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Gentle Reader,

The DNC have now embarrassed themselves by changing the party’s platform to include language about faith in God and stating how they recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  As best I can read, the text is:

Amendment 1: “We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”

Amendment 2: “Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel.  The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.”

There are three problems with this change.  First, if I’ve managed to transcribe the text correctly, it is horribly written.  The first amendment forces several awkward thoughts into one sentence, clearly rammed together with the sole intent of putting “God” in there somehow.  The second amendment is worse, with the entire second sentence being meaningless tripe.

My next problem is in the meaning of each.  Amendment 1 is nothing but fluff, so it would be fine if it were in the platform to begin with.  (“God-given” simply means “innate”, so wouldn’t be offensive if it weren’t crammed in last minute.) But stopping things to add it in is worthless.  Amendment 2, despite its second sentence, is simply offensive to everyone.  We, the people of the US, have no business dictating the capital of another country.  We have no business telling them they must have religious freedom.   We have no business singling out one country over other to put into our political platforms.  This is insulting to us, Israel, and every other country on earth.

Finally, the biggest problem is the one everyone is pointing out: the convention was paused, convention rules were suspended, and then the vote of the delegates was ignored.  Why bother pretending that this was an honest change of the platform with a two-thirds approval when the voices of the delegates are ignored: not once, but three times. Mayor Villaraigosa’s actions are deplorable, and have given a black-eye to the convention.

-CA