TThe hose on the far left wing Bernie Sanders of the Democratic Party achieved a major victory in creating the 2020 platform of the Democratic National Committee. Most of the draft document is extracted word for word from the policy recommendations of the Biden-Sanders Unity Working Group.
In an effort to close ideological gaps in the party and shore up the votes for Joe Biden of those who supported Sanders, Biden’s campaign and Sanders’ aides agreed to create committees of allies from each of their ideological wings to create defined policies. that all Democrats could unify around.
The committee’s work was often described as merely “policy recommendations” in news reports, but its stated goal was to influence the 2020 platform of the Democratic National Committee.
And that was it. Most of the 80 Democratic pages platform project rises word for word from the 110 pages Recommendations of the Unity working group, including large portions of six out of nine of the platform’s main policy sections. Some paragraphs and sentences of the working group were reorganized and expanded. And like the platform, the task force failed to include a call for controversial “Medicare for All” and Green New Deal policy proposals.
Large sections of the platform raised by the recommendations of the working group include the section “Combating the climate crisis and pursuing environmental justice” that came out of a committee led by former Secretary of State John Kerry and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez; “Protect communities by reforming our criminal justice system,” which calls for an end to cash bail; and sections on immigration and education.
Racking up enough delegates for the Democratic National Convention nomination to influence the party’s platform was one of the main goals of its organizers, even after he suspended his campaign. The influence target was also important to Sanders in 2016, and led to platform meeting flights.
Biden, in a gesture of unity, reached an agreement with Sanders to allow him keep delegates in order to influence the party platform, a change in the way delegates were originally assigned.
This time, the creation of the platform was largely done out of public view, and it was done for the first time outside of the platform committee.
But the DNC’s platform committee, led by Biden’s rumored running mate competitor, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and which included three Sanders aides, excluded strong language from the party’s platform.
For example, in the education section, the recommendations of the Sanders task force opened with: “The United States today is beset by multiple overlapping crises, including income and wealth inequality, the world’s worst pandemic in a century and the scourge of the fight against violence. -Black racism. “The platform replaced that with:” Education is fundamental to the idea of the United States and to fulfill the promise of our nation. ”
And the platform removed a subsection on school policy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that included some lines on the controversial theme of reopening schools: “While distance and online learning is an appropriate step, it cannot become in the new normal. Each school district should be supported to determine when distance learning is necessary to protect the public health and safety of students. ”
Other strong language was maintained, such as references to a “manipulated” economic system.
Sanders saw other wins on the platform outside of the literal adoption of the unit’s task force recommendations.
While the moderates did not explicitly endorse “Medicare for All,” the single-payer health system that would essentially eliminate private insurance and opposed Biden received a favorable mention.
“Our group welcomes advocates who want to develop and strengthen the Affordable Care Act and those who support a Medicare for All approach,” says the platform.
Moderates at the party warnedHowever, Sanders’ supporters include some policy backing they hoped for, such as the legalization of marijuana or the mention of Israel “occupying” the West Bank.
