BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – “If Alabama Democrats needed more evidence that the National Democratic Party, led by President Barack Obama, and the Alabama Democratic Party, led by Chairman Mark Kennedy, have left them and their conservative Alabama beliefs behind, then it looks like they’ll get plenty of it at this week’s DNC Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina,” stated Bill Armistead, Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party.
The official platform of the DNC was adopted by voice vote on Tuesday and includes several departures from previous Democratic Party platforms. The Democratic platform contains language endorsing same-gender marriage for the first time, bringing the party’s official stance in line with President Obama’s, who stated in May that he supports marriage rights for same-sex couples.
The platform specifically states that Democrats oppose “discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments” that would prohibit gays and lesbians from marrying. The platform also states that Democrats support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996.
“Clearly, this language is out of touch with the traditional family values that Alabamians have always embraced, Republican or Democrat,” said Armistead. “Marriage is between one man and one woman. Period. Alabama voters know this and that is why in 2006, 81% of Alabama voters voted for a constitutional amendment that bans the recognition of gay marriage.
“Yet the Alabama Democratic Party Chairman, Mark Kennedy, and the other delegates in Charlotte representing Alabama were a part of the group that has endorsed this radical departure from Alabama conservative values. Members of the Alabama Democratic Party cannot claim to be conservative and represent Alabama values and yet still support a position that was overwhelmingly rejected by Alabama voters,” Armistead continued.
Unlike the Republican Party platform which opposes any new restrictions to the right to bear arms, the newly adopted Democratic Party platform argues that laws already in place are not sufficient and demands “reasonable regulation” governing guns, including laws banning assault weapons and requiring all gun sellers , including sellers at gun shows, to perform background checks on potential buyers.
“This is just another example of how out-of-touch Alabama Democratic Party leadership is with the people of Alabama. We do not need more restrictions that make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to purchase and carry guns. And as any person with common sense could tell you, criminals don’t follow these laws in the first place,” Armistead said.
“However, what I think I found most offensive in the DNC’s new platform was what they left out. God. They removed every mention of our Creator’s name.”
In the 2008 platform, this sentence was included: “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.” The 2012 platform has been restructured to say: “We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”
“When Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL ) was confronted about this startling omission by Fox News Anchor Bret Baier, Durbin said that Baier was ‘harping on a trifle.’ What an affront to the spiritual heritage of this country and our Founding Fathers! I was also disturbed to learn that they removed the language acknowledging Jerusalem as the capital city of our ally, Israel.
“Mark Kennedy and the Alabama Democratic Party have made it clear that they embrace the radical agenda of the National Democratic Party. One of their delegates, Darrell Turner, who is the Chairman of the Cleburne County Democratic Party, is a member of the DNC Platform Committee and told the Montgomery Advertiser that he is ‘an agent to help get the program to the rest of the convention for them to vote on.’
“He also said ‘It’s obviously what we stand on as Democrats.’ Well, I’m glad that someone in leadership with the Alabama Democratic Party has made that clear. But I have news for them. This new platform is not a reflection of what Alabama voters believe. And it’s not a reflection of what most Alabama Democrat voters believe. Stop lying to your membership by claiming to be conservative. And once again, I remind conservative voters in Alabama that the Alabama Democratic Party has left you and your values behind. It’s time to align with the truly conservative Alabama Republican Party,” Armistead concluded.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Contact: Shana Kluck
skluck@algop.org
205-586-5751