What do you think about the flap over including mention of God and Jerusalem in the DNC platform? From the Los Angeles Times:
In a rare moment of actual convention drama, Democratic officials reinserted language back into their official platform Wednesday evening that invokes God and affirms the role of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, trying to defuse Republican attacks over the party’s stances.
But the maneuver may have backfired, infuriating delegates who objected to the changes.
The new amendments were introduced by former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and put to a vote by convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa, who was forced to call for three voice votes in an effort to pass the changes.
“I, uh, I guess I’ll do that one more time,” Villaraigosa said after a second vote of delegates in the Time Warner Cable Arena resulted equally loud “ayes” and “nos.”
“You’ve got to rule, and then you’ve got to let them do what they’re gonna do,” a woman standing to his left could be heard saying in a feed carried by C-SPAN.
After a third attempt, Villaraigosa declared that the amendments had passed.
“In the opinion of the chair, two-thirds have voted in the affirmative,” he said, drawing large boos and shouts of objections.
The action kicked off the second night of the Democratic National Convention and came as Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan have seized on the platform omissions.
“I think their having removed purposefully God from their platform suggests a party which is increasingly out of touch with the mainstream of American people,” Romney told Fox News on Wednesday. “I think this party is veering further and further away into an extreme wing that Americans don’t recognize.”
Four years ago, the Democrats included the word God in their official platform, writing, “We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”
That line was originally omitted from the 2012 document and reinserted Wednesday night.
“As an ordained United Methodist minister, I am here to attest and affirm that our faith and belief in God is central to the American story, and informs the values we’ve expressed in our party’s platform,” Strickland said in introducing the amendments. “In addition, President Obama recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and our party’s platform should as well.”
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