2012 Albany County Democratic Platform
printable Albany
County 2012 Platform
text of platform:
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America."
- Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
This platform has been developed around three principles that Albany County Democrats believe offer the most important guidance for public policy and legislation in 2012:
Recognizing the ease with which lofty concepts can be agreed upon, but set aside when it comes time to translate the abstract into the practical, we provide limited elaboration of each of these concepts as guidance to ourselves and our candidates, officers, and elected officials.
Opportunity
Albany County Democrats are committed to equal opportunity across our society. While government cannot guarantee outcomes, we believe public policy should foster an economic, social, and institutional environment in which all individuals have the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. We welcome ethnic and cultural diversity in our community, its governance, and the electorate.
Employment. Opportunities for satisfying and justly-rewarded employment are basic to a stable and successful society.
We recognize that cooperation between business and government is essential for developing and maintaining employment opportunity in our increasingly complex economy. Private-sector employment is the primary source of prosperity in our society, but business will not thrive without strong communities marked by a stable public infrastructure, effective educational services, an honored legal system, and a healthy workforce, all of which are supported by our local, state and federal governments. A healthy economy should reward all of our citizens with an acceptable standard of living that will encourage them to stay and contribute to the future prosperity of Wyoming.
We respect and support the right of workers to organize and collectively bargain for fair wages, job security, and safe working conditions. We oppose efforts to compromise or deny those rights. We applaud members of the 61st Wyoming Legislature for enacting HB 0089, Workplace safety-employer assistance. For too long, Wyoming’s safety record has been the worst in the Nation. The State still lacks authority to penalize employers for avoidable unsafe conditions or to require training for employees who work on dangerous work sites. Enforcement and liability are essential to create a culture of safety. With enacted support for the enhancement of workplace safety practices, employer incentives, and additional employees for the occupational health and safety division, a turn-around may begin.
Educational, training and employment barriers to women wishing to enter labor sectors predominantly occupied by men contribute to an on-going wage gap. We support open recognition of these conditions, as well as legal and societal efforts to address them. These efforts must go beyond merely requiring equal pay for equal work and include diversifying the economy, educating and training women and increasing the availability of childcare so that women will be better able to secure meaningful work in high-paying fields.
We support just distributions of the fruits of our labors and the responsibility of taxation through maintenance of a living wage and progressive tax policies, encompassing all forms of income.
Health Care. Universal basic health care is a necessity for the well being of individual citizens and the general, social, and economic welfare of the nation. Our current insurance-industry-based health care system costs more per capita and produces less than that of any other industrialized country. We support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act program to bring basic health care to all Americans, and decry the waste of money and resources by state Attorneys General in their attempt to overturn it. We encourage state government to focus on the problems of access to health care rather than political sparring. Ultimately, we favor implementation of a single payer system modeled on Medicare/Medicaid, paid for by the conversion from premiums-based funding and tortuous cost-shifting, to straightforward payroll taxes and the general fund.
We object to the politicization of women’s health care. While we respect the religious faith of all people, anti-family planning beliefs should not be forced on society as a whole, nor should they restrict access to comprehensive sex education, pregnancy prevention services, or the full range of reproductive health care options. We believe women should be able to choose their reproductive options.
Education. We support investment in a strong and diverse educational system, including statewide funding and a commitment to the development of the knowledge required for individual success, full participation in the responsibilities of citizenship, and productive human affairs. In view of the high dropout rate and the inadequate educational preparation of many of our graduating seniors, we encourage the state to redouble its efforts to ensure that all our students earn a high school diploma and graduate prepared to continue their education in college or technical school. It is counter-productive to vilify school teachers and administrators, and to hold them solely responsible for educational outcomes; it is imperative for parents, the community, and the state to fully support our K-12 educational institutions. Equal access to higher education must be maintained and supported. Our institutions of higher education should be granted the freedom and resources necessary to hire and retain valuable faculty and staff. As Wyoming’s only four-year higher-education institution, the University of Wyoming is critical to the economic and cultural vitality of our State. We support greater public funding for career and technical education at the secondary and post-secondary levels.
Immigration. We support enforcement of federal laws on immigration, including the responsibility of employers to determine whether prospective employees are in the country legally. We oppose enactment of inhumane anti-immigration laws and practices targeting specific ethnic communities and we oppose denying their rights through discrimination, harassment, exploitation and unlawful detention. We support improved, more efficient and expeditious federal laws and practices for those entitled to legal or full citizenship. We also recognize the important connections between illegal immigration and global economic conditions and therefore support US policies for trade, foreign aid, and international affairs that serve to broaden opportunities and stabilize economies abroad.
Sustainability
Albany County Democrats encourage a multi-generation vision for Wyoming, for America, and for the world. Our goal is the development and maintenance of social, cultural, economic, and physical environments in which we and our descendants can enjoy the peace, freedom, and community that will nurture and sustain our quality of life.
Economy. The long-term employment opportunities upon which the health of Wyoming communities depend are a function of a stable and sustainable state economy. Energy-resource development will continue to be a critical source of employment and tax revenue, but should be guided by policies which modulate the pace of mineral development to reduce the attendant stress on public infrastructure, social services, schools, housing, workforce training, and the natural environment, and to optimize employment and tax revenues over the lifetime of the resources. At the same time, we must identify and nurture opportunities for economic diversification into manufacturing, service-sector, alternative-energy, and energy-efficiency industries, looking to a future in which mineral resources are but one of many anchors for our economy.
Energy Policy and Climate Change. Our collective failure to recognize the danger of climate change and to take the steps necessary to reduce its impacts is bringing the world ever closer to disaster. There is extremely strong consensus among scientists that climate change is real, and is caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Our nation must take the lead in switching from reliance on non-renewable resources to maximizing energy efficiency and developing sources of power that are both renewable and non-polluting. More spending on research and development to meet these goals will not only lessen the threat of climate change – it will have the added benefits of providing sustainable jobs, improving our balance of trade, and reshaping our global military priorities. While continuing to responsibly develop traditional energy resources upon which Wyoming’s economy is currently based, our State should provide leadership in the development of renewable energy resources while keeping in mind the protection of Wyoming’s wildlife and open vistas, two of our most precious non-renewable resources. A future built on conservation and sustainable use of resources will ensure the prosperity and well-being of our state, our country and our planet.
Natural Resources. At the state and local level, we celebrate the clean air, land, and water, open spaces, abundant wildlife, and world-class wilderness upon which the superior quality of life in Wyoming depends. We recognize the long-term importance of these resources to the sustainability of our agriculture, tourism, and recreation economies, and to the desirability of our communities for raising families, growing compatible business opportunities, and attracting investment. As assets held in common, Wyoming’s natural resources require public policies aimed at long-term protection and the use of best available technologies to minimize the environmental impact of industrial activity. We recognize that certain areas should simply be preserved in their natural state.
War and Diplomacy. We strongly support efforts to improve the global economic, political, and military environment in which US foreign policy is exercised by shifting our emphasis from projection of military power and authority to efforts to engage problems through diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives. We must continue working to recognize and understand the legitimate interests of other nations -- their histories and cultures -- so as to face problems in the spirit of cooperation and collectively resolve them. We, as a nation, must recognize, and address with compassion, the impact of US military actions on the mental health and well-being of our troops and their families.
Integrity
Albany County Democrats recognize the basic integrity of constitutional government and public policy at all levels as the foundation upon which our society is built. All participants should be confident that the fundamental processes of election, appointment, legislation, administration, and enforcement are sound and faithfully adhered to.
Government. We recognize government – federal, state, and local -- as the collective agent of “we the people,” held to the same high standards of morality, equality, and honesty as we aspire to individually.
Rule of Law. We promote an unflinching dedication to the rule of law -- the same law for everyone -- including the founding principles of checks and balances and the separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, as mandated by the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions, and including the faithful execution of the laws, as written, by competent and objective executive-branch agencies.
Public Discourse. We appeal to all elected representatives to embrace the long-term public welfare as their guiding vision rather than seeking short-term political victories. We decry the abysmal state of public policy discourse in the U.S., in which participants resort to distortions of the truth, vilification of those promoting alternate points of view, and contempt for critical thinking in a no-holds-barred struggle for political advantage.
We object to the negative rhetoric directed toward civil servants at all levels of government and applaud the hard work and dedication of the public-sector employees who teach our children, safeguard our communities, protect our environment, and provide other services that allow us to function as a society.
In our increasingly complex society there is an inherent tension between personal liberty and a government tasked with serving the common good. We encourage our Government and its Citizens to show restraint and patience when that tension arises. Open and respectful discourse provides an arena in which good ideas and credible analyses may come from many sources and perspectives. We appeal to all participants to reject the endless chaff of political theater and turn their attention to a sober and considerate evaluation of critical public policy issues.
Elections. We recognize open and fair elections as the cornerstone of a democratic society and embrace the Declaration of Independence proclamation that governments "derive their just powers from the consent of the governed". To preserve the integrity of that consent, we endorse the objectives of the Voting Rights Act, oppose efforts to restrict voting access, and support full transparency and accountability in the funding and conduct of campaigns for public office. We decry the Supreme Court ruling that corporations are to be treated as "persons" with respect to First Amendment rights and urge Congress to promulgate constitutional limits on corporate financing of campaigns.
Civil Rights. We endorse the freedoms embodied in The Bill of Rights, while recognizing that our desires for personal, financial, and national security do not trump our commitment to respect and protect the lives, individual rights, and privacy of our fellow citizens. We respect every person's right to enjoy the full benefits of marriage, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. We believe that the ideal of equal protection under the law for every citizen has not been met and that our representatives at all levels of government must be diligent in their efforts to guarantee that protection for every citizen. We support the concepts of rehabilitation, treatment, and reformation, including the restoration of civil rights for those who wish to engage in democracy as responsible and productive citizens.
Juvenile Justice. We support a comprehensive system of juvenile justice that focuses on rehabilitation and the unique aspects of juvenile psychology.
Foreign Affairs. While we recognize that different societies and cultures appropriately choose various configurations of government, we embrace the universal goals of democracy, self-determination, open government, civil and human rights, and the rule of law (national and international) in our conduct of foreign affairs.
Commendations
Albany County Democrats recognize our military personnel, their families and all those whose sacrifices help secure the integrity, opportunity, and sustainability of these United States. We are grateful for their dedication and pledge ourselves to vigilance that their lives not be jeopardized needlessly.
text of platform:
2012
Albany County Democratic Platform
April 14, 2012
April 14, 2012
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America."
- Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
This platform has been developed around three principles that Albany County Democrats believe offer the most important guidance for public policy and legislation in 2012:
Opportunity
Sustainability
Integrity
Recognizing the ease with which lofty concepts can be agreed upon, but set aside when it comes time to translate the abstract into the practical, we provide limited elaboration of each of these concepts as guidance to ourselves and our candidates, officers, and elected officials.
Opportunity
Albany County Democrats are committed to equal opportunity across our society. While government cannot guarantee outcomes, we believe public policy should foster an economic, social, and institutional environment in which all individuals have the opportunity to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. We welcome ethnic and cultural diversity in our community, its governance, and the electorate.
Employment. Opportunities for satisfying and justly-rewarded employment are basic to a stable and successful society.
We recognize that cooperation between business and government is essential for developing and maintaining employment opportunity in our increasingly complex economy. Private-sector employment is the primary source of prosperity in our society, but business will not thrive without strong communities marked by a stable public infrastructure, effective educational services, an honored legal system, and a healthy workforce, all of which are supported by our local, state and federal governments. A healthy economy should reward all of our citizens with an acceptable standard of living that will encourage them to stay and contribute to the future prosperity of Wyoming.
We respect and support the right of workers to organize and collectively bargain for fair wages, job security, and safe working conditions. We oppose efforts to compromise or deny those rights. We applaud members of the 61st Wyoming Legislature for enacting HB 0089, Workplace safety-employer assistance. For too long, Wyoming’s safety record has been the worst in the Nation. The State still lacks authority to penalize employers for avoidable unsafe conditions or to require training for employees who work on dangerous work sites. Enforcement and liability are essential to create a culture of safety. With enacted support for the enhancement of workplace safety practices, employer incentives, and additional employees for the occupational health and safety division, a turn-around may begin.
Educational, training and employment barriers to women wishing to enter labor sectors predominantly occupied by men contribute to an on-going wage gap. We support open recognition of these conditions, as well as legal and societal efforts to address them. These efforts must go beyond merely requiring equal pay for equal work and include diversifying the economy, educating and training women and increasing the availability of childcare so that women will be better able to secure meaningful work in high-paying fields.
We support just distributions of the fruits of our labors and the responsibility of taxation through maintenance of a living wage and progressive tax policies, encompassing all forms of income.
Health Care. Universal basic health care is a necessity for the well being of individual citizens and the general, social, and economic welfare of the nation. Our current insurance-industry-based health care system costs more per capita and produces less than that of any other industrialized country. We support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act program to bring basic health care to all Americans, and decry the waste of money and resources by state Attorneys General in their attempt to overturn it. We encourage state government to focus on the problems of access to health care rather than political sparring. Ultimately, we favor implementation of a single payer system modeled on Medicare/Medicaid, paid for by the conversion from premiums-based funding and tortuous cost-shifting, to straightforward payroll taxes and the general fund.
We object to the politicization of women’s health care. While we respect the religious faith of all people, anti-family planning beliefs should not be forced on society as a whole, nor should they restrict access to comprehensive sex education, pregnancy prevention services, or the full range of reproductive health care options. We believe women should be able to choose their reproductive options.
Education. We support investment in a strong and diverse educational system, including statewide funding and a commitment to the development of the knowledge required for individual success, full participation in the responsibilities of citizenship, and productive human affairs. In view of the high dropout rate and the inadequate educational preparation of many of our graduating seniors, we encourage the state to redouble its efforts to ensure that all our students earn a high school diploma and graduate prepared to continue their education in college or technical school. It is counter-productive to vilify school teachers and administrators, and to hold them solely responsible for educational outcomes; it is imperative for parents, the community, and the state to fully support our K-12 educational institutions. Equal access to higher education must be maintained and supported. Our institutions of higher education should be granted the freedom and resources necessary to hire and retain valuable faculty and staff. As Wyoming’s only four-year higher-education institution, the University of Wyoming is critical to the economic and cultural vitality of our State. We support greater public funding for career and technical education at the secondary and post-secondary levels.
Immigration. We support enforcement of federal laws on immigration, including the responsibility of employers to determine whether prospective employees are in the country legally. We oppose enactment of inhumane anti-immigration laws and practices targeting specific ethnic communities and we oppose denying their rights through discrimination, harassment, exploitation and unlawful detention. We support improved, more efficient and expeditious federal laws and practices for those entitled to legal or full citizenship. We also recognize the important connections between illegal immigration and global economic conditions and therefore support US policies for trade, foreign aid, and international affairs that serve to broaden opportunities and stabilize economies abroad.
Sustainability
Albany County Democrats encourage a multi-generation vision for Wyoming, for America, and for the world. Our goal is the development and maintenance of social, cultural, economic, and physical environments in which we and our descendants can enjoy the peace, freedom, and community that will nurture and sustain our quality of life.
Economy. The long-term employment opportunities upon which the health of Wyoming communities depend are a function of a stable and sustainable state economy. Energy-resource development will continue to be a critical source of employment and tax revenue, but should be guided by policies which modulate the pace of mineral development to reduce the attendant stress on public infrastructure, social services, schools, housing, workforce training, and the natural environment, and to optimize employment and tax revenues over the lifetime of the resources. At the same time, we must identify and nurture opportunities for economic diversification into manufacturing, service-sector, alternative-energy, and energy-efficiency industries, looking to a future in which mineral resources are but one of many anchors for our economy.
Energy Policy and Climate Change. Our collective failure to recognize the danger of climate change and to take the steps necessary to reduce its impacts is bringing the world ever closer to disaster. There is extremely strong consensus among scientists that climate change is real, and is caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Our nation must take the lead in switching from reliance on non-renewable resources to maximizing energy efficiency and developing sources of power that are both renewable and non-polluting. More spending on research and development to meet these goals will not only lessen the threat of climate change – it will have the added benefits of providing sustainable jobs, improving our balance of trade, and reshaping our global military priorities. While continuing to responsibly develop traditional energy resources upon which Wyoming’s economy is currently based, our State should provide leadership in the development of renewable energy resources while keeping in mind the protection of Wyoming’s wildlife and open vistas, two of our most precious non-renewable resources. A future built on conservation and sustainable use of resources will ensure the prosperity and well-being of our state, our country and our planet.
Natural Resources. At the state and local level, we celebrate the clean air, land, and water, open spaces, abundant wildlife, and world-class wilderness upon which the superior quality of life in Wyoming depends. We recognize the long-term importance of these resources to the sustainability of our agriculture, tourism, and recreation economies, and to the desirability of our communities for raising families, growing compatible business opportunities, and attracting investment. As assets held in common, Wyoming’s natural resources require public policies aimed at long-term protection and the use of best available technologies to minimize the environmental impact of industrial activity. We recognize that certain areas should simply be preserved in their natural state.
War and Diplomacy. We strongly support efforts to improve the global economic, political, and military environment in which US foreign policy is exercised by shifting our emphasis from projection of military power and authority to efforts to engage problems through diplomatic and humanitarian initiatives. We must continue working to recognize and understand the legitimate interests of other nations -- their histories and cultures -- so as to face problems in the spirit of cooperation and collectively resolve them. We, as a nation, must recognize, and address with compassion, the impact of US military actions on the mental health and well-being of our troops and their families.
Integrity
Albany County Democrats recognize the basic integrity of constitutional government and public policy at all levels as the foundation upon which our society is built. All participants should be confident that the fundamental processes of election, appointment, legislation, administration, and enforcement are sound and faithfully adhered to.
Government. We recognize government – federal, state, and local -- as the collective agent of “we the people,” held to the same high standards of morality, equality, and honesty as we aspire to individually.
Rule of Law. We promote an unflinching dedication to the rule of law -- the same law for everyone -- including the founding principles of checks and balances and the separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, as mandated by the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions, and including the faithful execution of the laws, as written, by competent and objective executive-branch agencies.
Public Discourse. We appeal to all elected representatives to embrace the long-term public welfare as their guiding vision rather than seeking short-term political victories. We decry the abysmal state of public policy discourse in the U.S., in which participants resort to distortions of the truth, vilification of those promoting alternate points of view, and contempt for critical thinking in a no-holds-barred struggle for political advantage.
We object to the negative rhetoric directed toward civil servants at all levels of government and applaud the hard work and dedication of the public-sector employees who teach our children, safeguard our communities, protect our environment, and provide other services that allow us to function as a society.
In our increasingly complex society there is an inherent tension between personal liberty and a government tasked with serving the common good. We encourage our Government and its Citizens to show restraint and patience when that tension arises. Open and respectful discourse provides an arena in which good ideas and credible analyses may come from many sources and perspectives. We appeal to all participants to reject the endless chaff of political theater and turn their attention to a sober and considerate evaluation of critical public policy issues.
Elections. We recognize open and fair elections as the cornerstone of a democratic society and embrace the Declaration of Independence proclamation that governments "derive their just powers from the consent of the governed". To preserve the integrity of that consent, we endorse the objectives of the Voting Rights Act, oppose efforts to restrict voting access, and support full transparency and accountability in the funding and conduct of campaigns for public office. We decry the Supreme Court ruling that corporations are to be treated as "persons" with respect to First Amendment rights and urge Congress to promulgate constitutional limits on corporate financing of campaigns.
Civil Rights. We endorse the freedoms embodied in The Bill of Rights, while recognizing that our desires for personal, financial, and national security do not trump our commitment to respect and protect the lives, individual rights, and privacy of our fellow citizens. We respect every person's right to enjoy the full benefits of marriage, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. We believe that the ideal of equal protection under the law for every citizen has not been met and that our representatives at all levels of government must be diligent in their efforts to guarantee that protection for every citizen. We support the concepts of rehabilitation, treatment, and reformation, including the restoration of civil rights for those who wish to engage in democracy as responsible and productive citizens.
Juvenile Justice. We support a comprehensive system of juvenile justice that focuses on rehabilitation and the unique aspects of juvenile psychology.
Foreign Affairs. While we recognize that different societies and cultures appropriately choose various configurations of government, we embrace the universal goals of democracy, self-determination, open government, civil and human rights, and the rule of law (national and international) in our conduct of foreign affairs.
Commendations
Albany County Democrats recognize our military personnel, their families and all those whose sacrifices help secure the integrity, opportunity, and sustainability of these United States. We are grateful for their dedication and pledge ourselves to vigilance that their lives not be jeopardized needlessly.