Above photo: AP Photo / David Becke
St. Louis, MO – The battle over the official Democratic Party platform began in earnest this Friday at a nine-hour meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, and already the sparks of tension seem to be outweighing the calls for “unity.”
The Democratic Party’s platform is an official statement of values on a wide range of issues, and while it is officially non-binding, the platform serves as a crucial guidepost for the entire party. The 2016 platform committee comprises fifteen members, with five members chosen by Bernie Sanders, six chosen by Hillary Clinton, and four chosen by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Bernie Sanders himself had conflicting feelings about the progress and concessions made on Friday, releasing a statement on his website that said he was “pleased” with certain aspects but was “disappointed and dismayed” at other decisions, particularly those regarding trade.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a Sanders representative on the committee, attempted to insert language into the platform that stated Democrats would not hold a vote on the widely derided Trans-Pacific Partnership deal in order to effectively end the plan’s prospects, but the committee rejected Ellison’s proposal so as to avoid indirectly criticizing President Obama on the issue, despite both Sanders and Clinton being against the deal.
Clinton originally called TPP the “gold standard” of trade deals during her tenure as Secretary of State, but has since publicly opposed TPP while on the campaign trail. Sanders said it was “inexplicable” that Clinton’s appointees to the committee would not support the Democratic candidates’ own views.
Some mutual progress was made in other expected areas of agreement. The language on immigration policies and criminal justice reform was finalized fairly quickly, with the platform unexpectedly taking a strong stand against capital punishment, calling it “a cruel and unusual form of punishment which has no place” in the United States. Sanders strongly opposes the death penalty in even the most extreme cases, while Clinton has argued to reserve the right of the federal government to capital punishment in the most “heinous” examples.
The platform also supported a number of banking regulations, “including an updated and modernized version of Glass-Steagall,” with additional policies added in an effort to fight the “shadow banking” industry. The platform also includes language that supports the expansion and strengthening of Social Security.
The Democrats also voted to include the $15 minimum wage into the platform, even calling the current rate of $7.25 a “starvation wage.” However, there arose some confusion over this particular issue among progressive critics, as two further amendments introduced by Ellison that would have indexed the minimum wage to inflation, making it a truly “livable wage,” were voted down.
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) June 24, 2016
To clarify this was an amendment to make the $15/hr wage “livable” aka indexed to grow over time. — Lee Fang (@lhfang) June 25, 2016
Despite these notes of harmony on certain issues, most of the truly key proposals that originated from Sanders’ side were rejected outright.
Bill McKibben, a Sanders appointee to the committee and prominent environmentalist who co-founded 350.org, attempted to insert language on both a carbon tax and a national moratorium on fracking, but both proposals were rejected in perhaps the most disappointing move of the proceedings.
Rejecting @billmckibben‘s proposals to preserve the environment is a bad look. A carbon tax shouldn’t even be controversial. #DemPlatform
— Ben Spielberg (@BenSpielberg) June 25, 2016
Similarly, Dr. James Zogby attempted to call for “an end to occupation and illegal settlements” in Israel, along with an international call to rebuild Gaza, but this attempt to pull the party platform further to the left also failed.
The committee also rejected a single-payer Medicare-for-All plan in a decisive blow to one of Sanders’ key domestic policies. Hillary Clinton has stated in this election cycle that single-payer healthcare will “never, ever come to pass” despite supporting universal healthcare for most of her career. According to a Gallup poll conducted in May, 58% of Americans support a federally funded healthcare option. Only 48% of those polled wished to continue the Affordable Care Act.
Progressives and Sanders supporters vocalized their frustrations with what they saw as continued obstinance in the face of wide support for these programs and ideas. “What was passed was a solidly neoliberal platform — 90% of what we wanted is not getting in,” said Caleb-Michael Files, the digital strategist for People for Bernie Sanders.
These sentiments were echoed by progressive figures and activists on social media.
Disturbed to see reports #DemPlatform committee voted AGAINST basic progressive policies. Does party even want our support this election?!?
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) June 25, 2016
Does the #DemPlatform majority want to break the spirit of every new voter? It’s your job to inspire us not incremental us. — Melissa Byrne (@mcbyrne) June 25, 2016
It’s never too early to dump the Party that has long dumped the People for their Donors! @JeanetteJing #DemPlatform pic.twitter.com/YWv4u9Oqmi
— Namo4Revolution (@namodassa) June 25, 2016
There’s more substance in the customer satisfaction survey on a Taco Bell receipt than the #DemPlatform — Thomas Keister (@thomaskeister) June 25, 2016
The most visible and concrete sign of disunity during the actual proceedings was Cornel West’s refusal to support the platform in the final vote, in which he sent a powerful statement of rebuke to the committee and the resulting platform:
Cornel West abstains from supporting the platform out of basic morals. Very powerful speech. #DemPlatform pic.twitter.com/7nOCpNeTbP
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) June 25, 2016
Sanders has repeatedly stressed since the end of the campaign season that his endorsement of Clinton would depend on her platform and how closely her goals aligned with his own campaign’s. Sanders remained defiant in the closing of his statement on the platform, vowing to continue to fight for the issues as the platform continues to be debated in the coming weeks:
“If our pro-worker amendments do not carry in St. Louis we will reintroduce them before the full platform committee in Orlando, Florida. If we do not win in Orlando we can carry them to the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Our job is to pass the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party.”
Senator Sanders has yet to endorse Hillary Clinton and insists he is still running as a candidate for the Democratic nomination, indicating that he has no intention of backing down. Despite the platform being non-binding, however, it seems as though Clinton’s appointees and the DNC establishment have little interest in supporting progressive policies even rhetorically.