April 24, 2010 06:23 AM UTC

County Planks -Comparing Elephants to Donkeys

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• by: ClubTwitty

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

An interesting article in the Colorado Statesman highlights some of the various resolutions passed by county parties–Republican and Democrats–as they wend their way to Assemblies.

Republicans across the state put marriage, the definition of life, the right to bear arms, military support, constitutional adherence, the federal deficit and limiting government as top priorities, while Democrats listed health care, energy and the environment, education and civil liberties as their biggest concerns.

The formulation of the major parties’ platforms actually begins in neighborhoods across the state when caucus participants submit suggestions for resolutions at their biennial local gatherings. Many of these ideas are passed on to the county parties and if adopted, they are then forwarded to the state party for possible inclusion in the platform, which is decided upon at their state assemblies in May.

Each party leaves it up to individual counties to decide which resolutions move on in the process. Most counties require a majority vote from their delegates while some leave the decision up to an appointed committee.

Colorado Republican Party Chair Dick Wadhams will appoint a 12-person resolution committee that compiles suggestions from the counties and decides which ones will be voted on at the state assembly. The committee submits about 20 resolutions and a two-thirds vote is required for passage at the state assembly.

“We try to be fair,” Wadhams said. “If there is an issue that seems to have wide support across the state then that will probably make it to the state assembly.”

Democrats, on the other hand, use a 110-person platform committee made up of county chairs, precinct committee persons and others involved in the party. Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak appoints the platform committee’s chair.

This year it’s El Paso County Democratic Chair Hal Bidlack. The platform committee merges the resolutions passed at county assemblies and creates a working document that is presented at the state assembly where a simple majority vote is required.

If you follow me below the fold, I delve a bit further into what each party is proposing.  I report you decide…which more closely matches the prized independent voter in Colorado.

First the commonality.

…Both parties do agree on substantial penalties for businesses that hire undocumented workers. And metro-area Republicans, as well as the Denver County Democrats, would like a full audit of the Federal Reserve.

From there it diverges. For this exercise I have reconfigured the information in the article to compare planks by general subject matter. I have put this information in blockquotes, although they are jumbled from how they were presented by the Statesman.  

Although I have condensed and recombined the author’s work, it is his reporting, and his material. Also this allows me to add in some of my own editorializing.  And what would a Twitty diary be without that?

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT: GOP

Arapahoe County Republicans considered one resolution that stated, “The concept of ‘man-made’ global warming is not a scientific fact, and should not serve as the basis for legislation.”

El Paso County Republicans also resolved to opt out of ‘Cap and Trade’ as well as other potential legislation they say infringes on the 10th amendment.

Arapahoe Republicans also supported renewable energy incentives, but included oil, gas and coal in the same category.

El Paso Republicans resolved to support polices that encourage domestic production of crude oil, natural gas or coal with no mention of alternative energy sources.

Republican delegates in Douglas County resolved that the federal government should increase domestic energy production in an effort to pay down the national debt.

Is gravity a ‘scientific fact’?  If not, perhaps we should not base any legislation upon it.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT: DEMS

“Global climate change, pollution and environmental problems may be (the) biggest crises humankind has ever faced,” began one of ten Arapahoe County Democratic resolutions.  

A large New Deal scale education and training program is needed for the installation and design of alternative energy systems throughout the U.S., according to Arapahoe County Democratic delegates. They also support massive tax credits for alternative energy, water conservation or anti-pollution initiatives taken by businesses.

Eagle County Democrats resolved that global warming is not only an environmental issue, but a national security issue as well.

Jefferson County Democrats support ending subsidies for fossil fuel producers and re-directing them to alternative energy sources.

The Pentagon agrees with the Eagle County Democrats that Global Warming is a very real national security threat.

HEALTH CARE

Denver County Democrats consider health care a “right.” Democratic assemblies supported the recently passed health care bill, but called for a resolution for universal coverage through a single-payer system.

Republican assemblies resolved that Colorado should assert its sovereignty under the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution and opt-out of the health care bill.  

Douglas County Republicans call health care a “privilege.”

Republican resolutions called for the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines and preferred tort reform to the current health care bill.

Douglas County Republicans want to repeal the medical marijuana amendment.

Isn’t medical marijuana, enacted by the voters and now part of our constitution, legally equal to TABOR?

FISCAL POLICY: DEMS

Boulder County Democrats voted to overturn TABOR as one of eight planks they passed.

Denver Democrats said a fair minimum wage is good for business.

Jefferson County Democrats said they are ‘realists’ who understand that taxes must be levied in order to receive government services. They also declared opposition to any flat tax that they say only favors the very wealthy, and they support a progressive tax structure.

Democrats in the suburban county are calling for the repeal of ‘Bush-era’ tax cuts.

Fiscal ‘realists’ who believe in fair wages for working Coloradans.

FISCAL POLICY: GOP

Douglas and Arapahoe counties Republican assemblies voiced support for a flat tax.

Arapahoe County considered recommending a flat-tax rate of 13 percent and stated that the tax on corporations should match Ireland at 12.5 percent.

El Paso Republicans reaffirmed their support of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Arapahoe County Republicans considered a resolution that said minimum wages hurt the economy.

Arapahoe County Republicans called for all government agencies, excluding the Armed Forces, to expire every 10 years unless specifically re-established by Congress.

Douglas County Republicans want the National Endowment for the Arts eliminated along with the federal Department of Education.

Larimer County Republicans resolved to abolish the federal Department of Energy because, they said, the DOE failed in its mission statement to create an energy self-sufficient America.

Republican platforms uniformly declared that the federal budget must be balanced through a cap on spending and not through higher taxes.

Arapahoe, Douglas and El Paso counties said the budget should never exceed 20 percent of national GDP.

Douglas County added that the federal budget should be capped at 2008 expenditures until the U.S. achieves a balanced budget.

Douglas County Republicans want to keep Bush-era’ tax cuts.

Irish fiscal policy, no minimum wage, eliminating federal departments, hamstringing local and state government–drowning Colorado in the El Paso bathtub.    

There is a lot more in the article, but so my diary doesn’t get unreasonably unreasonably long, I will leave you with just two more.

CHOICE AND ‘PERSONHOOD’  

Republicans from numerous counties want a constitutional ‘personhood’ amendment that defines life as beginning at conception.

Jefferson County Republicans did not adopt a personhood resolution, but declared their opposition to government funding of abortions.

Denver Democrats declared any effort to define life at conception as only a means to undermine Roe V. Wade and hinder a woman’s right to choose.

Democrats in Denver and Arapahoe County declared the need for a personhood amendment that would end ‘corporate personhood,’ thus taking away political rights from corporations.

‘Personhood’ was resoundingly defeated last cycle.  If the GOP hasn’t learned it’s lesson then keep it in.  Just hope that the voters you need to attract in November aren’t paying attention.

A FEW MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

Arapahoe and Larimer Republicans considered declaring the U.S. a Judeo-Christian nation.

“Articles of impeachment (should) be drawn up accusing Barack Hussein Obama of high crimes and misdemeanors, including the bribery of multiple government office-holders to obtain their votes,” said a resolution considered by the Arapahoe County Republican Party.

Eagle County Democrats called for the U.S. Senate to censure former President George W. Bush for his involvement in surveillance on U.S. citizens.

“We resolve to arraign Dick Cheney for War Crimes,” was a plank considered by the El Paso County Democratic Party.

Republicans in El Paso, Jefferson and Douglas counties proposed codifying English as the United States’ official language.

Republicans widely support ‘Clear the Bench Colorado,’ a conservative organization that suggests the removal of Supreme Court Justices, so they resolved to vote no on the retention of Colorado Supreme Court Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey – all Democrats.

National identity needs to be codified, according to many Republican resolutions.

Congressional term limits of two terms for congress and three for senate were a common call at Republican county assemblies.

Denver Democrats want to see marijuana legalized.  

Eagle County Democrats supported a mass transit solution to I-70 traffic.

I doubt Cheney will be tried, all evidence to the contrary.  But on balance its pretty clear to me where the crazy is.  

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