The 2004 Convention dissolved due to the loss of a quorum to conduct business at 3 p.m., approximately three hours after its scheduled adjournment time. At that time, the Convention had acted on 16 proposed amendments, while 20 proposed amendments remained pending. Nine of these would have repealed or materially rewritten platform planks that were originally submitted to the Convention. Since the Convention did not deliberate and vote upon how (if at all) these planks would appear in the Platform, the Platform is hereby published without an introductory paragraph for the “Environment” section, without the final sentence of the globalization paragraph and without planks relating to air pollution generated out of the state and air pollution generated by motor vehicles; water resources; United Nations conventions and treaties; Palestine / Israel; international trade treaties; support for our troops; and response to terrorism.
PREAMBLE
The Maine Democratic Party is a party of and for all of the people, inclusive and progressive, seeking opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and community of all. We strive to ensure every citizen’s security, freedom, and right to participate in the democratic process. We are joined together by principles that celebrate the rich diversity of society and promote the personal, economic, and social growth of all. We hereby affirm our support for the following platform:
I. GOVERNMENT
Preamble
Since Jefferson and Jackson, the Democratic Party has led the struggle to increase democracy in our system of government. This struggle is not over; what Maine Democrats have gained we must both protect and expand in the belief that the best repository of wisdom lies in the hands of an informed and educated electorate.
We deplore Republican efforts to suppress voter turnout, disenfranchise legal voters, and convert the nation to paperless voting machines, thereby inviting fraud, voiding state recount laws, and undermining the citizenry’s right to an accurate final vote count.
Statehood
We support statehood for the District of Columbia and self-determination for Puerto Rico.
Ombudsman
We support creation of a State Ombudsman’s Office, with an appropriate level of funding and full investigative powers to ensure governmental effectiveness to receive citizen complaints, investigate, and recommend appropriate action.
Term Limits
We oppose limiting the tenure of elected officials, since term limits deprive the government of the services of experienced politicians, leaving legislative bodies vulnerable to undue influence by un-elected staff and special interest lobbyists. More fundamentally, term limits are undemocratic, depriving voters of their basic right to choose between experienced and inexperienced candidates. The appropriate way to remove undesirable incumbents is to defeat them at the polls.
Electoral
We recommend amending the U.S. Constitution to guarantee every citizen’s right to vote in presidential elections. We support campaign finance reform to limit the influence of special interests and to equalize the influence of all people. We propose promoting the democratic process through spending limits for candidates, public funding of campaigns, limitations on funds received by individual politicians from political action committees, and the elimination of campaign costs of television and radio.
We recommend amending the US Constitution to guarantee every citizen’s right to vote in a one person one vote direct popular election for president and vice president, replacing the present electoral college process.
Maine’s First Inhabitants
We support Maine’s first inhabitants’ efforts to maintain their cultures and improve tribal living conditions through economic development and urge state government to respect sovereignty of Maine’s federally recognized tribes.
Paper Ballot
We support legislation to require a paper record of every vote.
Election Holiday
We support the creation of an election holiday to permit greater participation in elections. A nation that wants its people to vote should not hold elections on work days.
Government Employee Participation
We recommend a review and clarification of all rules, regulations, and laws that prohibit the participation in partisan politics by government employees.
Date of Primary Election
We advocate moving the date of the state primary election from June to September.
Primary Ballots
In order to strengthen participation in political parties, we support their increased role in the nomination process by allowing them to place candidates on the ballot by caucuses and conventions as well as petitions.
Instant Runoff Voting
We support changes in the election laws that now allow for election with less than a majority of the votes cast. As a first step in this direction, we advocate the use of instant run-off voting for the gubernatorial vote.
II. WORKING PEOPLE
The Maine Democratic Party is the party of working people. We believe in the right of all people to receive fair compensation for their labor so they are able to feed, house, clothe and nurture themselves and their families adequately. We support the right of workers to engage in collective bargaining, to protect gains made in the past and to improve their status in the future.
The minimum wage should be a living wage. We support increasing the federal and state minimum wage above the poverty level and indexing it to the Consumer Price Index.
We also support the following policies affecting Maine workers:
1. strengthening the federal and state “plant closure” laws that protect workers;.
2. providing Maine workers with job training to develop skills that will enable them to grow with their jobs;
3. retraining those who have lost their jobs;
4. supporting efforts to make pension systems more responsive to the needs of workers;
5. eliminating the use of pension funds by employers for other than intended purposes;
6. educating on the nature of harassment in the workplace and fighting for stronger enforcement of harassment laws and increased penalties for violation of said laws;
7. ending discrimination in the workplace based on age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation; and
8. ending pay discrimination by enforcing laws guaranteeing equal pay for comparable work.
A. Workers’ Rights
We Democrats affirm our commitment to allow no changes to overtime rules which will take money away from our workers.
We seek to eliminate inequalities between the rights of workers and employers. Employers must not be allowed to set up parallel companies to avoid their obligations under union contracts. Employees must be allowed to express their will through successful organizing and bargaining including union recognition through a “card check” process. Employers must be held accountable for upholding labor contracts. We must strengthen the laws that prohibit professional strike breaking and strike-breaking companies; provide unemployment insurance to locked-out workers; prevent employers from engaging in tactics intended to incite violence; and pass legislation outlawing the permanent replacement of striking workers.
Taxpayer dollars are not to be spent opposing union organizing activities or facilitating an anti-union climate.
We support the disqualification of companies that employ strike-breakers from competing for federal, state, and municipal contracts, grants, or tax abatement programs.
We oppose attempts to legalize company-dominated unions.
We support labor standards legislation, and enforcement of such legislation at the State and Federal levels, to assure a living wage and fringe benefits for workers in publicly funded projects. We strongly oppose all efforts to eliminate, dilute, or defund the federal Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, or to interfere with any similar state legislation.
We support improvements in labor law to permit certification of a union upon the agreement of a majority of bargaining unit employees to join. We support the right of workers to organize within their workplace with “card check” processes. We also favor expediting the negotiation of first contracts.
We oppose efforts to defund or eliminate the National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor.
We oppose allowing legal fees spent to resist organizing to be deducted from taxes as a business expense.
We support the right of part-time and temporary employees to union membership and to receive the same benefits on a pro-rata basis as are offered to full-time employees.
We support Maine’s loggers, and other independent contractors, in their efforts to gain collective bargaining rights.
B. Workplace Safety
We support laws with adequate funding that allow workplace health and safety programs to be established and maintained. Such laws should provide for inspections of both public and private work sites. We support the right of employees to refuse to perform duties judged by reasonable people to be a threat to health or safety. We also support restoration of the right to sue in the case of employer negligence.
We support the restoration and expansion of OSHA’s enforcement capabilities and funding. We support increased worker and union involvement in designing and implementing workplace safety programs such as controlling and minimizing the use of toxins in the workplace and in monitoring employer compliance. We support the reinstatement of the OSHA ergonomics regulations.
C. Workers’ Health and Welfare
We call for the development of affordable and accessible, high quality day care to meet the needs of working families, and federal legislation to provide standards for and provide funding assistance in the establishment of day care centers.
We support an equitable workers’ compensation system that embraces the principle of making workers whole following occupational injury; provides access to retraining and/or employment; places strong emphasis on worker safety; provides just access to administrative and legal review; and is supported by a fully balanced and effective Workers’ Compensation Commission. We oppose any reduction in health or disability benefits.
We believe that the federal Family Leave Act should require continuation of wages and benefits during leave.
We believe workplace drug testing should provide more adequate protection of employee rights while ensuring public safety and employee/employer interests. Workplace education and employee assistance programs, which protect employee/employer confidentiality, must be implemented. Education, treatment, and rehabilitation should be the primary means of addressing substance abuse.
We encourage the development and deployment of employee wellness programs.
D. Public Employees
We are in favor of collective bargaining rights for all public employees, and those employees whose companies receive a majority of their funding from public sources, including binding arbitration on all issues in contract negotiation.
We oppose the contracting out or the privatization of the jobs of public employees.
We support full funding of health insurance for retired school and public employees.
We are opposed to continued penalties imposed on retired public workers by the Social Security offset.
III. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
We believe in a strong economic development policy that provides opportunity for investment and for creation of high quality, sustainable jobs with good benefits that produce a rising standard of living for all Mainers, both urban and rural.
We support economic incentives that will start and promote small Maine owned and operated businesses.
We support legislation that provides public purchasing policies’ requiring indexed preference for goods, services, and agricultural products produced in Maine by Maine owned and operated businesses and farms.
We support the development and expansion of infrastructure to encourage investment as follows:
1. Transportation links north to south and east to west;
2. Telecommunications and information processing capability;
3. Transportation alternatives – rail, accessible buses and vans, and other multi-modal transportation;
4. Ports to encourage trade of value-added manufactured products; and
5. Essential air services, especially in rural areas.
We support financial policy targeted at increasing small business access to capital. We support progressive and just taxation with all businesses paying a fair and proportionate share.
We call on municipalities to develop comprehensive plans which will promote viable downtowns, preserve our natural resources, and ensure better land use planning.
We support economic development efforts that preserve and protect the natural resources of Maine and allow for sustainable resource-based agriculture, forestry, and small boat fisheries and decry those development efforts that would endanger these traditional Maine industries. We especially encourage the development of new ventures employing technologies that will help our country move toward energy independence.
We agree that tourism is central to the economic health of the entire state and should be aggressively promoted. We recognize that Maine’s sustainable tourism industry relies on the state’s reputation for a pristine marine environment and recommended caution in establishing or supporting new ventures that might threaten such historically important Maine activities as recreational boating, marine transportation (i.e., ferry routes), and sport and commercial fishing. We support the maintenance of Maine’s island ecologies without further development and oppose the industrialization of any state owned islands.
We support arts and heritage funding to promote literacy, cultural tourism, and downtown revitalization.
Since the founders of the US government did not intend to allow corporations to be included in the definition of the word “person” and “people” in the US Constitution, and other founding principles and documents, corporations may not claim they are “persons” or “people” under the US constitution and obtain Constitutional rights thereby.
IV. HUMAN POTENTIAL
Maine Democrats believe that all individuals are able to contribute to society. We believe that everyone has the right to basic necessities, including food, shelter, medical care, and a good education. Public services must focus on securing these rights by eliminating poverty and helping people realize their potential
A. Health
We applaud the establishment of the Dirigo health plan and its commitment to guarantee, in the near future, comprehensive health care for all Maine residents. At the same time, we support the establishment of a comprehensive, national single-payer health insurance system. We vigorously advocate that comprehensive dental, mental health, and addiction treatment coverage be in the comprehensive national single payer health care system.
We believe in a continuum of home and community-based health-care options, and are committed to providing good, readily accessible health care for everyone, including our veterans, in all areas of Maine.
We support a “Patients’ Bill of Rights” that includes insurance portability and comprehensive insurance coverage regardless of job status, health status, age, gender, or geographical location. We also support the rights of the patient to choose his/her own doctor and to seek legal recourse.
We support funding research efforts devoted to discovering cures for diseases and disabilities. Such efforts should include stem cell research.
We support the funding of programs, such as the “Fund for a Healthy Maine,” that improve the health and well being of the people of Maine.
Since many elderly people are dependent on Medicare for survival, since the cost of medical care is increasing at a high rate, since a constant erosion of benefits and increasing premiums have harmed those in need, we affirm that Medicare will survive. The care reductions will stop, or be rolled back, and increase in premiums will be halted or rescinded.
We support efforts to assure a safe environment for all people; both within and outside the home. We encourage the continuation and expansion of programs to end all domestic abuse and violence and we advocate a strong educational process that teaches respect and violence-free conflict resolution and an active commitment to this process by our schools, police, judiciary, and prisons. We believe victims of environmental ravages, such as toxic poisoning, must be able to seek redress for injuries sustained.
B. Education
Life-long access to education is critical to the well being of our citizens, our economy, and our democracy. Education must begin with early childhood programs, such as Head Start and child development services, that prepare children to learn. We urge free preschool education for all Maine children.
Life-long learning for all requires a strong public education system that provides opportunities for students of all ages throughout the state, including the physically and mentally challenged. We recognize the importance of special education, gifted and talented programs, and multicultural programs, and we support the long overdue full funding of these programs as mandated by state and federal law. We also support increased funding to bring existing schools into compliance with federal and state accessibility mandates. And we recognize the problem of bullying within schools and support providing local school districts with help in developing and implementing anti-bullying policies.
The No Child Left Behind Act should be repealed.
We recognize the challenge of low college enrollment in Maine and support initiatives, including State funding for the first year of post-high-school education, that will encourage Maine students to pursue higher education. We also support increased administrative and curricular collaboration within the Maine State university and community college system.
We urge the coordination of information systems between and among schools and businesses; efforts to promote effective and ongoing employee education and retraining; and initiatives that bolster research and development to identify appropriate uses of available technologies.
We enthusiastically support bringing the arts to Maine’s citizens through recognition and support of Maine’s abundance of artistic and cultural treasures, of K-12 arts education, and of the Maine Public Broadcasting System.
We oppose the rampant corporate consolidation now underway in television, radio, and publishing. We support democratized media systems that will help us see America in all its diversity, serve as forums for public debate, and provide places where voices otherwise unheard in a community may be raised.
We also call for the strengthening and expansion of such strategies as cable TV franchising to assure that private media systems may serve the public interest.
C. Providing for the General Welfare
Maine Democrats believe that government has the responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in our society and to assure that comprehensive and consistent social support services are effectively delivered to all Maine citizens.
We advocate reform of the welfare system to provide support for education and training/retraining, affordable child care, child support, family crisis counseling, health care, and transportation access for persons moving toward self-sufficiency. While cost effectiveness is important in the delivery of such services, first and foremost must be the provision of appropriate, growth enhancing, and individualized accommodations ensured by strong client advocacy support.
We believe that all family units—traditional and non-traditional, including domestic partnerships—are entitled to the same rights and benefits extended to married couples.
Maine Democrats will work to ensure that all persons have access to safe and affordable housing. We will press for the coordination of housing, health, education, and human services programs to confront and eliminate homelessness.
We will advocate policies that acknowledge the dignity and value of all people, and therefore we support the concepts of equal access and reasonable accommodation, which allow the full participation of all people, regardless of age or disability, in all facets of daily life.
V. HUMAN RIGHTS, JUSTICE, GOVERNMENT, AND TAXES
A. Human Rights
Preamble
The Maine Democratic Party affirms its responsibility to promote the participation of all individuals in the full range of human endeavor. We respect the dignity of all people and we oppose discrimination against any individual or group. We hold that government must guarantee basic human rights to all people.
Bill of Rights
We reaffirm our strong and unqualified support for the entire Bill of Rights. We are appalled by the Bush administration’s assault on civil and human rights, which is spreading over the United States an atmosphere of political intimidation. In particular we deplore the unconstitutional detentions of citizens and others without counsel and access to the protection of the courts guaranteed in the Constitution. In response to these violations we urge repeal of the USA Patriot Act.
Privacy
The right to privacy is fundamental to the freedoms and liberties set forth and guaranteed in the founding documents of this great democracy. Maine Democrats therefore oppose misuse of Social Security numbers for purposes of identification and enactment of laws that require a national identity card.
Sexual Orientation
We support federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, credit, public accommodation, or any other area. We support extending to Gay and Lesbian couples and their families all the same legal and social rights and protection as other couples receive by civil marriages.
We believe that every U.S. citizen and every American family should have the right to full participation and equality in American society and enjoy all of its benefits. Therefore we strongly oppose any constitutional amendment that discriminates against Lesbian and Gay Americans or that denies anyone full equality under the law.
Disability
We support the full participation in society of people with disabilities, and the realization of their potential. Full participation includes accessibility of employment, education, and health care.
Women’s Rights
We support a woman’s right to make reproduction decisions and advocate the provision of information, health care, and other support services so choice is not dictated by fear or financial consideration. We support the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision and urge repeal of the Partial Birth Abortion Act.
We oppose the establishment of rights for the unborn, that undermine the constitutional right to choose, and advocate for the repeal of the Unborn Victims of a Violence Act.
Firearms
We recognize the constitutional right of Maine citizens to keep and bear firearms and the important role which firearms have had in Maine’s cultural heritage and hunting tradition. We favor firearm safety and education and urge responsible use of firearms by all.
B. Administration of Justice
Preamble
It is through administration of justice that people of a civil society regulate their relations with one another. How laws are legislated and enforced provides clues to the actual priorities of that society.
Equal Enforcement
We support equal enforcement of the law regardless of social, political, or economic status.
Judicial Appointments
We believe that appointments to the bench should be made solely on the basis of a nominee’s expertise and willingness to administer the law impartially; we condemn the use of any political “litmus test.”
Minimum Sentencing
We oppose the use of “three strike” laws, minimum sentencing requirements, or any other law which restricts or eliminates the ability of a judge to take extenuating circumstances into consideration when sentencing.
Alternative Sentencing
In the case of non-violent crimes, we advocate the implementation and use of alternative sentencing, such as community service, restitution, and house arrest.
Court Access
Legislation providing equal access to the courts for poor people is constitutionally required. Recognizing that economic disadvantage deprives many people of access to legal advice and injures their rights to equal justice, we favor the creation of an adequately funded statewide public defender system.
Sexual Privacy
Acknowledging the right of individuals to privacy in acts that do not impinge upon the rights of others, we oppose criminal penalties for private acts of consenting adults that are considered “victimless” crimes. We oppose laws that dictate morals and values.
Death Penalty
We support sentences of life imprisonment for heinous crimes; we oppose the death penalty.
Corporate Liability
We support legislation that increases corporate liability for damage to the public welfare, including but not limited to environmental destruction and financial malfeasance.
Community Policing
We support community policing and the coordination of local police, state police, federal investigators, and local and federal prosecutors, to arrest, prosecute and sentence violent criminals. We recommend high standards of training and commensurate compensation for law enforcement personnel.
Enforcement and Rehabilitation
We applaud the courts and officers of the law in their effective administration of justice. We call for greater efforts to address the underlying causes of crime. We urge the provision of education, youth programs, and job training, as well as the improvement of correctional and rehabilitation facilities, so that all such services function to rehabilitate prisoners.
C. Taxes
Preamble
We support efforts to reform the federal, state and municipal tax systems to improve their progressive elements. Taxes should be based on a person’s or a corporation’s income and ability to pay.
Exemptions
We support a periodic review of all tax exemptions.
Local Taxes and Municipal Services
We believe primary reliance on local property taxes for basic social services is inappropriate. In order to preserve effective local government, municipalities and the state must develop alternative forms of tax income; the state must both strengthen municipal services and assume a greater share of the financial burdens of our communities.
Estimate of Fiscal Impact
In order to make legislators more aware of the impact state legislation has on local governments, we advocate that part of the fiscal note attached to state legislation include an estimate of the fiscal impact on county and municipal governments, including but not limited to the possible impact on property taxes.
Repeal of Tax Cuts
We urge repeal of the Bush tax cuts. We seek tax cuts that benefit those who need them most; that help families save for college, invest in job skills and lifelong learning, pay for health insurance, build security for retirement, and facilitate affordable care for children, the disabled, and the elderly.
D. Retirement
Preamble
Maine Democrats believe the strength and solvency of the Social Security system remains a national priority. We support the use of all current and future Social Security funds and surpluses to maintain the future solvency of the program.
Progressive Tax
We support the adoption of a progressive system of Social Security taxes on all income, both earned and unearned.
Retirement Age
We support maintaining the current status of the retirement age.
Privatization
We oppose privatization of Social Security, as it will undermine the financial stability of the system.
Federal and State Retirement Systems
We support commitments to safeguard all current federal and state retirement systems.
Private Pension Plans
We support legislation to strengthen protection of workers’ private pension plans.
VI. THE ENVIRONMENT
….
A. Land Resources
Democrats believe that responsible land use laws help avoid urban sprawl, which wastes land and destroys the economic base of our communities. Good land-use planning is an ongoing process, not an event.
Municipal and regional planning must be a continuing process that assists cities and towns in meeting their ever-changing needs and conditions. We support incentives for cities and towns to adopt, update, and implement environmentally sound comprehensive plans.
We are concerned that recent, extensive, indiscriminate land development is being undertaken in Maine’s unorganized territories and urge that the Maine legislature design environmental regulations for such development.
We urge public education programs that explain the importance of conservation and the value of renewable, sustainable sources of energy, and we urge dedicated state efforts towards the development of renewable energy sources. We strongly oppose the extraction of natural resources from federally reserved lands.
We urge increased research into the safe recycling and disposal of all wastes, including nuclear waste, and also into substitutes for materials that cannot be recycled. We also support enforcement of environmental regulations and stiff penalties for those who illegally dump waste.
We urge a national returnable container law. We support educational efforts relative to recycling and seek incentives for towns and cities to increase their recycling. We urge greater efforts to develop markets for recycled products, especially for those products manufactured by Maine businesses.
Maine Democrats oppose any policies that tend to depress agricultural commodity prices to levels below the cost of production, and we support policies that aid farmers in managing production to maintain fair prices. We urge the development of policies that will protect organically and traditionally grown produce from contamination, and we support the labeling of genetically modified foodstuffs.
Our forests must be managed in ways that will sustain a healthy forest products industry while at the same time protecting their wildlife, wetlands, biodiversity, and natural beauty.
Democrats applaud Maine landowners for continuing their traditional policies of allowing broad public use of their lands for recreational uses, and we will work to ensure that Maine’s public lands are managed for sensible, high multiple use.
Democrats also believe that Maine’s public land holdings need to be expanded to protect unique parcels for future generations. We endorse proposals to increase the acquisition by the State and by private environmental organizations of lands with scenic, recreational, or other values.
B. Air Resources
Democrats support efforts to make and keep our air clean. We believe Maine should reduce Maine-generated emissions that contribute to pollution, and we urge strict, impartial enforcement of State and Federal air quality laws to ensure that all regions of the country are equally protected and all corporate producers of air pollution are identified and held accountable to the full extent of the law….
VII. WORLD RELATIONS
Preamble
Respect for the dignity of every human being and regard for the common good that protects the weak from denial of their dignity should undergird all human relations. We should therefore be foremost among nations in stewardship of the only earth we have, in respect for other peoples’ rights to seek happiness through their economies and political institutions, in pursuit of non-violent conflict resolution, in avoidance of the death and destruction of war, in maintenance of the rule of law for all humans, and in our cooperation with other nations.
The Maine Democratic Party believes that the primary objective of United States foreign policy must always be increasing the stability of a world community that is working toward freedom, justice, human rights, democracy, and the preservation of our mutual environment. That stability and our own security depend on an effective national defense establishment, on dependable alliances, and on recognition of our responsibility within the world community.
United Nations
The United Nations is the essential vehicle for achieving a stable world order. We urge the United States government to support UN reforms that reflect more effectively its present membership and improve its ability to carry out the collective will of its members. The US and our NATO allies and other partners must work through the United Nations to end aggression and genocide, using diplomatic and economic means whenever possible. We reject a policy of preemptive war. In order to prevent massive loss of life or displacement of vulnerable populations, the US must cooperate in enabling the UN to act quickly when crises occur.
Support of International Organizations
We insist that the United States pay its agreed-upon share of the operating expenses of those international organizations to which it belongs….
Defense
The United States must be prepared to meet any threat to our national security and, within the requirements of the US Constitution and international treaties adopted by our government, to act in our defense. This requires up-to-date equipment, training, and support, both to defend our shores and, in cooperation other nations, to carry out peacemaking or peace keeping missions. We oppose profligate spending on unneeded weapons systems.
Nuclear Weapons and Arms Proliferation
We support mutual reduction and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons, a prohibition on the militarization of space, and a worldwide ban on land mines and all chemical and biological weapons as well as on facilities for their production. We oppose US sales of arms that are likely to be used in aggression or for the repression of defenseless citizens.
Defense and Human Rights
For US citizens to be safe today, we must deal forthrightly with non- military threats, such as poverty on a global scale, an ever-expanding world population, exploitation of women and children, recurrent famine in various countries, and the rapidly deteriorating ecology of our planet.
Arms Sales Abroad
The United States should reduce its spending on military support for other nations and instead use our resources to encourage sustainable growth in developing countries, especially the poorest nations.
Sovereignty
We regard commitment to democracy and human rights as an essential ingredient of a stable world. We therefore oppose any attempt by the U.S. government to repress dissent in other countries or to undermine or overthrow their legitimate governments. To safeguard U.S. democracy and in the interest of world comity, we recommend formulation of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the U.S. role in foreign political assassinations and the overthrow of foreign democracies as well as charges of domestic political assassinations. We recognize a nation’s human rights record as a legitimate consideration in decisions regarding foreign aid, but denial of aid should not be a means of imposing U.S. economic policies on other nations. We condemn the low-intensity war on Haiti, which has killed over one million children by hunger or disease, that has culminated in the overthrow of Haiti’s constitutionally-elected government in favor of a U.S. client regime.
Environment
We advocate that the US work with other nations to halt massive deforestation, extinction of endangered species, depletion of natural resources and food supplies, and practices that tend to reduce the ozone layer, contribute to global warming, or cause acid rain. We must not allow the export or import of environmentally damaging products or dangerous consumer items. We will actively oppose the import or export of goods produced by processes more damaging to the environment or human health than domestic standards allow.
International Nutrition
We should take the lead in guaranteeing the right to food of everyone and in developing long- and short-term programs to reach that goal. Such programs must protect the small farm as critical to sustainable agriculture and not leave distribution of food vulnerable to market forces.
Population
We urge cooperation with other nations toward stabilization of the world’s population, consistent with human rights standards.
AIDS and Other Diseases
We will continue to support the work of international organizations that address the spread of AIDS and other devastating diseases.
Embargoes
The United States should work with other nations to apply sanctions or similar measures in accordance with the UN Charter. Sanctions should not be applied in ways that risk causing more harm to ordinary citizens who are the victims of dictators than to the dictatorial governments themselves. The withholding of medicine and food should never be used as a weapon….
Iraq War
We condemn the Bush administration in the strongest terms for leading us into an illegal war through lies and deceit, with no evidence that Iraq posed a serious immediate threat to the US, and over the objections of most other nations as expressed in their votes in the UN Security Council and elsewhere. We support a transfer of power to the people of Iraq and an end to the US occupation. To assist in the return of sovereignty the administration of Iraq, including the military command and responsibility for holding elections, should be handed over to the UN. It is imperative to put in place safeguards for the future security of ethnic and religious groups that may be threatened….
General Principles
We believe that we must apply worldwide the following additional principles:
1. We support and assist nations and peoples who are striving to establish democratic futures for themselves.
2. We support and assist nations and peoples who are striving to negotiate solutions to long- standing regional disputes or to overcome internal divisions among their various ethnic or other groups.
3. We seek improvement in human rights and seek to ensure that no goods produced by political prison inmates or other forced labor reaches US markets.
4. We support the rights and well-being of minorities and indigenous peoples everywhere and to cooperate with the appropriate international agencies to oppose ethnic persecution and genocide.
5. We accept legitimate political refugees without regard to race, nationality, disability, or ideology, and never force such refugees to return to areas where they could be in danger….
VIII. INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Preamble
Maine Democrats recognize our state’s role as part of a global economy. We insist, however, that rules governing the economy must serve workers and the environment as well as trade and investors, and move toward equally providing a livable wage for all and a sustainable environment everywhere.
Globalization
The United States should take a leading role in shaping the global economy so it promotes human rights, democracy, and a fair distribution among all countries of the advantages of a global economy. In particular we support a further integration of the developing nations in the global economy in ways that are advantageous to them. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund must stop forcing developing nations in financial trouble to take measures that damage the social and human fabric of these countries and instead assist them to carry out constructive and socially responsible reforms. Structural adjustment programs should not impose economic restructuring for export-led development and ever expanding trade liberalization and privatization that have a negative impact on local business and agriculture….
Fair Trade
The global economy creates great opportunities for growth and reduced poverty and hence a more peaceful world, provided that the fruits of growth are fairly distributed. We need international trade and investments but they should be governed by fair and equitable trade policies. International trade treaties have to be adapted to a new time so they can serve this wider interest and guarantee core labor rights.
All trade agreements negotiated by the United States must, in their formulation, implementation, and evaluation,
1. protect human rights, workers’ rights, and the environment;
2. include non-governmental organizations and their constituents;
3. create binding minimum conditions for workers all over the world, based on the International Labor Organization Core Conventions and its Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998;
4. create a binding link between trade treaties on one hand and ILO conventions and international environmental treaties on the other to assure respect for obligations that nations have accepted under these treaties;
5. assure that no nation is penalized for adhering to such obligations and that dispute resolution and enforcement mechanisms that apply to other aspects of the agreements are in place also for labor and environmental protection rights;
6. permit governments to act to protect public health and safety;
7. allow governments to enact farm and food policies that create a sustainable family farm system and a healthy food supply;
8. respect the right of governments to safeguard domestic industries against unfair foreign trade practices, e.g., predator pricing, regulation of speculative capital;
9. end penalty payments to corporations for the impact of laws, regulations, or policies that protect the public welfare, including environmental protection, food, and worker safety;
10. exclude public services such as education, health care, transportation, construction, postal services, public safety, water supply, energy, and waste disposal from privatization and deregulation;
11. protect, in making rules regarding intellectual property rights, the rights of traditional users of patented plants, the equitable sharing of profits from biotechnology products, governmental regulation of genetically modified organisms regarding food supply and biodiversity conservation.
12. respect the right of nations to make pharmaceuticals available to address public health and safety needs….
Stability of Financial System
We favor action to create increased stability in the international financial system.
Trade Reciprocity
Nations which enjoy free access to the US market must give the US equal access to their markets.
CONCLUSION
We expect Democratic Candidates and officials to support and work to implement our platform so it may become the law of the land. We favor strengthening the role of the state party convention.
To achieve a coordinated and successful achievement of the main elements of this platform, we should concentrate on the following six basic objectives:
1. Preservation of our state’s precious natural resources
2. Protection of the rights and freedoms of our citizens
3. Promotion of economic opportunities for all Maine’s residents
4. Provision of affordable and available health care of all
5. Placement of free, public education at the top of budget priorities
6. Active participation of everyone in our state’s democratic processes
Source: Maine Democratic Party Internet site http://207.21.240.115/mdp/party_platform.asp. Accessed May 19, 2005.