A first draft of the document that will become the GOP platform at this year’s Republican convention sticks to Donald Trump’s tough talk on trade, but leaves the long-time party position opposing abortion rights relatively unchanged.
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The meeting, which aired live on C-SPAN, was mostly quiet as she introduced her amendment to replace hostile language in the platform about marriage for same-sex couples with language that would acknowledge “there are diverse and sincerely held views on marriage within the party and that support for allowing same-sex couples the freedom to marry has grown substantially in our own party”.
Through hours of debate on topics ranging from federal lands to immigration to the economy to family values, a handful of delegates gathered for Platform Committee meetings ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention repeatedly challenged their peers to moderate provisions affecting gay and lesbian Americans.
A platform committee member from Virginia, 22-year-old Tommy Valentine, said Dickerson’s remarks amounted to calling the platform committee members bigots and that he disagrees – a remark that elicited considerable applause from the committee. Trump’s stringent opposition to trade deals such as TPP – which he has called “a rape of our country” – pits him against some party stalwarts and pro-business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Stand up today and let the folks on the Platform Committee who paved the way to this foolishness know you’re not going down without a fight!
But it took less than two minutes for the GOP platform panel to reject what would have been a major policy change, after one member quickly called for a vote. She says delegates who spoke out against amendments by Hoff and others were not speaking out against the LGBT community.
The platform will be formally voted on by Republican delegates at the start of their convention on Monday.
Republican delegates will vote on the finalized platform next week once the RNC officially begins.
Republicans, Matheson said, are facing “a battle against the myth that we are too divided as a party, and as a nation, to confront and conquer the challenging issues of our day”.
The Republican platform has been solidified and indicates the GOP has become more conservative on social issues compared to the 2012 document. It once had 800 workers and now is struggling to maintain 150, he said.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to struggle mightily with Hispanic voters.
Johnson was a strong supporter of Ohio Governor John Kasich during the presidential primaries and said he’s now “100 percent” behind Trump. “It’s settled law”, said David Johnson, a delegate from OH, “and we have bigger issues to discuss”. “Make you feel good, end up losing the country because you’re not happy and totally supportive of who the nominee is”.
That passed around the time the Republican platform committee endorsed the construction of an actual, physical wall along the U.S./Mexico border – just like Donald Trump wants.
Proposed platform language also says free trade agreements have undercut US manufacturing, bemoans USA trade deficits and urges the government to crack down on partners who violate trade laws, other themes Trump has advanced.
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“We’re not talking about Cheech and Chong … we’re talking about people with debilitating conditions”, one delegate said.
