The Patrick Henry Democratic Club Recommendations for the 2007 Platform

1. The California Democratic Party calls for the lowering of the voting age to no higher than sixteen years of age. Hundreds have died in Iraq prior to their first vote in any Presidential election because of the eighteen year old voting age. No American should die for his/her country before that person has had a chance to vote for or against the leader who sends that American to die.

2. The California Democratic Party calls for the lowering of the the drinking age to no greater than 18. Americans returning maimed from the war deserve the right to drink. The 21-year-old drinking age encourages binge drinking, results in unsupervised drunk driving and increases the crime rate. In other countries where the drinking age is lower, the incidence of alcoholism and alcohol-related problem behavior is also substantially lower.

3. The California Democratic Party calls for the elimination of all compulsory attendance laws. They have turned schools into prisons and failed to take into account that the overwhelming majority of learning takes place outside the classroom. Children are not animals to be controlled. They are human beings.

4. The California Democratic Party calls for a ban on the use of all tasers and instruments of violence on students. The California Democratic Party fully supports the right of all students to learn in peace and without fear of arrest or violence when their actions are non-violent.

5. The California Democratic Party calls for the State of California and the United States of America to raise its standard of health care by adopting a single-payer, not-for-profit, universal health care system, such as that embodied in HR 676 and SB 840. We are the only remaining country in the industrialized world that does not have this as a fundamental principle of society.

6. The California Democratic Party calls for a cabinet-level Department of Peace.

7. The California Democratic Party calls for the abolition of the death penalty.

8. The California Democratic Party calls for an end to all funding for any military operations in Iraq.

9. The California Democratic Party opposes all military action in Iran.

10. The California Democratic Party calls for the impeachment and prosecution of all public officials who used falsehoods to get America into the war in Iraq and who seek to get the United States into an unprovoked war on Iran.

11. The California Democratic Party calls for the naturalization of all immigrants (regardless of their status) who have children, siblings or parents who are American citizens, and of all immigrants who are living and working in the United States of America.

12. The California Democratic Party calls for an end to the Cuban Embargo.

13. The California Democratic Party calls for an end to the use of American funds to propagandize against Hugo Chavez, the popularly (and legitimately) elected President of Venezuela.

14. The California Democratic Party calls for the United States government to withdraw from the WTO and the cancel NAFTA and similar free trade agreements.

15. The California Democratic Party calls for the reform of “three strikes” to include only three separate and unconnected violent felonies, and for the release of all current convicts who do not fit this qualification who are in jail only because of the current “three strikes” law.

16. The California Democratic Party calls for the nullification or end to the corporate personhood doctrine.

17. The California Democratic Party declares that all Americans, regardless of age, are entitled to all human rights, civil rights, Constitutional Rights, treatment with dignity and the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

18. The California Democratic Party calls for an end to all age related discrimination.

19. The California Democratic Party calls for the elimination of the electoral college and for the election of the President of the United States by popular vote on paper ballots.

20. The California Democratic Party calls for same day registration to vote.

21. The California Democratic Party calls for publicly funded elections and public funding for all candidates running for office.

22. The California Democratic Party calls for a return to the Fairness Doctrine and for all TV and Radio Stations and Newspapers to give Equal Time or Space to All Candidates.

23. The California Democratic Party calls for an independent 9/11 investigation to be conducted with pubic input into all questions still arising from that day, including (but not limited to) the physical and scientific evidence regarding the events of that day.

24. The California Democratic Party calls for an end to all military operations in Afghanistan.

25. The California Democratic Party calls for an end to all military operations in Afghanistan.

26. The California Democratic Party calls for an end to the use of private contractors for military operations, prison work and crowd control.

27. The California Democratic Party calls for the closing of the School of the Americas.

28. The California Democratic Party calls for a return to paper ballots.

29. The California Democratic Party calls for the replacement of the current winner-take-all system with Instant Runoff Voting.

30. The California Democratic Party calls for the closing of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facilities.

31. The California Democratic Party calls for legislation to end monopolies and create real competition in the television, radio and publishing industries.

32. The California Democratic Party calls on all state and local officials to respect the 4^th Amendment Rights of pet owners.

33. The California Democratic Party recognizes that the breedability of a dog affects its value and ability to be shown in competition and supports the privacy of pet owners in healthy decisions that affect their pets.

34. The California Democratic Party opposes any attempt to place potentially carcinogenic tracking devices in pets or people without the fully informed consent of the owner or person.

35. The California Democratic Party calls upon the California State Legislature to enact such laws as are necessary to ensure an open and transparent process of oversight of the conduct of law enforcement, their standard operating policies and procedures and reporting logs, in order to ensure accountability to the people from whom their authority derives by imposing a closer look at use of deadly force in the field through obligatory review by permanent citizen commissions that have the power to review complaints and the authority to take action when excessive force, wrongful deaths or other harm to the public has occurred.
    

36. The California Democratic Party calls for the declaration of any election day as an official public holiday, or that any election day be moved to occur only on Saturday, Sunday, or both.
    

37. The California Democratic Party calls for amnesty for of all immigrants (regardless of their status) who have children, siblings or parents who are American citizens, and all immigrants who are living and working in the United States of America.
    

38. The California Democratic Party calls for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.
    

39. The California Democratic Party calls for the decommissioning of all existing nuclear powered electricity-generating stations and opposes the construction and commissioning of any new fission-based nuclear powered electricity-generating stations.
    

40. The California Democratic Party calls for the immediate termination of the Yucca Mountain Radioactive Waste Repository and opposes any similar facility in the future. It is the responsibility of those who built and profited from generating such waste to fund and perform any clean-up required for this waste (and their profits).

41.  The California Democratic Party calls for a national holiday in honor of workers' rights leader Caesar Chavez.

42. The California Democratic Party calls for a national holiday in honor of civil rights leader Claudette Colvin.

43.  The California Democratic Party calls for the release of the Jena Six.

44.  The California Democratic Party calls for the decommissioning  and closing of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Station.

45.  The California Democratic Party calls for the repeal of the 200? bankruptcy deformation act and for an end to bankruptcy protection for corporations who owe money to employees or investors.

46. The California Democratic Party calls for an end to the electoral college and the use of the national popular vote to determine the Presidency.  All states should lose their "winner take all" status at the same time.

47.  The California Democratic Party calls for a national primary to determine the candidates for President in all parties.

48.  The California Democratic Party calls for equal promotion of all Democratic candidates and for an end to pre-endorsement caucuses.

49.  The California Democratic Party calls for the destruction of any parts of any wall between the United States and Mexico and for an end to all funding for any future walls.

50.  The California Democratic Party calls for a national recall Amendment.

52.  The California Democratic Party calls for the criminalization of inferior treatment of elderly patients.

53. The United States calls for the impeachment, arrest and prosecution of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

54.The California Democratic Party calls for the impeachment, arrest and prosecution of Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, and Antinoin Scalia for treason, committed on December 12, 2000.

55. The California Democratic Party calls for the arrest and prosecution of Katherine Harris and J. Kenneth Blackwell for treason.

56. The California Democratic Party calls for the restoration of President  Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti and for the arrest and prosecution of all U.S. officials involved in Aristide's removal.

57. The California Democratic Party calls for the arrest and prosecution of all U.S. officials involved in the 2002 Venezuelan coup and kidnapping of Hugo Chavez.

58.  The California Democratic Party calls for guaranteed equal time on TV, the Internet, radio, newspapers and other media of all candidates for office within the jurisdiction of that media.

59.  The California Democratic Party calls for freedom of the Internet and an end to all government spying on Internet communications.

60. The California Democratic Party calls an end to economic disparity in criminal cases and for defendants who are middle or lower class to receive as much funding as the prosecution receives in order to have an adequate defense.

61. The California Democratic Party calls for a quota-based sentencing system whereby an equal number of poor and rich defendants must be sentenced to prison and to death within any twelve month period.

62.  The California Democratic Party calls for the closing of the immigration detention center in Santa Ana, California.

63.  The California Democratic Party calls for an end to immigration raids.

64.  The California Democratic Party calls for the U.S. Immigration Service to be required to provide all individuals picked up for deportation to receive quality legal assistance and full access to due process.

65.  The California Democratic Party calls for an end to DMV priority re-examinations, which are lacking in due process, and for due process hearings to be required before any driving rights or privileges are removed.

66.  The California Democratic Party calls for the labeling of all products containing genetically modified foods or non-organic foods and that all chemical pesticides used in growing foods be labeled on any products containing those foods.

67.  The California Democratic Party calls for the inclusion of candidates of all parties in all debates.

68.  The California Democratic Party calls for legislation declaring California to be a Nuclear-Free Zone..

69. The California Democratic Party calls for the Federal government to grant amnesty to all military service personnel that have refused to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan.

70. The California Democratic Party calls for the mandating safety tests (including toxicity, allergenicity and epidemiology studies) of at least three years duration or two generations of the species involved, whichever is longer, for all GM (genetically modified) food products and foods from cloned animals to form the basis of a human health impact statement before any and all marketing of such foods is permitted.

71. The California Democratic Party calls for the recall of all GM crops and GM products that have not been tested as safe per item #80.

72. The California Democratic Party calls for banning the use of commonly eaten foods containing GMOs (GM organisms) or GM products or products from cloned animals until their safety is assured as in item #80.

73. The California Democratic Party calls for instituting a permanent moratorium on the commercial use of cloned products until they are demonstrated to be safe in field and human tests as in item #80.

74. The California Democratic Party calls for mandating the labeling of all GM food and foods from cloned animals even if the product is approved by local, state, federal or foreign governments.

75. The California Democratic Party calls for supporting entities that currently label GM foods voluntarily or have policies against using GM ingredients in their products or brands, such as Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Wild Oats (in California). Support should also be provided for entities that will similarly not sell cloned food products.

76. The California Democratic Party calls for mandating an environmental impact analysis and statement before GMOs and rield-tested or introduced into the environment in addition to applying to local government environmental agencis for a permit to use fields for GMO planting/testing and to hold public meetings to discuss the issues with the potentially affected communities.

77. The California Democratic Party calls for requiring that the USDA notify the Agricultural Commissioner of the county location of any intended field trials or plantings of GMOs, outline the steps being taken to prevent contamination, and offer a public comment period before any field tests or plantings are conducted.

78. The California Democratic Party calls for informing neighboring farmers that GMO crops are being planted a safe distance form their fields.

79. The California Democratic Party calls for banning the planting of GMO plant varieties that are tolerant of increased levels of applied herbicide or produce their own pesticides.

80. The California Democratic Party calls for requiring tha biotech corporations provide farmers clear written instruction on the use of safety of GM crops and cloned animals, and explain any potential risks and liabilities.

81. The California Democratic Party calls for holding the biotech corporation accountable for any genetic pollution of conventional and organic farms, and natural areas, and for the costs of testing, any cleanup, and any market loss.

82. The California Democratic Party calls for making the patenting of GMOs illegal, and allow any farmers to save and reuse seed from year to year. Similarly the patenting of cloned animals should be illegal.

83. The California Democratic Party calls for banning the use of "Terminator Technology" to create sterile seeds and plants, or sterile animals.

84. The California Democratic Party opposes any legislation that would prevent local governments from regulating GMOs and cloned animals at the local level.

85. The California Democratic Party calls for requiring the FDA to define scientifically what "substantially equivalent" means by techniques such as genetic sequencing, DNA and RNA base quantitation, RNA characterization, proteomics, lipomics, saccharomics and metabolomics.

86. The California Democratic Party calls for the investigation into and regulation of "Gulag Schools" (behavior modification camps, boot camps, training camps and all similar facilities aimed at behavior modification of minors).

87 The California Democratic Party calls for the institution of a right for minors to refuse admission, especially forced, into a "Gulag School."

Health Care Plank:

The CDP supports a Single Payer Universal Health Care system. This means health insurance coverage for ALL through a single insurance plan offered by the government, which would control the growth of health care spending through a simplified administrative structure, consolidated financing and purchasing, and statewide health planning. That system must offer a comprehensive benefit package, including complete medical, dental, mental health, pharmaceutical, chiropractic, vision, hearing, hospice, and in-home care. No necessary service can be left out. If co-pays and deductibles are included to finance the system, they must be reasonable and affordable. This system should also cover long-term care and the medical component of Workers Compensation. We support state or federal efforts that would establish such a system.

• Everyone must have access to all necessary medical care, including those who are economically disadvantaged. Preventive care is more effective, more humane and more cost-effective than treating people after they are already ill. Preventive care should be emphasized in the planning and financing of our health care system. We also support measures to assure adequate supply of primary care providers, nurses, and other allied health care personnel.
  
  

• Care must be culturally competent. Our health care system must affirm rights to human dignity, personal choice, and privacy. It must practice respect for racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation,age,disabilities,and other cultural needs/differences. We support giving patients complete freedom of choice as to their form of treatment or to refuse treatment, as part of a patient's Bill of Rights.
  
  

• The CDP strongly supports a holistic approach to health care. Different philosophies of care, broadly characterized as conventional and alternative/complementary care co-exist and sometimes compete. Both have roles in a modern and compassionate health care system. We support funding for research for both conventional and alternative/complementary care to cure and prevent cancer, heart disease, AIDS/HIV, and other illnesses. We support funding for modalities of care with proven benefit or widespread popular acceptance, such as Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine. We support access to a natural birthing alternative for all women. We support licensing, medical malpractice insurance, and oversight of alternative/complementary care practitioners, identical to that those for other health care professionals. We support encouraging and educating people about healthy lifestyles, and more awareness of mechanisms of self-healing.
  
  

• Health care resources must be distributed fairly and used in an efficient and cost effective manner because these resources belong to all of us. Disparities between care for the wealthy and poor must end. Health care costs in 2005 account for 15% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
  
  

• We support existing measures, programs, and legislative actions that will increase access to high quality, cost- effective medical services for all Californians until we get a Single Payer system, and as necessary afterwards.
  
  

• We need reasonable prices for all medical goods and services. The largest single unnecessary cost in 2005 is the health-insurance system. In addition, profits for pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and for-profit providers are often unjustifiably high. The pharmaceutical industry, for example, has the highest profit margin of any sector of the economy. It is also heavily subsidized by tax breaks, special patent legislation, and lucrative licensing arrangements by the federal government. We assume that Single Payer will bring costs for prescription drugs in line with what others in the world pay. This is accomplished through bulk purchasing. Until Single Payer is established, we support measures such as drug re-importation from Canada and high quality generic drugs to reduce drug costs. Drugs should be developed with public money with the objective of getting the best help for the most people. The public should receive a reasonable financial return on its investment. As long as we use the current system, we oppose any legislation to extend the patent of any specific drug.
  
  

• We want hospitals, clinics, and other care providers to try to develop management that is democratic and representative. People representing health care workers, consumers, and other public interests should be included on the Board of Directors and other governing structures.
  
  

• We demand that California's medical marijuana law be fully recognized and implemented by all the appropriate local, state, and federal jurisdictions. The federal government must not interfere with duly-enacted California laws on health care.

Young Dems