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It’s Here! The Draft Version of the 2016 Democratic Platform

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$15 Minimum Wage, Abolishing the Death Penalty, Free Community College, More

The Democratic National Committee has just released the draft version of the 2016 Democratic platform. Some highlights include supporting a $15 minimum wage, and abolishing the death penalty, which it calls “a cruel and unusual form of punishment” that “has no place in the United States of America.”

The document mentions “God” three times – something Republicans are sure to seize upon – and only in this phrase: “God-given potential.” It does not use the word “gay” but does say “LGBT” 11 times. It also uses the word “gun” or “guns” eight times.

“We believe in protecting civil liberties and guaranteeing civil rights and voting rights, women’s rights and workers’ rights, LGBT rights and rights for people with disabilities,” the preamble states. “We believe America is still, as Robert Kennedy said, ‘a great country, an unselfish country, and a compassionate country.'”

Its LGBT rights section seems meager:

“Democrats applaud last year’s decision by the Supreme Court that recognized LGBT people— like every other American—have the right to marry the person they love. But there is still much work to be done,” it states. “LGBT kids continue to be bullied at school, a restaurant can refuse to serve a transgender person, and a same-sex couple is at risk of being evicted from their home. That is unacceptable and must change. Democrats will fight for comprehensive federal non- discrimination protections for all LGBT Americans and push back against state efforts to discriminate against LGBT individuals. We will combat LGBT youth homelessness and improve school climates, and we will protect transgender individuals from violence. We will promote LGBT human rights and ensure America’s foreign policy is inclusive of LGBT people around the world.”

Buzzfeed’s Legal Editor Chris Geidner offered this insight:

It also calls for decriminalization of marijuana:

“We believe that the states should be laboratories of democracy on the issue of marijuana, and those states that want to decriminalize marijuana should be able to do so. We support policies that will allow more research on marijuana, as well as reforming our laws to allow legal marijuana businesses to exist without uncertainty. And we recognize our current marijuana laws have had an unacceptable disparate impact, with arrest rates for marijuana possession among African Americans far outstripping arrest rates among whites, despite similar usage rates.”

And it very elegantly says immigration is “not a problem to be solved, it is a defining aspect of the American character and history.”

Calling it “a compromise document between Clinton and Sanders supporters,” The Huffington Post’s Amanda Terkel reports the draft “now heads to the full 187-member platform committee for approval on July 8 and 9 in Orlando. It will then be ratified on the floor of the convention in Philadelphia.”

You can read and/or download the entire document on the DNC’s website. 

 

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Fox Host Urges Defense of America’s ‘Christian Culture’ Against Communism

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A Fox News host is urging viewers to defend America’s “western Christian culture” and to think “communism” whenever they hear about feminism or secularism.

Rachel Campos-Duffy, a “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host, told viewers on Monday, “I think it’s really up to us to reclaim our culture.”

“We can sit and complain about it, but when we give in to those atheist groups that keep suing, we should come right back — this is our culture,” she said. “I’m not going to let, you know, pro-Palestinian or whatever they’re putting forward — these are all fronts for, you know, whenever you see any of these groups, just think feminism, secularism, just think communism. This is what they’re really about.”

READ MORE: Inflation and Credit Lifted Black Friday Spending — Yet White House Still Sees ‘Good News’

“It’s always been about communism,” Campos-Duffy insisted.

“Making the state the center, removing the power of religion and family from our culture. It’s up to us to make sure that our culture remains what it is, which is a Western Christian culture with a beautiful history that we have in this country, and that we have to defend these things every single day, especially with our children.”

Campos-Duffy has a history of targeting feminism.

“Feminists like Hillary Clinton have robbed women of so much over the years, of minimizing the importance of what our purpose as mothers and as wives, and, I think, and really demeaning it and saying that it’s not the most important,” she said in September.

“Always remember that feminism has never been about women. It’s always been about ABORTION and COMMUNISM,” she wrote in 2023.

READ MORE: Trump Leaves Lawmakers in Limbo on Health Care Fix

 

 

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Inflation and Credit Lifted Black Friday Spending — Yet White House Still Sees ‘Good News’

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Consumers reportedly placed fewer orders on Black Friday, yet another indication that consumer confidence is down. Despite the decrease, sales hit record highs, thanks in part to inflation and increased use of credit, including “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) programs. But the White House sees “good news” in the numbers.

“Although U.S. consumers spent more this Black Friday compared to last year,” Reuters reported, “price increases hampered online demand, according to Salesforce, with shoppers purchasing fewer items at checkout compared to last year.”

Newsweek, citing data from Salesforce published by Forbes, reported that “order volume fell by about 1 percent year over year, while average selling prices were up 7 percent—indicating that much of the growth was caused by inflation rather than any uptick in shopping enthusiasm.”

READ MORE: Trump Leaves Lawmakers in Limbo on Health Care Fix

Overall, the “underlying details about spending patterns suggest this may not have been the economic boon the administration believes.”

According to Politico, “White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Sunday that record Black Friday sales underscore the administration’s optimism on economic growth despite concerns around tariffs and inflation.”

Hassett cited Black Friday’s sales numbers “as a sign of economic resilience,” Politico added.

“The good news around Thanksgiving is the sign of something that’s stronger to come,” Hassett said on Sunday. “I think the reason is that incomes are up this year is, we had a great jobs report, and with strong income and the government shutdown over so that people have pent-up demand as well, I think that we’re looking at a great recovery from a weak few weeks because of the shutdown.”

The jobless rate increased to 4.4%, the highest it’s been in almost four years.

Meanwhile, BNPL programs, including those from Klarna and Affirm, were forecast to account for over $760 million in Black Friday spending, Newsweek noted, citing data from Adobe. Overall, for November and December, use of those programs is expected to increase by 11 percent from last year.

CNN over the weekend called BNPL programs “an important payment option for consumers this holiday season.”

READ MORE: Trump Order to Keep ‘Jalopy’ Coal Plant Open Costs Taxpayers Over $100 Million

 

Image via Reuters

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Trump Leaves Lawmakers in Limbo on Health Care Fix

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Congressional Republicans appear to have no clear idea of what President Donald Trump wants to fix the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which expire on December 31. Millions of Americans are expected to see their health care costs skyrocket as of January 1 — or lose coverage altogether — yet the president has sent conflicting messages on what plan, if any, he would sign, leaving Republicans competing to create plans Trump may or may not support.

“Republicans and Democrats agree success hangs on one question: Will President Donald Trump figure out what he wants?” Politico reported on Monday.

Last week, Trump signaled he wanted an extension of the Obamacare subsidies, and was preparing to announce his plan until Speaker of the House Mike Johnson reportedly intervened, saying many of his members would not support extending the subsidies. House Republicans also felt “left out” that they were not consulted before the President arrived at a decision.

READ MORE: ‘Total Authoritarian Population Control’: Experts Sound Alarm on Trump’s Immigrant Attack

“In his only comments on the matter, Trump injected more uncertainty last week, saying he doesn’t want to extend the subsidies but understands it might be necessary,” Politico also noted, reporting on Trump’s “mixed signals.”

“Capitol Hill factions are trying to figure out what Trump wants and how to entice him to their side,” Politico reported — and added that even though the deadline is month’s end, some Republicans are more focused on January 30, “the next shutdown deadline, as the real cutoff for a health care deal.”

Some centrists and bipartisan collections of Senators and members of Congress are looking at proposals to extend the subsidies, while more far-right Republicans want no extensions, but rather, a plan for the government to help fund individual health care savings accounts. Those funds, after legislative fixes, might be able to be used to help pay monthly health care premiums and other health care costs.

READ MORE: Trump Teases 2028 ‘Campaign’ With New Slogan

But, as The Washington Post reported last week, “health economists say the vast majority of these individual accounts — already used by tens of millions of Americans — do not contain sufficient money to pay for serious health expenses. Even boosting them with new federal contributions would not build enough reserves to pay for expensive care for an emergency or major illness if needed, they say.”

“There’s widespread skepticism that Republicans will agree to any plan that isn’t fully endorsed by Trump,” Politico added. “A significant swath of GOP lawmakers will simply never vote to extend anything related to Obamacare, according to three GOP aides granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics.”

Meanwhile, PBS News last week reported that Speaker Johnson “has declined to say whether he will allow a vote on a health care bill. Many other members of his GOP conference want to see the subsidies eliminated or the underlying law overhauled.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, “and other Republicans have said they want new language on abortion restrictions if they pass an extension — a dealbreaker for Democrats.”

After the White House scrubbed last week’s expected announcement that the president wanted a two-year extension of health care subsidies, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wrote, “Yet another delay while Republicans wait to see if a health care plan will fall from the sky.”

READ MORE: Trump: Nearly All of Biden’s Pardons — Including the Turkeys — Are ‘Invalid’

 

 

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