Issues Matter

I am disturbed by people who promote the belief that a PCO’s position on issues is irrelevant to the work of a PCO.  All campaigns are issue oriented.  PCOs are the workers of the party, but most importantly, they must support the soul of the party which is represented in the platform. I cite here the purpose of the Jefferson County Democrats (JCD) as stated in the bylaws.  The first part of the bylaws states, with emphasis on PLATFORM added by me.

The purposes of the JCD are:

A. To elect to national, state, county and other offices Democratic candidates who embody, support, and promote the PLATFORM of the JCD, and to support them while in office as they act to improve the well-being of  the citizens of Jefferson County.

B. To adopt and promote the PLATFORM of the JCD to serve as the standard for elected Democratic officials and as goals for the citizens of Jefferson County.

C. To endorse and/or support organizations and activities that reflect the PLATFORM of the JCD and that improve the welfare of Jefferson County, its people, and its natural environment. …
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PCOs and their elected representatives have considerable issue oriented power. They choose who presents at meetings and forums. They choose candidates for the membership to vote on endorsing. They choose representatives for higher positions in the party.  The platform takes a position on many issues and PCO candidates need to confirm that they also support these positions.  In fact our platform states this:

We call for … The Jefferson County Democratic party to request that all Democratic candidates confirm that they support the entirety of the Democratic platform at the respective local, state, or national level at which they are seeking office, or supply in writing a document explaining those planks of the platform which they do not support and optionally their reasons for withholding support.
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As can be expected not everyone will agree with everything in the platform, but candidates must be required disclose what they do not agree with in order to obtain our support.  For the record, there is one sentence out of the 32 pages that I disagree with:  “We call for increased export of manufactured goods and decreased exports of raw materials through the use of tariffs and taxes.”  Since this is impossible for all countries, it is an “America first” kind of request.  We should have written “We seek a fair balance between exports and imports”.  But I agree with the platform otherwise in its entirety. 
 
All candidates should make this kind of disclosure.  For example, the platform calls for reduced funding for the military.  JCD officers including PCOs must tell candidates, running as Democrats, that if they vote for increased military spending, this is not what our members support. The platform should direct which candidates we put up for endorsement and which candidates we fund.

Issues are important.  Issues are what the Democrats are about.  I have made clear in my campaign which issues addressed in our platform are most important to me.  Our platform is the guide to what PCOs should advocate in our official capacities.  I will do the ground work mandated by the bylaws whether or not I am elected, but I will do it with the goals of the Democrats at large, as represented by our platform, constantly both in my mind and in my advocacy.  It is important to me that all PCOs represent the Democrats at large.  

We face two existential threats, climate change and nuclear proliferation.  We face a crises in social justice.  Black lives matter. No one is illegal. Science is real. Love has no gender. Let’s make the Democratic party more democratic.  Help me do my small part to bring about this change.