Skipping State

Skipping State

Decided that with all the driving and sitting time, my Saturday is better spent on human being stuff than on being a face in the crowd at the state convention. We've got the pride parade in Iowa City and convention will cut into our party presence. Also, while the laptop is alive and the data is safe, my software and settings are shot so I have all that work ahead of me.

Press-Citizen has a brief overview of both parties. Notes that the GOP has big names (Allen, Pataki, Romney) and the Dems do not.

Party spokeswoman Erin Siedler said that wasn't because of an attempt to avoid overshadowing Gov. Tom Vilsack, who is exploring a presidential bid of his own.

One thinks they doth deny too much...

As for the work of the convention, the platform is a big part of it. Dennis Roseman, Johnson County's platform co-chair, offers a link to the book and his thoughts:

The rules make it very difficult to introduce changes/additions from the floor. The petitions need to be submitted by 9:00am on Saturday. (Which is an hour before alternates are officially seated.) There are several rules of the convention whose purpose seems to be to severely limit platform debate.

Each of you may have your own special interest in some particular issue, but let me just mention a few things that might be of general interest.

Note the "minority reports". There are quite a few of these - a substantial number initiated by a single member of the Platform Committee. These are guaranteed to come up for vote on the floor.

There are two controversial topics that may come up, each of which was dealt with by the chair or co-chair in a contoversial manner.

Both of these were originally put forth as platform planks but were forcefully changed to resolutions.

1) There was a resolution to the effect of asking candidates to support a large portion of the platform. That was removed by the Chair after it had been voted on and approved by the Committee.

2) My personal concern is the following item. At the end of the special resolutions has been put:

Investigation of the Bush Administration

We call for an investigation into crimes that may have been committed by President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and their Administration

Judging by how such resolutions have been opposed in other States (and noting the oppposition of the Co-chair on this matter) I would guess that this might well be the focus of challenges - by ordinary debate or extra-ordinary parlimentary manouevering.

If you support this be alert and ready to defend/support it.

BACKGROUND:

1) This item was (basically) in our County Platform as a plank, and in our District Platform as a resolution.

2) This resolution (in various wordings) has been approved by ten state Democratic party organizations: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Colorado and Hawaii.

This and similar resolutions are to be considered in Iowa, Minnesota and (even) Texas.

Very brief history: The IDP platform process was essentially shut down in 1996, after the 1994 platform endorsed gay marriage (yes, twelve years ago) and Bonnie Campbell went out of her way to denounce the platform (rather than just ignoring it which usually happens). Now we get to make vague noncontroversial statements like "baseball and apple pie are good." Not worth a whole day of my life.