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"And America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and values abroad."
Values? Is this where she talks about compassion and justice, and creating a safer world through peace and de-escalation in the Middle East?
"As commander in chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world."
Oh.
I get the sense that hawkish statement is more in regards to Russia than anything. I know Iran and N. Korea are up there, but when your old arch nemesis is invading neighbors, even Dems go hawkish.
Apart from pure domestic "tough" politics, I think China/Taiwan is the actual motivator for worrying about military strength. Russia has shown itself to be barely capable of fighting its neighbor. China sounds like it actually has weapons that are able to threaten our forces, and have been saber rattling against Taiwan.
Fair. I generally try to avoid calling them an enemy since they have very little to gain from a war with the US (at least for now) yet we know they want Taiwan (and probably more) which makes them a threat and a good reason to keep a strong military.
They just aren't as outwardly hostile since they're still a trade partner. For instance, if somehow an alliance formed in WW3 against "the West", my money is on them prefering neutrality, similar to India. It's just better for their country, even if they could use it to (temporarily) snag Taiwan. They'd much rather take Taiwan as a one-off.
But yeah, you're right though even if they aren't part of the "axis of evil", lol
I think everything with China is a game of chicken, but it's a game of chicken each side wants to be well prepared for in case something goes wrong. China doesn't want to fight the US, but if they think whatever's happening in our politics means we wouldn't fight them for Taiwan, they might invade assuming we won't act. But if they misjudge and we do act, they certainly would like to have ship-killing missiles available for the fight.
This is one of those "they're both the same" kind of arguments. They always need tempered with a call to still vote against the other guy
I’ll choose to bend over backwards here in order to assume positive intent - Harris, as VP, has almost no power in the situation currently. Biden is literally one of, if not the most, Zionist presidents in the history of the US. Biden will never stop short of giving Israel everything and more, even as Netenyahu repeatedly embarrasses him and shows himself to be a fascist head of a terror state who considers Israel beyond reproach and above international law.
Once Kamala assumes the presidency, she will be able to act on her own authority. Let’s hope that moment brings a marked turn in American support of the unfolding genocide in Gaza. And if not, we can apply pressure on the Harris admin until she changes her tune. That wouldn’t be possible at all with Trump or Biden, so at least with Harris we have some glimmer of hope for the Palestinian people.
Ever since the Biden administration redefined “ceasefire” to mean “hostage exchange pause” it’s become a meaningless term. The US needs to completely cut off arms support to Israel. That is the only ethical and moral action at this point. Anything less is abetting genocide.
So nothing different from current stance of watching Isreal trying to kill or displace everyone in Gaza plus possibly attacking everyone around them?
I’m honestly going to have to wait until the rubber actually hits the road (read: until she actually has the authority to meaningfully act and define national policy without AIPAC threatening to dump money into Trump’s wallet if she refuses to support Bibi’s agenda). I’m not being glib, or suggesting we ignore Gaza and the genocide there. All I’m saying is that I’m basically certain that there’s WAY more behind the scenes strong-arming-with-campaign-money going on here than most people are willing to admit.
All that said, if she doesn’t shift course relatively quickly once she clinches the election, my opinion on her stance on Gaza is going to change drastically.
Her speech was about increasing the war machine and never stopping support. So doubt she'll change much but can hope. Not that hopes done much since Obama
While I do get what you’re saying on some level, I feel like you’re ignoring how much AIPAC’s threat of throwing their cash towards the fascists sucks the air out of the room and makes rational discussion of the topic extremely difficult.
I mean, she could spring it on everyone at the last minute. Like Friday before the election, come out in support of an arms embargo. It's all anyone would be talking about and it wouldn't matter how much money AIPAC shoves out the door.
Of course, she won't, because we'll keep unconditionally arming Netanyahu as he starts war after war to stay in power. If we don't start sending troops to protect Netanyahu's political career.
Raising Wages and Promoting Workers’ Rights Democrats will fight to raise wages for working people and improve job quality and security, including by raising the federal minimum wage so it reaches $15 an hour by 2026. Raising the federal minimum wage, so fewer workers are forced to hold down multiple jobs to make ends meet, will significantly decrease risks of infection from COVID-19 and in the future. We know that strong American labor unions help increase wages and job standards for workers across the economy, which is why Democrats will prioritize passing the PRO Act and restoring workers’ rights, including the right to launch secondary boycotts. We will repeal so-called “right to work” laws that undermine worker power and lead to lower wages and less protection for workers across the economy, and ensure those who have been left without wage and hour protections for 14 decades—including domestic workers and farmworkers—have the same rights as other workers.
Democrats will support legislation to strengthen whistleblower and anti-retaliation protections for workers who speak for themselves or their coworkers. And we will take action to rein in anti-competitive corporate power by rewriting the rules that have undermined workers’ ability to advocate for themselves, including non-compete clauses, no-poaching agreements, and contracts that force workers into mandatory arbitration to resolve violations of employment laws.
Democrats will recognize unions with majority sign-up—via “card check” processes—and ban captive audience meetings, which employers use to bully and browbeat workers. We will hold executives personally accountable if they interfere in workers’ efforts to organize, including issuing criminal penalties for intentional obstruction. We will take action to guarantee that when workers come to the table, they are able to bargain with the employers who actually hold the power, including franchisors, and penalize companies that bargain in bad faith with their workers. Democrats will vigorously protect all private-sector workers’ right to strike without fear of coercion, interference, and undue delay. We will also establish the federal government's role in promoting and facilitating collective bargaining and helping the parties bring their negotiations to a rapid and successful conclusion, committing to a high standard for intervening in strikes, including under the Railway Labor Act.
The right of workers to come together and form a union is under attack. We must unrig the rules that block workers from having the union they want and update our labor laws to make it more possible. We must change labor law so that it is easier for unions and employers to enter into multi-employer agreements establishing minimum workplace standards related to wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Democrats believe taxpayer dollars should never flow to employers who steal workers’ wages, violate labor laws, engage in union-busting, or exploit immigrant workers to depress working conditions for all workers. We will increase funding and staffing at the Department of Labor to aggressively enforce wage, hour, health, and safety rules across the economy. Democrats believe employees who are being misclassified, including gig and platform workers, deserve wage and workplace protections including minimum wage and overtime pay, and we support using the ABC test to determine employee status. Democrats believe that all workers should be able to hold their employers accountable for unpaid or underpaid wages, regardless of corporate structure. We support using grants and collaborative relationships with community organizations to ensure that workers know their rights and responsibilities under the law. Democrats will strengthen labor rights for the more than 20 million public-sector employees in the United States by passing the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which would provide a federal guarantee for public-sector employees to bargain for better pay and benefits and the working conditions they deserve.
We cannot hope to raise wages without taking on the profound racial biases at work in our employment system. The wage gap between Black workers and white workers is higher today than it was 20 years ago. It takes a typical Black woman 19 months to earn what a typical white man earns in 12 months—and for typical Latinas and Native American women, it takes almost two years. Democrats believe we need to be much more proactive and aggressive in rooting out discrimination in our employment system. We will increase funding to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and increase its authority to initiate directed investigations into civil rights violations, violations of the rights of people with disabilities, and violations against LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender women of color. Federal contractors should be required to develop and disclose plans to recruit and promote people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and veterans—and be held accountable for delivering.
Democrats believe a strong, secure, and democratic Israel is vital to the interests of the United States. Our commitment to Israel’s security, its qualitative military edge, its right to defend itself, and the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding is ironclad. Democrats recognize the worth of every Israeli and every Palestinian. That’s why we will work to help bring to an end a conflict that has brought so much pain to so many. We support a negotiated two-state solution that ensures Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state with recognized borders and upholds the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and security in a viable state of their own.
Democrats oppose any unilateral steps by either side—including annexation—that undermine prospects for two states. Democrats will continue to stand against incitement and terror. We oppose settlement expansion. We believe that while Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations, it should remain the capital of Israel, an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths. Democrats will restore U.S.-Palestinian diplomatic ties and critical assistance to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, consistent with U.S. law. We oppose any effort to unfairly single out and delegitimize Israel, including at the United Nations or through the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement, while protecting the Constitutional right of our citizens to free speech.
https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-Democratic-Party-Platform.pdf
full platform link
basically Biden 2.0 in a younger shell
that $15 an hour the citizens demanded a decade ago is still talked about
after having derailed the rail workers' strike, they mentioned them at the convention
still going to be arming a government committing genocide
police reform was mentioned, and it was a watered-down version of what Biden had talked about the last election
the Democrats also failed to uphold the promise of protecting our environment and on police reform during Biden's presidency with Georgia with cop city, but both are still on their platform just a light version of it
We will take action to protect wildernesses and waters, and require full, rigorous, and transparent scientific and environmental reviews of any proposed mining projects near national treasures.
Biden and Harris have turned a deaf ear to the protesters who were protesting on our behalf demanding better to instead hold a celeb filled gala