MCDC Platform

Platform of the Madison County Democratic Committee

Preamble

We, the Madison County Democrats, inspired by the belief of our founding fathers in “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” are committed to a mission of securing and promoting these blessings for all, both at home and abroad. Seeking a government that, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, is “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” we embrace progressive principles that will move us forward and create a stronger democracy in order to help us better deal with America's local, state, national, and international issues.

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In the progressive spirit that began with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and continues with Barack Obama, we insist on preserving our social and economic gains, on safeguarding our civil liberties, on protecting our personal and national security, on protecting our environment, on conserving our national resources for the benefit of this and future generations, and on favoring policies that support the bedrock of a strong and just society—our families and our local communities.

We insist on restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington and reject all irresponsible tax cuts benefiting mostly the rich and the super-rich.

We want to eliminate the use of Social Security and Medicare contributions to cover recurrent budget deficits caused by irresponsible tax cuts. We oppose any attempt to weaken and ultimately destroy America's health care by privatizing Medicare and eroding, or even eliminating, the Affordable Care Act.

We oppose the practice of burdening county and municipal governments with unfunded federal and state mandates. We believe that the practice in New York State of using multi-billion dollar bond issues to finance ongoing programs instead of using annual appropriations reduces accountability and increases the long-term cost of these programs.

We believe that the right of dissent must be protected at all times. We condemn any attempt to discredit dissent by questioning the patriotism of citizens who criticize government policies. We oppose the renewal of those provisions in the Patriot Act that unnecessarily erode our constitutional rights.

As rural New Yorkers, we support state and national policies that ensure the viability of family farms and protect our rivers and lakes from the devastating pollution of acid rain, PCBs, mercury, lead, and other contaminants. We support cooperative initiatives of government, business, and nonprofits that support economic and community development in upstate New York.

Believing in responsible and lawful gun ownership by responsible adults and in reasonable regulations, such as thorough background checks, to ensure that gun ownership does not threaten the community and its law enforcement officers, we support strengthening the Brady Bill and renewing the ban on assault weapons.

We believe that every individual must be guaranteed full and equal protection under the law, regardless o/ race, color, ethnic identity, national origin, religion, creed, sex, sexual identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or economic status. Everyone should be empowered to develop their fuIl potential by means o/'a nurturing childhood, a formal education, and an equal opportunity for training and employment.

We support improved family assistance programs, an expanded early childhood education program, free vocational training, and a subsidized higher education that everyone can afford. A strong public education system sustains a democratic society committed to the ideal of equality and helps create and sustain a vibrant middle class. To this end, we seek a strong financial support of our public education system to ensure that, in the wealthiest nation in the history of mankind, every child has well-qualified teachers, suitable facilities, and the resources necessary to achieve excellence.

We support affirmative action in order to ensure that our increasingly diverse population is adequately represented in all trades and professions. We support the removal of barriers to career advancement that may hinder those who have been disadvantaged on account of socioeconomic status, gender, race, disability, age, or family status.

We recognize that we are a nation of immigrants and refugees in which everybody should be under the equal protection of law. Our current immigration policies leave millions of workers trapped in the shadows of our economy. We favor a fair, a realistic, and a sustainable immigration system that screens and inspects people and cargo at the border for security threats and grants legal status to hardworking immigrants. We support policies that extend educational and civic participation to our immigrant community.

We believe in the separation of church and state. Because we cherish our freedom of conscience, we are as opposed to restrictions on the free exercise of religion as we are to the imposition of religious observances, such as mandated prayers in public schools.

We will fight for a woman's right to make private and personal decisions regarding reproductive choice without interference or restriction from the government.