platform. Many hope this will at least point the party in the right direction, restore its conservative roots, and result in victory in November.

The DNC and Obama, on the other hand, seem to be embarked on the same tired old approach of allowing a select few to draft the platform. In fact, Karen Kornbluh, Obama’s policy assistant, apparently has been given the job of writing the platform all by herself. So much for a participative Democratic National Convention. So, the candidate of “change” has decided on business as usual as far as the platform is concerned. Similarly, rather than rely on nonpartisan public funding, the candidate of “change” has opted for private funding with all the baggage it brings with it, just as many of his predecessors have done. Some in the Democrat Party are pushing for a plank that will recognize the pro-lifers who are members of the party. Is this a “change” or is it just more of the Democrat’s schizophrenia?