If you are a Democrat, or are leaning that way for this election, this is an unbiased presentation of the 2008 Democratic Party platform. It follows the traditional philosophy of the Party and is detailed enough that it should help anyone making a decision about who to vote for in this election.

Once you understand the principles and core values behind the philosophy of the Democratic Party, you can usually predict their stance on a particular issue.

Social Issues: Democrats support equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of sex, age, sexual orientation, creed or national origin.

They also support legislation to protect discrimination of people with disabilities.

They believe in the right to personal privacy over governmental regulations or legislation. Thus, they oppose legislation over same sex marriage or, at the least, civil unions, abortion, sodomy laws, and warrant-less surveillance of U.S citizens. They favor expanding hate laws to cover violence against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual) people.

Democrats believe in a broader interpretation of the Constitution than strict Constitutionalists do so that the original intent of law expands to cover modern-day problems.

Taxes: Democrats support a progressive tax structure that will provide more social services like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other welfare programs. They believe that a higher minimum wage with regular increases will assist poor workers. Whatever lifts up one will eventually lift all in the same boat; thus by lifting the common man, all will benefit.

National security: Democrats feel that we cannot maintain national security alone. They favor interventionism, the belief that the U.S. should be assisted by other nations when there is a threat to national security. Republicans favor unilateralism, in which the U.S. has the right to act in its own interest, without external or international support.

The above-listed Democratic positions, are discussed in detail at www.wikipedia.org. The official 2008 Democratic National Party platform (below) covers 58 pages and can be seen in its entirety at www.Democrats.org.

By listing its “Table of Contents,” you can gain a good idea of what the Democrats stand for in the upcoming 2008 election.

Most of this is self-explanatory, but quotes are offered to elucidate the planks.

Table of Contents

Renewing America’s Promise

Preamble

I. Renewing the American Dream

Introduction

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