Democrats’ Latest Policy Platform Forgoes Left-Wing Demands, Mentions Biden’s ‘Second Term’ 19 Times

The proposed platform makes no mention of single-payer healthcare or ‘Medicare for all,’ no mention of the decriminalization of border crossings, and no mention of allowing violent felons to vote.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The United Center ahead of the Democratic National Convention, on August 15, 2024 at Chicago. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Democratic National Committee has released its platform proposal for the 2024 election — a document that eschews some left-wing policies previously adopted by Vice President Harris and that refers to President Biden’s “second term” nearly 20 times. The 93-page proposal makes no mention of halting the shipment of arms to Israel, a major demand of the anti-Israel protesters lining the streets of Chicago to call for an unconditional cease-fire and an end to all support for the Jewish state. 

The proposed platform makes no mention of single-payer healthcare or “Medicare for all,” no mention of the decriminalization of border crossings, and no mention of allowing violent felons to vote — three policies Ms. Harris either explicitly supported or said she was open to supporting during her last presidential campaign in 2019. 

The only time border security is mentioned in the document is to decry Republicans’ successful effort to tank a bipartisan immigration and border security package negotiated in the Senate earlier this year. 

Israel is mentioned nearly 30 times in the document, mostly to praise Mr. Biden’s efforts to end the war and to call for “a negotiated two-state solution that ensures Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state with recognized borders and upholds the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and security in a viable state of their own.”

“The Administration believes that while Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations, it should remain the capital of Israel, an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths,” the proposed platform says of Israel. “We support critical assistance to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, consistent with U.S. law. The Administration opposes any effort to unfairly single out and delegitimize Israel, including at the United Nations or through the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement, while protecting the Constitutional right of our citizens to free speech.”

The proposal also erroneously refers to Mr. Biden’s “second term” 19 times, even though he has backed out of the race. In a press release, the DNC said the mentions of a “second term” are only included because the document was approved by the platform committee in July, before the president bowed out of the 2024 race. 

“This platform was passed by the Platform Committee on July 16, prior to the President stepping aside,” the national committee says. “It makes a strong statement about the historic work that President Biden and Vice President Harris have accomplished hand-in-hand, and offers a vision for a progressive agenda that we can build on as a nation and as a Party as we head into the next four years.”

The document also begins with a “land acknowledgment” — a practice that has become popular in left-wing circles in recent years that includes thanking and recognizing the native tribes who inhabited the land before America was founded by European settlers. 

“While we meet in Chicago, we also recognize and honor the traditional homelands of the Anishinaabe, also known as the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations,” the national committee says. “We acknowledge the many other tribes who consider this area their traditional homeland, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. Democrats continue to support tribes as they advocate for the United States to uphold treaty and trust responsibilities.”

The full convention of nearly 4,000 delegates will vote to approve the platform on Monday night.


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