Platform Perspectives: Laura Blubaugh, Delegate Coordinator
July 12, 2004
"The strongest message that we sent was that we are here to stay. We insist and demand that the progressive voice has a home within the Democratic Party, and we are not going away."
The numbers and the rules were clearly stacked against us going into Miami.
There were 186 platform members on the DNC roster, 186 platform members that our teams researched, and, for the most part, contacted well in advance of the Platform Committee meeting to begin making our case. This was all with the understanding that, under the rules, we needed 20% of the members, or 38 votes, to move a minority plank forward.
Only 105 platform members attended, barely making the quorum that determines the National Democratic Party Platform. Under the rules, the platform-writers "need not be delegates or alternates to the Convention" (Rules of Procedure for the Platform Committee), and though only 25 members are officially appointed by the DNC chairman, it is rare that members are elected. When the elected national delegates meet in Boston -- representatives from every Congressional district across the country ? they will have the opportunity to vote only on whether they support or do not support the platform that is presented to them on the National Convention floor.
At the Platform Committee, any proposed amendment requires at least 15 "seconding" voices to even acknowledge its existence and to give it an opportunity for public debate. The "debate" process allows for five members to speak in favor the amendment, and five to speak against it.
When the Kerry Campaign first heard of our delegates' work building relationships with and lobbying platform committee members in a dozen states last week, they activated their own phone trees to speak with platform members. When the Kerry Campaign saw the Progressive Democratic Caucus with our signs and flyers inside the Westin Hotel, and saw platform committee members engaging in dialogue on the issues with our supporters, who came from as far as Texas, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, they began "working" the members to dissuade them from supporting the language we wanted on universal single-payer healthcare, on a Department of Peace, on NAFTA/WTO, on USA Patriot Act, on civil liberties, and on the occupation of Iraq.
We also discovered that we would still need 37 votes to pass a minority plank, despite the fact that there were only 105 members present, and there was no question that every effort was being made to ensure we didn't get the 37 votes. The Kerry campaign representatives also began to move their strongest voices against our amendments into position to block the votes we needed just to bring the issues to the floor for debate.
But the DNC and the Kerry campaign were pushed. Never before has the DNC seen platform members being lobbied so hard in their own states. This was the first time there has ever been an organized, grassroots presence inside the DNC hotel, monitoring this process, distributing literature, carrying signs, engaging members in thoughtful dialogue, and simply playing by and simultaneously pushing the rules and norms of DNC Platform meetings. The strongest message that we sent was that we are here to stay. We insist and demand that the progressive voice has a home within the Democratic Party, and we are not going away. We will continue to organize, continue to be vocal, and continue to push the Democratic Party so that they will have no choice but to deal with us as a credible and increasingly powerful coalition of voices from progressive campaigns and like-minded issue-based organizations. We are not the enemy. We are amongst many things, a vehicle for change, success, and for bringing back a true democratic spirit and credibility to this party.
The confrontation and struggle in Miami was a necessary exercise for many reasons. We are proud we were there. We are proud we took on the leadership of the DNC. We are proud of our supporters, mostly brand-new to the Platform process, who learned so much mentally and emotionally. We are proud that language on troop reduction was incorporated into the platform when we expected to walk away with nothing concrete. We are proud, and we will be back for Boston, even better organized, with more voices of support.
We will have to keep fighting (nonviolently!) every step of the way, including at the national convention. Power does not concede and respect can be disingenuous. There are successes to celebrate in the language and experience of Miami, but the platform is still far from acceptable. Boston will be a very different experience as a result of our presence in Miami, and the Kucinich Campaign will be more fully accepted, welcomed and incorporated, but observers from outside the Fleet Center and the electoral process can be assured of the Kucinich Campaign's tireless commitment to continue moving the party in the right direction -- from the inside.
Posted by Hannah at July 13, 2004 06:36 AM