Woodbury Democrats

Proposed Platform of the Woodbury County Democratic Party, 3-11-2006

Preamble:

The Democratic Party pledges to work to change the direction of America to reflect the traditional values of its people. These values are most clearly reflected in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The ordinary citizens of our country must be guaranteed freedom from government interference in their daily life. Our Constitution expressly protects the minority from the dictatorship of the majority, and allows no person or group to dominate the political process. It guarantees ordinary citizens the freedom to express their opinions, and to freely meet and petition their government for change, without interference.

Governance

1. We pledge to return our country to a place where the rule of law is supreme, and where no person, official, or group, possesses or is allowed to use their economic or other powers to unduly influence the lives of others. We pledge to return to a society where our

government's activities and information are subject to oversight, where Constitutionally guaranteed checks and balances are strictly observed, and where each branch of government fulfills its responsibility

2. The Democratic Party pledges to work to extend personal safety and freedoms, and to end the undue control of politics by moneyed interests. We pledge to end the destruction of the middle class due to government policies, and to restore both social and economic justice. The tendency to ignore these issues is an increasing danger to our

democracy.

3. The Democratic Party pledges to restore budgetary responsibility to our government and stop passing on debt to our children; first, by ending the Republican culture of corruption, and recognizing that it is the right and duty of those in society who most benefit from its success to pay their fair share of our government expenses.

4. The Democratic Party pledges to ensure that our government is willing and capable, both organizationally and financially, of aiding all citizens in times of need and particularly in times of disaster.

Foreign Relations

1. The Democratic Party pledges to wisely and carefully use American military might and police powers to protect our country and people, but rejects the dangerous, illegal, and immoral preemptive war policy of the Bush administration. We also pledge to work hard to restore America's badly damaged reputation and credibility within the international community, as this is an important national security issue.

2. The Democratic Party pledges to seek fairness, equity and justice for all human beings within this country and around the world. However, we also recognize that we cannot use our military power to dictate the government forms and values of other societies.

3. The Democratic Party pledges to support and respect the institution of the United Nations and to use that forum to improve the world's chances for peace and prosperity.

4. The Democratic Party pledges to protect our environment and recognizes that the degradation of the environment is an international problem which requires consultation and cooperation with the rest of the world.

Domestic

1. The Democratic Party recognizes that quality education is only provided by placing intelligent well educated teachers in contact with well prepared students, and that the raw material for creating these teachers and students comes equally from all levels of our society. To accomplish much needed improvements in American education, we pledge to work toward a society where no person who has the desire and ability to achieve a quality education be denied the opportunity for any reason.

2. The Democratic Party recognizes that due to the vast increase in size and power of the business world, and the recent evidence of the dangers of unregulated concentration of business power, we must restore the government's power to watch, and where necessary regulate, these entities. This will require government to increase both the personnel and funding of some regulatory agencies in order to adequately protect American citizens from both ongoing and potential abuses. It will also require control of the lobbying industry and isolation of regulatory

agencies from day to day political influence.

3. The Democratic Party pledges to support the growth of the labor movement as this is one of the few balances our country has in controlling powerful business interests in our society.

4. The Democratic Party pledges to improve family life and family values by seeing that all people who work are paid enough to support a family and can are afford to spend quality time with their family; and that poverty and hunger does not prevent the physical and mental development of children at all stages of their lives.

5. The Democratic Party pledges to fight to see that all Americans of all ages have access to quality health care that does not depend on their economic status, and that no industry or group benefits unduly from enacting legislation toward that end.

Economics

1. The Democratic Party recognizes the necessity for government to be involved in development and growth issues on both the local and national level. We pledge to support all efforts at economic growth, while watching that this growth does not damage the environment, the future and rights of citizens, or our relationship with other countries. We also pledge that government support will be fairly distributed so as not to distort the marketplace economy as to only benefit the most powerful.

INDIVIDUAL PLANKS FROM THE CAUCUSES

1. Civil Liberties

A. We oppose warrantless wiretapping of American citizens.

B. We support the protection of family and individual citizen’s rights above those of corporations.

2. Criminal Justice

A. We support strict and uniform sentences without the possibility of parole for those who kill someone while driving under the influence because people still insist on driving drunk, putting the lives of themselves and innocent people in danger and because drunk drivers received lighter sentences than those found guilty of selling drugs.

B. We urge that prison inmate discharge plans include funding for daily living expenses as inmates reintegrate into society, because successful reintegration into society makes them less likely to commit new crimes.

3. Death Penalty (add to Section 2)

3.1. We support keeping Iowa free of the death penalty.

4. Economic Development

4.1. We support the Iowa General Assembly in extending Enterprise Zone legislation for another 10 years because doing so would encourage economic development and affordable housing.

4.2 We urge the federal government to increase funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), because doing so would preserve economic self-sufficiency, decent, affordable housing, and suitable living environments in low-income neighborhoods.

4.3 We support turning US Highway 20 into a 4 lane highway across the State of Iowa.

5. Education

5.1. We support Governor Vilsack’s initiative on pre-schools because a quality education for all children is vital for the economic development of our state.

5.2. We support legislation to assist and encourage minorities to continue their education beyond high school with the opportunity of instate tuition and scholarships through the passage of the DREAM Act.

5.3. We encourage the establishment of anti-bullying programs in all schools.

5.4. We support increased funding to bring teacher and community college faculty salaries up to 25th in the nation over the next three years.

5.5. We support increasing the allowable growth rate for local school systems to 6%.

5.6. We support increasing the contribution rate for IPERS and for the creation of an independent board of trustees for IPERS.

5.7. We believe that tuition increases for college students must become controlled due to the strain put on lower and middle income families.

5.8. We support full and adequate funding of all government mandates including "No Child Left Behind".

6. Elections

6.1. We urge the Iowa General Assembly to pass a voluntary voter-owned elections law. Under this law an election system will be established in which candidates could choose to no longer raise money from private sources. Instead, each participating candidate would receive a set amount of money from a publicly financed election fund. Spending by each candidate would be limited to the amount received from the election fund.

6.2. We support a publicly financed system for legislative and statewide offices because campaigns at all levels have become more expensive and more negative; and large donors and wealthy special interest groups exert far too much control over policies that affect all Iowans.

6.3. We support campaign financing laws cleaning up our election process because special interest groups exert too much control over our government.

6.4. We support the establishment of Election Day as a federal holiday.

6.5. We support the requirement that every vote cast must be available for review in paper form.

6.6. We support the establishment of term limits for Members of Congress.

7. English

7.1. We support the repealing of the Iowa statute declaring English the official language of Iowa .

8. Environment (or Natural Resources)

8.1. We support the full enforcement of the Clean Water Act in Iowa.

8.2. We support and expect the Iowa Legislature and Iowa Department of Natural Resources to support legislation and the rulemaking process that establishes enforceable ambient quality standards for factory farms.

8.3. We support and expect the Iowa Legislature to implement a moratorium on new construction and expansion of factory farms until which time the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has the ability to effectively regulate factory farms and has thoroughly reviewed all existing manure management plans, new regulations, and that safeguards have been put in place to protect the health and quality of life for Iowans and our environment.

8.4. We support and expect the Iowa Legislature to eliminate the existing pollution control property tax breaks for factory farms and allow counties the opportunity to recoup costs for road maintenance from factory farms.

8.5. We support legislation to expand the list of beverage containers which are covered under Iowa's Bottle Bill and to increase the handling fee paid to those who provide redemption services from one cent per container to at least two cents per container.

8.6. We support the Federal government to take the following three actions to progress toward energy independence.

1. Tax all imported crude oil be at an amount equal to the amount its cost is less than $35 a barrel.

3. Lift the moratoria on drilling for natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

8.7. We support American adherence to the Kyoto Accords and national policies that encourage sustainable environmental protection.

9.1. We support the United Nations and our prompt payment of United Nations assessment without restrictions, development of an enforceable body of international law and full participation in its treaties and conventions.

9.2. We support an all out effort by the DEMOCRATIC Party to lead this country back to a point of respect and admiration in the world community. REDUNDANT?

11.1 We feel Congress needs to reassert their Constitutional authority and responsibility for oversight, such as their authority for declaring war.

11.2 We support a need for Congressional hearings into continual national and international blunders so as to ensure they never happen again.

11.3. We propose that the "fairness doctrine" be reestablished in the regulation of the public airwaves. There is nothing fair about one company owning a majority of the media outlets in a broadcast area. Therefore, we propose that media organizations be broken up so they can only control less than 25% of the market.

11.4. We insist the government and particularly the president follow the procedures outlined in FISA before wiretapping or violating the privacy of US citizens. Existing law must be followed. We cannot promote law and order by breaking the laws established by our own government. REDUNDANT?

11.5. We urge that funding and community support be increased so that economic opportunity for workers, affordable housing, crucial educational resources, counseling and mental health services, substance abuse and medical treatment be available for those in need. (REDUNDANT?)

12.1. We support the elimination of as many as possible of the factors motivating the choice of abortion.

12.3 We support state and federal funding for reproductive health services and for age- appropriate, medically accurate sex education.

12.5 We support expansion of HAWK-I insurance benefits for children of parents who qualify via income guidelines to include dental care benefits for those children .

12.6 We support affordable health care, including affordable medications, insurance, co-pays and deductibles because affordable health care is a right of all Americans.

12.7 We support universal health coverage for every American, because every American deserves affordable health care. (REDUNDANT? SEE 12.6)

12.8 We support the advancement of stem cell research because many lives can be saved by such research.

12.9 We support rules that require Iowa dentists to treat a specific percentage of patients on Title 19.

The cost of war in terms of human life and suffering for the people of Iraq, for our own service people and their families, and for others involved in the conflict has been unconscionable.

War in Iraq has destabilized the Middle East, causing more death and destruction in the region and increasing the threat of terrorist attacks throughout the world.

The burden of war has been carried by the poor and vulnerable as military expenditures steal funds from social programs in the United States and around the world.

Therefore, the United States should begin quickly withdrawing its military troops, bases and prisons from Iraq in a manner conducive to the well-being of the people of Iraq.

Furthermore, projects for reconstruction should not provide another windfall for U. S. firms. Contracts should provide jobs for Iraqi workers and companies.

14.1. We urge that funding and community support be increased so that economic opportunity for workers, affordable housing, crucial educational resources, counseling and mental health services, substance abuse and medical treatment be available for those in need. (REDUNDANT?)

14.2. We support state legislation to allow private and public sector workers in Iowa to negotiate fair-share clauses into collectively bargained labor agreements.

14.3. We support all working people through unions, fair labor standards, and a higher minimum wage because millions of Americans must work two or three jobs to be self sufficient and, in most families, both parents must work at least one job to pay their bills, leaving little time to spend with their families.

14.4. We support the need for ergonomic standards in the workplace, overtime protection and the establishment of “closed shop” for workplaces.

14.5. We believe that Iowa’s "Right to Work" law should be rescinded because Iowa workers have a right to fair treatment in the workforce.

14.6. We encourage our local leaders to think twice about the increasing use of private contractors. This practice diminishes the control over the quality of work and raises the supervisory burden and eventually our taxes.

14.7. We support state legislation to allow private and public sector workers in Iowa to negotiate fair-share clauses into collectively bargained labor agreements.

14.8. We support the need to address the continual loss of full time jobs in America and how to stop it.

16.1. We support each person's choice of sexual orientation and that all people should protected from discrimination.

16.2. We support civil marriage for same-sex couples in the State of Iowa and the legal recognition of civil marriage for same-sex couples at all levels of our government.

17.1. We call for a new War on Poverty because no American should go to bed hungry.

17.2. We support that the federal government increase funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) because doing so would preserve economic self-sufficiency; decent, affordable housing, and suitable living environments in low-income neighborhoods.

18.1. We support the preservation of America's Social Security system without diverting it into private sector accounts.

18.3. We support Social Security reform that would allow deficit and debt reduction as well as Social Security solvency because older Americans have paid into the Social Security system and have a right to depend on the program when retired.

18.4. We support full funding of the current Social Security plan, reimbursement of "borrowed" funds and continuation of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security because Social Security is a safety net to help prevent senior citizens from falling into poverty.

19.1. We support the freezing of Iowa's property taxes for Iowa’s senior citizens.

19.2. We support a mandatory tax of 10% on all gambling revenue in Iowa, where tax money goes toward property taxes only. This would lower property taxes for everyone.

19.3. We support adequate funding for education and social services which have been taking continual cuts in funding. (REDUNDANT?)

19.4. We support the continuance of the Estate Tax so as the very wealthy pay a fair share for war and national defense.

20.1. Because millions of persons are involved in researching their family histories, vital records are a primary source of information for building family trees. We support the following regulations regarding vital records:

a. All vital records that are 72 years or older should be open to the public and that the public be allowed to obtain copies of the record.

b. Indexes for all vital records, containing the names, dates and information about the location of the record, be opened to the public.

Woodbury County Democrats

506 Nebraska Street • Sioux City, IA • 51101 • (712) 277-0167