Day 2: The Democratic Party Meets To Draft Platform And Hears From Struggling Americans |
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 August 2, 2008 |
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CLEVELAND –
During day two of the Democratic Party’s meeting to write their platform, average Americans told the drafting committee about the everyday struggles they face. Over the almost three-hour session, twelve people from Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania spoke about economic troubles, jobs sent overseas, health care, rising food and gas costs, poverty, education, energy independence, and green jobs and technology.
The committee heard from the speakers before sitting down to actually write the platform – a mission statement that expresses the most important issues to the Democratic Party. The platform will be presented before the entire committee next weekend in Pittsburgh before being voted on at the Democratic National Convention, which begins August 25th in Denver.
The current back and forth between Barack Obama and John McCain was mentioned when committee member Patricia Madrid went after John McCain for his Celeb ad calling it “ridiculous”, especially after hearing the daily problems of so many Americans. She added that it would be struggling Americans who determine the outcome of the election:
This morning I heard Senator Obama on television say that is going to be people like you that are going to determine the outcome of the race, People that are angry and this morning I also heard him say why is John McCain concentrated on Paris Hilton and Britney Spears? Your testimony makes his ads all the more ridiculous, said Madrid. I hope this year it is going to be people like you that are not going to vote against your economic interest again because it is you who are going to determine the outcome of what we are going to do in this country about health care, job wages and things that matter to you.
During yesterday’s meetings Senator Hillary Clinton was not mentioned—even though some of the members here were supporters of hers and spoke on her behalf during May’s testy DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting. Today former top health care advisor to President Clinton and committee member Chris Jennings mentioned her while thanking the speakers for sharing their stories, Senator Clinton often talked about during the campaign about working Americans being invisible to the previous administration and you have given them a voice.
Like Friday’s session, speakers took the opportunity to hit John McCain while praising Barack Obama and putting their hope in an Obama presidency to solve their struggles.
Many of the speakers lost their jobs to outsourcing and have seen factory jobs sent overseas something they see as continuing under a McCain presidency, Our good paying and respectful job are being sent to Mexico so. . .employers can avoid paying decent wages and benefits, said David Landrum a factory worker from Indiana, It is crazy to me that John McCain has pledged to support every trade deal under the sun knowing how much it has hurt my family and others like this. I want to say that a visit to Bloomington would change his mind, but he keeps going to our communities like ours and saying the same thing that jobs aren’t coming back and he supports free trade at any cost.
Other laid off workers blame the current administration for their lost jobs and low salaries, A lot of people are working low wage jobs with no job security…John McCain supports free trade deals that have created this miserable economy leaving so many hard working Americans between a rock and hard place, said Misty Wells a laid-off GM worker from Ohio, I could never vote for Senator McCain on issue after issue. He follows in President Bush’s footsteps. Things are too bad for another term of Bush. Senator Obama seems to know what we are going through and I am excited about watching Obama stop Republicans who have destroyed so much to people like me.
Not all of the speakers were Republicans. Marcie Wozniak from Pennsylvania is a registered Independent who is voting for Obama because she does not see the current administration helping the middle class, We just can not survive another Republican president like Mr. Bush or Senator McCain who supports bad trade deals, privatizing social security, Wozniak continued. I haven’t heard any long-term solutions for lowering gas prices from him either. I really do think that Mr. Obama is the best candidate and is going to lead us in a new direction for the next 4 years.
Much of the discussions focused on bringing jobs back to America through green jobs and green technology. Committee member Allan Katz pressed the importance of these jobs to help the economy and the environment, There are going to be a lot of jobs if we decide to do what we are talking about doing which is reduce our dependency on foreign oil and truly develop an economy that is based on innovation in green energy renewables and the ability to do things as in a lot those areas in terms of from the inside management. There is a whole host of jobs that can’t be exported to China.
The session ended on a light note when Shawn Grimes, who works at a Saturn hybrid plant in Ohio invited both the presumptive Democratic nominee and the entire committee to visit his factory even suggesting everyone should jump on a bus right now to tour the facility getting a laugh from both the committee and audience.
The meetings continue this afternoon and the platform will start to be written by the members.
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