Typically, people wouldn’t be too comfortable talking politics in a room full of strangers, but the disaster of the Bush administration and the hope and change that Senator Barack Obama will bring were more than enough to fuel a passionate discussion about what priorities voter would like to see the Democratic Party concentrating on over the next four years.
About two dozen life-long Democrats, Independents and one-time Republicans; young and old; white-collar and blue-collar; and a mix of cultures gathered at Delaware Democratic Party headquarters Tuesday night for the party’s platform meeting — one of more than 1,300 nationwide.
Despite their differences, all of these people agreed on one thing: It’s up to Sen. Obama and the Democratic Congress to fix Bush’s economy, solve the health care crisis, and develop a long-term energy plan. Some at the meeting also talked about fixing the decaying infrastructure in this country, rebuilding our urban areas and restoring America’s standing in the world.
The McCain campaign has said on numerous occasions these economic problems are psychological and all in our head. But those who showed up at the platform meeting have a different view than the McCain campaign, one that doesn’t include a six-figure salary and millionaire wife. They’re hard-working Delawareans who really are struggling on one level or another with the economy, and the problems are not “in their heads.” Furthermore, they weren’t whining about their problems, as McCain’s economic advisor Phil Gram suggested. Instead, everyone had solid ideas for how a new Democratic administration could solve the challenges facing America.
It was a terrific display of democracy, and just one more example of how our party works from the grassroots level up.
It would be interesting to see if any Republican platform meeting had such a high level of enthusiasm from everyday citizens.
You are more than welcome to attend one of Delaware’s other platform meetings. If you’re interested, visit the Delaware page of Sen. Obama’s campaign website.
The suggestions from these meetings will be considered as the Democratic Party drafts its platform, which will be voted on at the Democratic National Convention this August.
