Texas Democratic Party Platform the Finest in History

Saturday last week in Fort Worth the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) overwhelmingly passed the finest platform in its history. Among other important planks the platform calls for legalization of marijuana like Colorado, a moratorium on new fracking wells and shutting down existing fracking wells by 2026, as well as enacting sensible gun laws to curtail the availability of weapons with extended ammunition magazines, including rapid-fire, magazine-fed weapons.

I had the honor and privilege to be appointed to the Chair’s Advisory Committee on the Platform. My appointment allowed me to have extensive input on both the topics and positions recommended to those who were elected from each of the 31 senate districts at the Texas Democratic Party convention in Fort Worth last week.

Criminal justice reform is a big topic and was placed at the beginning of the platform to emphasize its importance. Due to the high number of Texans jailed for non-violent crimes we the taxpayer are burdened with those costs while it fails to accomplish one of the presumed goals of rehabilitation. The TDP platform calls for big reductions in incarceration starting with bail reform so that being poor doesn’t mean an automatic jail sentence even if found innocent. We also call for eliminating incarceration for many non-violent crimes in favor of probation and other programs which are much more cost effective. We also demand a quick end to private prisons as there should never be a profit incentive for jailing people.

There are a rare few items with which we agree or nearly agree with the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) such as marijuana reform which we believe should involve full legalization similar to Colorado while they only call for making possession of small amounts equivalent to a speeding ticket. The TDP platform also calls for the immediate release of anyone incarcerated for possession of marijuana and expunging their convictions. I’m don’t smoke and I don’t drink so I don’t have much of an axe to grind but if alcohol consumption is legal then I can see no reason to ruin someone’s life over their choice to get inebriated via cannabis.

While the RPT suggests allowing counties to use paper ballots, something the can already do, Democrats call for a return to paper ballots statewide on the ground that it is the only truly auditable and unhackable method of recording our votes. If our democratic republic is to survive it is imperative that we have confidence in the results of our elections. So far there is no evidence that Russian or Chinese hackers succeeded in changing actual ballot counts we know that they did indeed gain access to the election systems of several states and counties we should take steps to insure that it can’t ever happen.

The TDP platform differs in significant ways from the RPT platform passed just a couple of weeks ago in that we support the federal Voting Rights Act and the Texas Voting Rights Act, and restoration of the federal preclearance policies that were overturned by the Supreme Court while they want to repeal those protections. The TDP supports extended early voting periods that the RPT wants to shorten.  Our platform calls for creating a nonpartisan redistricting commission to end racial and political gerrymandering in our redistricting process. We also call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the electoral college and award the presidency to the winner of the nationwide popular vote so that candidates have to campaign in all states not just swing states.

To see the entire platform enter “texas democratic party platform 2018” in your favorite search engine.

Published in the Seguin Gazette June 29, 2018

Highlights of and Link to the 2018 Texas Democratic Party Platform

Criminal Justice

Bail Reform

The Texas Democratic Party Supports amending Texas Constitution Art. 1 § 11, § 13 and Texas Code of Criminal 17.01 and 17.02 to create a pre-trial release system that:

·         presumes release on personal recognizance for people charged with non-violent offenses who have little or no criminal history;

·         requires immediate release of low-risk defendants under the least restrictive conditions necessary to guarantee appearance at court proceedings;

Re­entry

Texas Democrats support programs that decrease recidivism by providing ex-offenders with a pathway back to productive participation in society. Texas Democrats support reducing recidivism by:

·         increasing access to rehabilitation and re-entry programs, with a special emphasis on reducing drug use among people released from prison, including the reversal of policies that deny student loans and grants to those who have completed sentences for drug felonies; and

Mass Incarceration

·         ending the practice of sending poor people to jail or prison for inability to pay fines and court costs;

·         redirecting mentally ill offenders from the criminal justice system to treatment programs when the risk to public safety is low;

Eliminating Private Prisons

·         amending the Texas Constitution to require state and local governments to directly operate and perform all core services at prisons, jails, and detention facilities within the State of Texas, and expressly prohibit the use of private prisons, jails, and detention facilities within the State of Texas;

Democracy

·         existing voter protection policies under the federal Voting Rights Act and the Texas Voting Rights Act, and restoration of the federal preclearance policies in the Voting Rights Act that were overturned by the Supreme Court;

·         instituting vote by mail for all elections – federal, state and local;

·         the creation of a nonpartisan redistricting commission to end racial and political gerrymandering in our redistricting process;

·         a constitutional amendment to eliminate the electoral college and award the presidency to the winner of the nationwide popular vote, and failing that, we urge all states to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, so that candidates must campaign everywhere and not just in swing states;

·         a return to paper ballots because they are more secure, much less expensive, and are the only method that can provide a truly auditable vote count;

·         the report and recommendations of the Unity Reform Commission to the Democratic National Committee as a carefully considered and eloquent prescription for strengthening democracy for all American citizens in general elections and Democratic Party nominations.

Ethics in Government

·         requiring elected officials throughout the state, including local or county officials, to file a personal financial statement to allow for more transparency; and

·         requiring every candidate for the President of the United States to disclose their complete federal tax return and, upon election, place private holdings in a blind trust for divestment.

Good Jobs Build Strong Communities

·         Every American should have a right to a job; therefore, federally funded jobs paying at least a living wage with health insurance and other typical benefits on projects selected by the states and local governments must be available in or near every community.

Healthcare for All

The Texas Democratic Party asserts that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege for the few. Texas Democrats recognize that the health and well-being of Texas residents cannot be based on decisions made by non-healthcare professionals whose primary concern is the financial well-being of a corporation rather than the well-being of an individual.

·         support the inclusion of a “Single Payer Option” as an addition to the plans currently offered under the state exchange systems;

Cannabis Reform

·         Texas legislation to legalize possession and use of cannabis and its derivatives and to regulate its use, production and sale as is successfully done in Colorado, Washington and other States;

Gun Violence Prevention

·         Closing loopholes that allow guns to be sold or traded without passing a mandatory and thorough background check;

·         Enacting legislation to require all individuals charged with domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic or foreign terrorism, stalking or any violent felony to temporarily surrender all weapons and ammunition in their possession to law enforcement pending adjudication of their case(s);

·         Enacting sensible gun laws to curtail the availability of weapons with extended ammunition magazines, including rapid-fire, magazine-fed, military-style assault weapons;

Energy and Environment

A Moratorium on Fracking

·         a moratorium on new fracking wells;

·         set a goal of shutting down existing fracking wells by 2026;

·         set a goal of ending the practice of injecting wastewater by 2023;

Clean and Available Water

• Access to clean drinking water is a human right.

Immigration

·         strongly oppose the Trump Administration’s policy abusing children by of separating children from their parents at the southern border and denounce housing children in tent cities;

·         strongly oppose “tender age” shelters for infants and small children;

·         strongly oppose the Trump Administration so called “zero tolerance” approach to immigration;

·         strongly oppose the Trump Administration’s policy to no longer recognize asylum claims or Temporary Protected Status for refugees fleeing forced gang recruitment and violence perpetrated by gangs and refugees fleeing domestic violence;

·         support securing and protecting our border, while treating asylum seekers humanely;

·         strongly oppose any type of bans based on religious affiliation or country of origin;

·         strongly oppose efforts to build a border wall of any size and the unrealistic claim, and possibly abandoned claim, that a foreign country will pay for a border wall;

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NdguJq-4AhdyAz4WLzo_B-9HjMzJb1mS

99.5% pure water can kill you

In his letter “Dismiss Fracking Myths” Eric Milito says that the hydraulic fracturing fluids are “99.5 percent water and sand” or .5% other chemicals. I suppose this is intended to persuade us that regardless of what else is in the fluid it can’t be bad because there is so little in it.

I just checked the packaging on the Amdro I bought yesterday to kill the ants climbing into my home and it says the 99.12% of the material is “inert ingredients” or .88% poison yet the instructions carefully caution the user not to get any on their skin. It also says not to let animals graze on the grass where Amdro is spread and don’t eat vegetables that may have been dusted with it.

One of the contaminants that hydraulic fracturing may let loose is benzene which is a known carcinogen and can cause leukemia among other forms of cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency has set 5 parts per billion as the maximum permissible level of benzene in drinking water. That’s approximately equal to one drop in 8,000 gallons of water or 5 drops in the neighborhood swimming pool.

I don’t know about you but I don’t find Mr. Milito’s nonchalant attitude toward contaminating our water supply all that reassuring.