On Sunday, the Democratic National Committee released its proposed platform. Clocking in at 92 pages, it outlines the Democratic Party's priorities for the next four years, which delegates will vote on at some point on Monday. The details probably aren't all that important. It's hardly breaking news that Democrats are embracing a radical agenda again. But the platform manages to hilariously say the quiet part out loud, and it's a real hoot.
So here’s how it usually works: platforms are supposed to be these grand blueprints of what the party supposedly stands for, aligning with their chosen presidential candidate’s big ideas.
Of course, Kamala Harris, since taking over the top of the ticket, isn't really big on policy proposals. Her recent announcement of her key economic policies resulted in her getting trashed by her own side.
Naturally, Kamala's team had zero interest in updating the party's platform because according to the platform's preamble. “President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats are running to finish the job."
Related: Is Kamala Already Walking Back Her Soviet-Style 'Price Controls' Plan?
Is Joe Biden still running for president? No. The Harris campaign simply had zero interest in what former Democratic National Committee chairman Steve Grossman explains as creating "any divisiveness whatsoever around platform issues” during her abbreviated campaign.
Hence, the platform still includes nearly twenty references to Joe Biden's second term.
For example, it says, "In President Biden’s second term, he will continue selecting judges who will protect fundamental rights and who represent the diversity of the American experience," and "in his second term, President Biden will continue to support access to FDA-approved medication abortion, appoint leaders at the FDA who respect science, and appoint judges who uphold fundamental freedoms."
There are zero references to any of Kamala's recent economic proposals, nor does it reflect her foreign policy vision. The document presents a tougher stance against Hamas than Kamala's public positions since becoming the party's presumptive nominee.
President Biden and Vice President Harris believe a strong, secure, and democratic Israel is vital to the interests of the United States. Their commitment to Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge, its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is ironclad. President Biden and Vice President Harris recognize the worth of every innocent life, whether Israeli or Palestinian.
President Biden and Vice President Harris have unequivocally denounced Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel on October 7, condemned the gruesome violence – including conflict-related sexual violence – demonstrated by Hamas and made clear that the United States wants to see Hamas defeated.
In 2012, controversy erupted over the Democratic Party platform and the issue of recognizing Jerusalem as the country's capital. Something tells me this part of the platform is going to cause even more controversy.
But in the end, the document tells us what we already know: Kamala's first term will be Biden's second term.
