Thursday, August 28, 2008
THE NEW GOP PLAN
Republicans Adopt Platform That Plays to Conservatives
Republicans adopted a slimmed-down, conservative-leaning platform Wednesday night in a unanimous committee vote, peppering it with provisions that mesh with John McCain's political objectives. The platform will come before the full convention for a vote on Monday.
GOP delegates devoted a significant amount of time to crafting an energy section that addresses environmental issues, such as global warming, in greater detail compared with past platforms.
While the platform advocates expanded oil and gas drilling to meet the nation's energy needs, the 112-person committee agreed to omit language calling for drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a plank in the party's 2004 platform. McCain has voted both ways on the question of drilling in ANWR, but has said this year he believes it should remain off-limits to energy exploration.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), who co-chairs the platform committee, said the delegates sought to match the document's energy provisions with the presumptive GOP nominee's rhetoric.
"We are proud to have passed the most aggressive and innovative energy platform in Republican Party history," McCarthy said in a statement. "Increasing America's energy independence is an issue of critical importance to our nation, and it's an issue on which John McCain has demonstrated strong and continued leadership with his 'all of the above' approach."
Aside from the energy section, the rest of the platform largely adheres to traditional Republican positions. It calls for constitutional amendments banning abortion and same-sex marriage -- two changes McCain has disavowed -- and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Above all, the platform asserts presidential authority. The document makes it clear that the president, not Congress, should determine how war is waged in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also calls for an end to all "earmarks," provisions in which lawmakers specify federal funding for specific projects -- a position McCain has championed. In one controversial vote, the platform committee approved a total ban on embryonic stem cell research.
The platform's energy section breaks with the past on several fronts. For the first time, it acknowledges that human activity has contributed to climate change.
"The same human activity that has brought freedom and opportunity to billions has also increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere," the document reads. "Increased atmospheric carbon has a warming effect on the earth."
But the platform sidesteps the question of whether to cap carbon emissions on the federal level, an approach McCain endorses.
Throughout the day, the delegates discussed an endless string of amendments to the platform, most of which were aimed at making the document more conservative. Adrienne Wing, a delegate from Hawaii, tried to change the heading for a section on Social Security from "entitlement reform" to "benefit reform," on the grounds that Americans should not see Social Security as a basic right.
"If we really are sincere about changing -- not changing, improving -- Social Security," she said, then Republicans need to "change the mind-set" about such federal programs.
But other Republicans voted down Wing's proposal, arguing that it could become a political liability if Democrats sought to exploit the issue. Tony O'Donnell, a delegate from Maryland, warned against triggering "unintended consequences for us in future elections," adding: "This becomes our platform, not just McCain's platform."
McCain did weigh in on one relatively obscure issue, demanding that delegates insert language pledging the party's commitment to maintaining a special U.S. envoy for Northern Ireland. His Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, recently said he would review whether such an envoy was still necessary.
McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said the senator wanted the envoy commitment "enshrined in the 2008 Republican platform" to underscore how strongly he feels about the issue.
"The special U.S. envoy was first appointed by President Clinton and has been critical to fostering peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland," Rogers said. "That Senator Obama would be willing to toss aside one of the signature diplomatic accomplishments of the Clinton administration and put the progress in Northern Ireland at risk is only further evidence that he is simply not ready to lead."
But Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor pointed out that McCain had frequently criticized Clinton's foreign policy during the mid-1990s, including the former president's decision to grant a visa to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. In a June 1996 Foreign Policy article, McCain wrote of Clinton, "With his credibility now substantially at risk in Northern Ireland, the President finds himself stuck in a conflict that has frustrated the best efforts of many a skilled statesman."
-- Juliet Eilperin
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
'Easy Wasn't in the Cards,' Michelle Obama Tells Crowd
DENVER -- All the talk of anxiety among Democratic delegates about Barack Obama's chances this fall may have gotten to his wife, Michelle. Addressing several hundred members of the convention's black caucus at the Colorado Convention Center on Wednesday, she appeared to be referring to those worrying about the closeness of the race when she seemed to break off her train of thought before pausing and declaring in a serious and gently upbraiding tone: "This is not going to be easy. There's nothing about electing Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States that could ever be easy."
The crowd laughed knowingly.
"Easy wasn't in the cards."
The crowd laughed again.
"I always tease Barack. I say, 'You just don't do things easy, do you?' But just because it's not easy doesn't mean it's not possible."
The crowd broke into loud applause.
-- Alec MacGillis
REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
Democrats to Use Image Of McCain Embracing Bush
SEDONA, Ariz. -- Democrats are planning to use images of John McCain embracing President Bush on billboards and in bus stops around Minneapolis and St. Paul during the Republican National Convention next week, part of an effort to drive home their message that McCain represents "more of the same" in Washington.
The images show McCain and Bush in a hearty embrace against a black background. The words "More politics as usual" and "Does this look like change to you?" are written above and below the image.
The ad will run in more than 20 bus shelters, Democratic sources say, including four that serve the Xcel Center, where the convention is being held. It will also run on a mobile billboard that will follow McCain from Dayton, Ohio, to the convention.
-- Michael D. Shear
View all comments that have been posted about this article.