Post by RGirtman on Mar 21, 2020 8:17:43 GMT -6
Progressive Party Platform of 2020
March 2020
The conscience of the people, in a time of grave national problems, has called forth the rebirth of a party, born of the nation's sense of justice and steeped in tradition. We of the Progressive Party here dedicate ourselves to the fulfillment of the duty laid upon us by our fathers to maintain the government of the people, by the people, and for the people whose foundations they laid.
We hold with Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln that the people are the masters of their Constitution, to fulfill its purposes and to safeguard it from those who, by perversion of its intent, would convert it into an instrument of injustice. In accordance with the needs of each generation the people must use their sovereign powers to establish and maintain equal opportunity and industrial justice, to secure which this Government was founded and without which no republic can endure.
We strive to the grand level of Statesmanship embodied by Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. This country belongs to the people who inhabit it. Its resources, its business, its institutions and its laws should be utilized, maintained or altered in whatever manner will best promote the general interest.
It is time to set the general welfare of the American Public first among this government's priorities.
The Old Parties
Political parties exist to secure responsible government and to execute the will of the people.
From these great tasks both of the old parties have turned aside. Instead of instruments to promote the general welfare, they have become the tools of corrupt interests which use them impartially to serve their selfish purposes. Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.
To destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.
The deliberate betrayal of its trust by the Republican party, the fatal incapacity of the Democratic party to deal with the new issues of the new time, have compelled the people to forge a new instrument of government through which to give effect to their will in laws and institutions.
Unhampered by tradition, uncorrupted by power, undismayed by the magnitude of the task, the Progressive Party offers itself as the instrument of the people to sweep away old abuses, to build a more perfect union.
The Rule of the People
The National Progressive Party, committed to the principles of government by a self-controlled democracy expressing its will through representatives of the people, pledges itself to secure such alterations in the fundamental law of the several States and of the United States as shall insure the representative character of the government.
In particular, the party declares for proportional allotment of electors from each state to the Electoral College, ranked-preference voting in primary elections, universal adoption of semi-open primaries to allow non-aligned independents a voice, and most urgently call for publicly funded elections.
A Covenant With the People
This declaration is our covenant with the people, and we hereby bind the party and its candidates in State and Nation to the pledges made herein.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
As Progressives, we understand that every issue intersects, yet at the core is the underlying question of how we treat each other. We therefore and foremost believe in eliminating institutional racism against people of color.
Racial Justice
We will proactively work to eliminate institutionalized racism in our workforce, government, and law enforcement, and personal racial bias in ourselves.
Gender Equality
We will work to prevent discrimination and violence against women, including sexual harassment, abuse, workplace discrimination, and domestic violence, with a strong emphasis on promoting a culture of consent. We support equal rights for our LGBTQ community, including Transgender, Intersex, and other Non-binary individuals.
Disability Rights
We support the full inclusion and social support for people with intellectual, learning, emotional, and physical disabilities.
Human Rights
We believe it is the responsibility of government to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of every person. We will preserve America’s international leadership as champions of human rights. We will protect citizens from unconstitutional government intrusion; defend immigrants and refugees; support religious diversity; and oppose all limitations to an accepting and inclusive society.
Immigration
We favor Governmental action to encourage the able-bodied immigrant to participate in the American dream. We favor Governmental action to encourage the distribution of immigrants away from the congested cities, to promote their education and advancement.
We denounce the fatal policy of inhumane persecution of the children of immigrants. Under no circumstance should any person be held liable for the sins of the father. We pledge to codify DACA protections into law.
Public Safety
We are committed to investing in public safety, with an emphasis on prevention and rehabilitation including for imprisoned populations. We support: fair sentencing and bail laws; an end to the use of private for-profit prisons; strong safeguards against the disproportionately high incarceration rates of populations most vulnerable to discrimination; and a reduction of incarceration in general. We support strong restorative justice programs and the expansion of drug courts statewide.
Government Reform
We believe in a fair, transparent, and accountable government. We insist on publicly-funded elections with comprehensive campaign finance laws. We believe that progress requires participation by people in our communities, workplaces, and schools, and will work to mobilize citizens at all levels during and between elections. The practice of unlimited private donations contributed to Super PACs without a means of public scrutiny and transparency must end.
Ending Corporate Personhood
The Progressive Party, believing that the rights and freedoms recognized by the Constitution belong to the People alone, pledges itself to adopt and ratify an Amendment to the Constitution to define individual rights as the exclusive benefit of the People, excluding non-person entities, ending the disastrous Citizen's United decision.
Transparency & Public Service
We pledge our party to legislation prohibiting lobbying by former elected representatives; publicity of all committee hearings except on matters of definitive and tangible national security; and compelling the Senate to fulfill its Constitutional obligation of advise and consent to the appointment of federal judges & executive appointees during the same session of Congress in which the appointee was submitted for confirmation.
Peace and National Defense
Diplomacy is the bedrock of a peaceful society. The Progressive party deplores the survival in our civilization of the barbaric system of warfare among nations with its enormous waste of resources even in time of peace, and the consequent impoverishment of the life of the toiling masses. We pledge the party to use its best endeavors to substitute judicial and other peaceful means of settling international differences. We support our active and veteran military personnel, but do not support preemptive and aggressive military action.
Treaty Rights
We pledge our party to protect the rights of American citizenship at home and abroad. No treaty should receive the sanction of our Government which discriminates between American citizens because of birthplace, gender, race, religion, orientation, or identity or that does not recognize the absolute right of expatriation.
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the bedrock of a peaceful society. We support our active and veteran military personnel, but do not support preemptive and aggressive military action.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We recognize that we are living in the wealthiest country in human history, yet so many have so little while a small handful of people have so much. The Progressive Party is the only major party that can credibly address the destructive effects of extreme wealth inequality. We are the only major party that refuses the culture and practice of corporate contributions in politics; we understand that working people are not fully represented in a society that accepts corporate personhood. We recognize that the economic challenges we face as Americans can differ between diverse communities and regions. We believe the economy should equitably serve the needs of the many, not to make profits for the few.
Taxes
We believe the United States needs a progressive tax system where wealthier Americans pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than low to moderate income Americans. We believe in reducing our reliance on property and other regressive taxes.
Inheritance Tax
We believe in a graduated inheritance tax as a National means of equalizing the obligations of holders of property to Government, and we hereby pledge our party to enact such a Federal law as will tax large inheritances, returning to the States an equitable percentage of all amounts collected.
Healthcare
We understand that, for many, healthcare is an economic issue, and believe that healthcare should be viewed as a public good and not a commodity. As such, we support universal, single-payer, prenatal-to-death healthcare provided through a not-for-profit, publicly financed system, with access to prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, hearing care, addiction, and mental health services.
Education
We understand that education is an economic issue. We believe that a strong and equitable Pre-K to 12 public education system funded with a progressive tax structure, and tuition-free public post-secondary education, including public colleges & universities, trade schools, and apprenticeships, are an essential foundation to foster civic participation in a democratic society and a more equitable economy. We believe in local empowerment, supporting our teachers, and fostering lifelong learners and community members with a bias-free broad-based liberal curriculum with emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics as the best way to ensure America's youth are best prepared for their roles in an ever-changing, global economy.
Housing
We believe a safe, stable, and affordable housing is the right of every American and will work to end homelessness and housing shortages by supporting an increase in public resources to create safe, stable and affordable housing, including rent and capitol subsidies and supportive services.
Infrastructure
We believe America needs to invest in improving our existing transportation and communication infrastructure and develop and increase access to sustainable alternative and public mass transportation. Drinking and wastewater systems need updating and should not be privatized. We support the continued expansion of high speed internet and cell phone coverage throughout the nation.
Patents
We pledge ourselves to the enactment of a patent law which will make it impossible for patents to be suppressed or used against the public welfare in the interests of injurious monopolies. Additionally, we seek to restore patent & copyright law to its Constitutional purpose of promoting innovation and the progress of science and useful arts by ending the de facto indefinite extensions of patent & copyright licenses.
Economy
Local businesses are a cornerstone of our communities. We believe in a strong, social, local economy and local investments. We also believe in livable wages, the right to unionize, and the empowerment of low income citizens. A healthy economy is an economy that works for everyone, helping to meet everyone’s basic needs.
Government Efficiency
We pledge our party to readjustment of the methods of the National Government and a proper organization of the Federal departments, which will increase the economy and efficiency of the Government service, prevent duplication, and secure better results to the taxpayers for every dollar expended.
Government Supervision Over Investments
The people of the United States are swindled out of many millions of dollars every year, through worthless investments. The plain people, the wage earner and the men and women with small savings, have no way of knowing the merit of concerns sending out highly colored prospectuses offering stock for sale, prospectuses that make big returns seem certain and fortunes easily within grasp.
We hold it to be the duty of the Government to protect its people from this kind of piracy. We, therefore, demand wise, carefully thought out legislation that will give us such supervision over this matter as will furnish to the people of the United States this much-needed protection.
We condemn the corrupt acts of fraudulent and artificial market manipulation. We will enact effective legislation to prohibit, without exception, the practice of corporate stock buybacks.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Ecology is the bedrock of our society, including our health, quality of life, and economy. As Progressives, we inherently work to safeguard this foundation, yet understand that there will be limited meaningful progress in addressing climate change and environmental degradation without simultaneous progress in the areas of social and economic justice.
Climate Change
We believe in doing everything in our power to address, mitigate, and even reverse human induced climate change.
Natural Resources
We believe that protecting the environment contributes to a healthy and vibrant economy: we support sustainable, green industries that protect America’s natural beauty and resources, contribute to the greater good, and improve our soils. We support strong land-use planning, wildlife management and conservation, restoring our waterways, and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Energy Independence & Versatility
We support sustainable, ecologically sound, renewable alternatives to carbon-based energy. We believe this nation should be powered with safe, clean, renewable, and publicly and locally owned energy resources and utilities. We support investments and job development in energy conservation and weatherization programs
.
Agriculture
We support diversified, sustainable and locally based agriculture. We support farmers markets, farm-to-table, and farm-to-school to ensure that all Americans have access to quality, healthy, and sustainably grown food.
CONCLUSION
On these principles and on the recognized desirability of uniting the Progressive forces of the Nation into an organization which shall unequivocally represent the Progressive spirit and policy we appeal for the support of all American citizens, without regard to previous political affiliations.
March 2020
The conscience of the people, in a time of grave national problems, has called forth the rebirth of a party, born of the nation's sense of justice and steeped in tradition. We of the Progressive Party here dedicate ourselves to the fulfillment of the duty laid upon us by our fathers to maintain the government of the people, by the people, and for the people whose foundations they laid.
We hold with Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln that the people are the masters of their Constitution, to fulfill its purposes and to safeguard it from those who, by perversion of its intent, would convert it into an instrument of injustice. In accordance with the needs of each generation the people must use their sovereign powers to establish and maintain equal opportunity and industrial justice, to secure which this Government was founded and without which no republic can endure.
We strive to the grand level of Statesmanship embodied by Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. This country belongs to the people who inhabit it. Its resources, its business, its institutions and its laws should be utilized, maintained or altered in whatever manner will best promote the general interest.
It is time to set the general welfare of the American Public first among this government's priorities.
The Old Parties
Political parties exist to secure responsible government and to execute the will of the people.
From these great tasks both of the old parties have turned aside. Instead of instruments to promote the general welfare, they have become the tools of corrupt interests which use them impartially to serve their selfish purposes. Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.
To destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.
The deliberate betrayal of its trust by the Republican party, the fatal incapacity of the Democratic party to deal with the new issues of the new time, have compelled the people to forge a new instrument of government through which to give effect to their will in laws and institutions.
Unhampered by tradition, uncorrupted by power, undismayed by the magnitude of the task, the Progressive Party offers itself as the instrument of the people to sweep away old abuses, to build a more perfect union.
The Rule of the People
The National Progressive Party, committed to the principles of government by a self-controlled democracy expressing its will through representatives of the people, pledges itself to secure such alterations in the fundamental law of the several States and of the United States as shall insure the representative character of the government.
In particular, the party declares for proportional allotment of electors from each state to the Electoral College, ranked-preference voting in primary elections, universal adoption of semi-open primaries to allow non-aligned independents a voice, and most urgently call for publicly funded elections.
A Covenant With the People
This declaration is our covenant with the people, and we hereby bind the party and its candidates in State and Nation to the pledges made herein.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
As Progressives, we understand that every issue intersects, yet at the core is the underlying question of how we treat each other. We therefore and foremost believe in eliminating institutional racism against people of color.
Racial Justice
We will proactively work to eliminate institutionalized racism in our workforce, government, and law enforcement, and personal racial bias in ourselves.
Gender Equality
We will work to prevent discrimination and violence against women, including sexual harassment, abuse, workplace discrimination, and domestic violence, with a strong emphasis on promoting a culture of consent. We support equal rights for our LGBTQ community, including Transgender, Intersex, and other Non-binary individuals.
Disability Rights
We support the full inclusion and social support for people with intellectual, learning, emotional, and physical disabilities.
Human Rights
We believe it is the responsibility of government to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of every person. We will preserve America’s international leadership as champions of human rights. We will protect citizens from unconstitutional government intrusion; defend immigrants and refugees; support religious diversity; and oppose all limitations to an accepting and inclusive society.
Immigration
We favor Governmental action to encourage the able-bodied immigrant to participate in the American dream. We favor Governmental action to encourage the distribution of immigrants away from the congested cities, to promote their education and advancement.
We denounce the fatal policy of inhumane persecution of the children of immigrants. Under no circumstance should any person be held liable for the sins of the father. We pledge to codify DACA protections into law.
Public Safety
We are committed to investing in public safety, with an emphasis on prevention and rehabilitation including for imprisoned populations. We support: fair sentencing and bail laws; an end to the use of private for-profit prisons; strong safeguards against the disproportionately high incarceration rates of populations most vulnerable to discrimination; and a reduction of incarceration in general. We support strong restorative justice programs and the expansion of drug courts statewide.
Government Reform
We believe in a fair, transparent, and accountable government. We insist on publicly-funded elections with comprehensive campaign finance laws. We believe that progress requires participation by people in our communities, workplaces, and schools, and will work to mobilize citizens at all levels during and between elections. The practice of unlimited private donations contributed to Super PACs without a means of public scrutiny and transparency must end.
Ending Corporate Personhood
The Progressive Party, believing that the rights and freedoms recognized by the Constitution belong to the People alone, pledges itself to adopt and ratify an Amendment to the Constitution to define individual rights as the exclusive benefit of the People, excluding non-person entities, ending the disastrous Citizen's United decision.
Transparency & Public Service
We pledge our party to legislation prohibiting lobbying by former elected representatives; publicity of all committee hearings except on matters of definitive and tangible national security; and compelling the Senate to fulfill its Constitutional obligation of advise and consent to the appointment of federal judges & executive appointees during the same session of Congress in which the appointee was submitted for confirmation.
Peace and National Defense
Diplomacy is the bedrock of a peaceful society. The Progressive party deplores the survival in our civilization of the barbaric system of warfare among nations with its enormous waste of resources even in time of peace, and the consequent impoverishment of the life of the toiling masses. We pledge the party to use its best endeavors to substitute judicial and other peaceful means of settling international differences. We support our active and veteran military personnel, but do not support preemptive and aggressive military action.
Treaty Rights
We pledge our party to protect the rights of American citizenship at home and abroad. No treaty should receive the sanction of our Government which discriminates between American citizens because of birthplace, gender, race, religion, orientation, or identity or that does not recognize the absolute right of expatriation.
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the bedrock of a peaceful society. We support our active and veteran military personnel, but do not support preemptive and aggressive military action.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We recognize that we are living in the wealthiest country in human history, yet so many have so little while a small handful of people have so much. The Progressive Party is the only major party that can credibly address the destructive effects of extreme wealth inequality. We are the only major party that refuses the culture and practice of corporate contributions in politics; we understand that working people are not fully represented in a society that accepts corporate personhood. We recognize that the economic challenges we face as Americans can differ between diverse communities and regions. We believe the economy should equitably serve the needs of the many, not to make profits for the few.
Taxes
We believe the United States needs a progressive tax system where wealthier Americans pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than low to moderate income Americans. We believe in reducing our reliance on property and other regressive taxes.
Inheritance Tax
We believe in a graduated inheritance tax as a National means of equalizing the obligations of holders of property to Government, and we hereby pledge our party to enact such a Federal law as will tax large inheritances, returning to the States an equitable percentage of all amounts collected.
Healthcare
We understand that, for many, healthcare is an economic issue, and believe that healthcare should be viewed as a public good and not a commodity. As such, we support universal, single-payer, prenatal-to-death healthcare provided through a not-for-profit, publicly financed system, with access to prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, hearing care, addiction, and mental health services.
Education
We understand that education is an economic issue. We believe that a strong and equitable Pre-K to 12 public education system funded with a progressive tax structure, and tuition-free public post-secondary education, including public colleges & universities, trade schools, and apprenticeships, are an essential foundation to foster civic participation in a democratic society and a more equitable economy. We believe in local empowerment, supporting our teachers, and fostering lifelong learners and community members with a bias-free broad-based liberal curriculum with emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics as the best way to ensure America's youth are best prepared for their roles in an ever-changing, global economy.
Housing
We believe a safe, stable, and affordable housing is the right of every American and will work to end homelessness and housing shortages by supporting an increase in public resources to create safe, stable and affordable housing, including rent and capitol subsidies and supportive services.
Infrastructure
We believe America needs to invest in improving our existing transportation and communication infrastructure and develop and increase access to sustainable alternative and public mass transportation. Drinking and wastewater systems need updating and should not be privatized. We support the continued expansion of high speed internet and cell phone coverage throughout the nation.
Patents
We pledge ourselves to the enactment of a patent law which will make it impossible for patents to be suppressed or used against the public welfare in the interests of injurious monopolies. Additionally, we seek to restore patent & copyright law to its Constitutional purpose of promoting innovation and the progress of science and useful arts by ending the de facto indefinite extensions of patent & copyright licenses.
Economy
Local businesses are a cornerstone of our communities. We believe in a strong, social, local economy and local investments. We also believe in livable wages, the right to unionize, and the empowerment of low income citizens. A healthy economy is an economy that works for everyone, helping to meet everyone’s basic needs.
Government Efficiency
We pledge our party to readjustment of the methods of the National Government and a proper organization of the Federal departments, which will increase the economy and efficiency of the Government service, prevent duplication, and secure better results to the taxpayers for every dollar expended.
Government Supervision Over Investments
The people of the United States are swindled out of many millions of dollars every year, through worthless investments. The plain people, the wage earner and the men and women with small savings, have no way of knowing the merit of concerns sending out highly colored prospectuses offering stock for sale, prospectuses that make big returns seem certain and fortunes easily within grasp.
We hold it to be the duty of the Government to protect its people from this kind of piracy. We, therefore, demand wise, carefully thought out legislation that will give us such supervision over this matter as will furnish to the people of the United States this much-needed protection.
We condemn the corrupt acts of fraudulent and artificial market manipulation. We will enact effective legislation to prohibit, without exception, the practice of corporate stock buybacks.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Ecology is the bedrock of our society, including our health, quality of life, and economy. As Progressives, we inherently work to safeguard this foundation, yet understand that there will be limited meaningful progress in addressing climate change and environmental degradation without simultaneous progress in the areas of social and economic justice.
Climate Change
We believe in doing everything in our power to address, mitigate, and even reverse human induced climate change.
Natural Resources
We believe that protecting the environment contributes to a healthy and vibrant economy: we support sustainable, green industries that protect America’s natural beauty and resources, contribute to the greater good, and improve our soils. We support strong land-use planning, wildlife management and conservation, restoring our waterways, and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Energy Independence & Versatility
We support sustainable, ecologically sound, renewable alternatives to carbon-based energy. We believe this nation should be powered with safe, clean, renewable, and publicly and locally owned energy resources and utilities. We support investments and job development in energy conservation and weatherization programs
.
Agriculture
We support diversified, sustainable and locally based agriculture. We support farmers markets, farm-to-table, and farm-to-school to ensure that all Americans have access to quality, healthy, and sustainably grown food.
CONCLUSION
On these principles and on the recognized desirability of uniting the Progressive forces of the Nation into an organization which shall unequivocally represent the Progressive spirit and policy we appeal for the support of all American citizens, without regard to previous political affiliations.
