by Karen Ocamb

Every four years, before the presidential election, the political parties draft a platform that defines their core values, policy goals and aspirations. Though generally not read in depth by the voting public, the platform nonetheless stands as an official statement against which the statements and actions of candidates can be measured.

This year both the Republican and Democratic parties made history in their different approaches to writing the platform: The GOP has a participatory questionnaire about issues online, while the Democrats held 1,600 listening sessions seeking input around the country and abroad, many of which involved state chapters of the National Stonewall Democrats and other LGBT groups.

Another historic first for the Democrats was the appointment by Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean of HIV/AIDS activist Diego Sanchez, co-chair of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, to the 186-member Platform Committee.

The “comprehensive platform is an historic landmark,” Sanchez told reporters and bloggers on an Aug. 11 conference call organized by National Stonewall Democrats, who have been working closely with the DNC through their Pride in the Party program. The platform “shows the party’s desire and its readiness for inclusion, and it shows its leaders’ focus on leaving no one behind. The platform feels inclusive both in its content and its intent.”

Congressmember Tammy Baldwin, who was on the first platform drafting committee in Cleveland, told reporters that the platform “is truly historic in going further than any previous platform has done, particularly on LGBT equality.”

The platform, Baldwin said, “makes very clear that our party rejects discrimination based on a wide range of issues, but including—very explicitly—race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. … For the first time in the history of our party, the platform stands for the inclusion in the life of the nation for transgendered Americans. It explicitly lists gender identity as a protected category.”

Baldwin and Alabama state Rep. Patricia Todd, who served on the platform committee that passed an amended platform on Aug. 9 in Pittsburgh, said that inclusionary language was strengthened throughout the process. For instance, same-sex couples were added to the family section, so it now reads: “We support full inclusion of all families, including same-sex couples, in the life of our nation.”

The platform is also the strongest ever, Baldwin said, going beyond the historic inclusionary process and language to provide context and philosophy to substantial policy goals.

“It’s not just the rhetoric on inclusion, which we have seen weaker language in previous platforms,” Baldwin said. “This platform is made particularly strong because as we go from rhetoric to policy and substance [that] reflect the positions that have been courageous championed by Senator Obama. So it goes far beyond opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment, which we saw in the 2004 platform, and repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ This year’s platform shows that Democrats are committed to enacting hate crime legislation, enacting a comprehensive [bipartisan] Employment Non-Discrimination Act, opposing the Defense of Marriage Act and attempts to use same-sex marriage in a divisive manner.”

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which was created to fight the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, told reporters that, “Four years ago, it was very hard to find mention of ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ in the platform. This year, the statement is bold and unequivocal.”

In fact, the platform calls not only for the repeal of DADT, but proactively, Baldwin noted, for “implementing policies to allow qualified men and women to serve openly regardless of their sexual orientation.”

The platform also calls for a national strategy to fight HIV/AIDS domestically, as well as globally—something pushed for by Dr. Marjorie Hill, executive director of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York, and Phill Wilson, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Black AIDS Institute. There is no mention of defunding the Bush administration’s abstinence-based prevention efforts, however.

Several reporters questioned the omission of the specific words “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual” and “transgender” from the document. Freelance political reporter Lisa Keen asked why that was so, since Obama has appeared so comfortable with the word “gay.” Was there conscious discussion about omitting the words, lest Republicans “go through the platform with a fine tooth comb?”

“I can say that is absolutely not true,” Todd said. “There was never any discussion about keeping it out. We were trying to be very clear on the particular policy issues we were talking about—sometimes it is ‘gender identify,’ and sometimes it is ‘same-sex couples.’”

Jon Hoadley, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats, said, “We actually tried to find language that was more inclusive … Adding language about same-sex couples is exactly that because it doesn’t just mean gay or lesbian couples,” it can also refer to transgender couples or if one person is bisexual. “All those families are included in this document.”

Additionally, the intention was to “model” language used in legislation so the platform can be used by candidates in their races. ENDA, for instance, uses the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity rather than specifying “gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.” And the platform does not refer to civil unions but “support equal responsibility, benefits and protections” for same-sex couples.

“We were certainly wordsmithing on how to make sure that we were clear on the various policies issues that affect the LGBT community—that we were having the most inclusive language possible,” said Baldwin. “We were talking about doing what’s right, and that was a heartwarming part of the process for me.”

Baldwin noted an obvious but too often overlooked point when pressed on the fact that the platform does not go beyond stating opposition to using same-sex marriage as a “divisive issue,” with anti-gay ballot measures on the ballot in three states in November—California, Arizona and Florida.

“The platform is not an action plan, an implementation plan,” Baldwin told IN Los Angeles magazine. “Rather, it is the reflection of the values and beliefs and policy positions of this party. It’s up to us as members of the Democratic Party to carry those out and bring actions to these very important calls.”

Karl Rove, the “architect” of using anti-gay initiatives in swing states to bring out religious conservatives to vote for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, told the Los Angeles Times recently that same-sex marriage would not be as important an issue in 2008.

“It has a lower profile, but it will be an issue in people’s minds,” Rove said. “The bigger issues will be the economy, terrorism, healthcare, energy.” But, he said, “values always play a role in a campaign.”

It’s a point the Family Research Council and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have been driving home in advance of the “Values Voter Summit” in Washington, D.C., during which religious conservatives hope to press presumptive GOP presidential candidate John McCain on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion rights. Religious conservatives are particularly worried that the pro-life McCain might select former Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, as his running mate, since Ridge is pro-choice.

Other national political figures in McCain’s camp also disagree on social issues. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for instance, opposes Prop. 8, the anti-gay ballot initiative in California, which McCain supports. However, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, another vice-presidential hopeful, has endorsed the anti-gay initiative in his state.

The platform also clarifies Obama’s version of a faith-based social services program that would ensure partnerships with religious organizations “do not endanger First Amendment protections and that public funds are not used to proselytize or discriminate.”

The platform will be approved during the Democratic convention Aug. 23-29.