Dennis Obduskey To DNC for Platform
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Dennis Obduskey
2016 DNC Platform Committee Member
Meetings in Phoenix, Orlando and Philadelphia
More Amendments incorporated into the National Platform than any other member of the 187-member committee
I'm proud to have been elected to the National Platform Committee of the Democratic Party and supporting the grassroots is a huge issue for me. After attending national platform meetings in Phoenix and Orlando, I'm now heading to Philadelphia to provide additional support for the Revolution, discuss and share information about the Platform process, and use my many years of experience on the front lines as a grass-roots Progressive to work to move our country forward! I've been asked to assist other committees and also intend to network. Work in Philly will be my priority over fun and games.
I've never been one to ask for money, but the fact is that as a member on the national platform, my expenses will actually exceed those of many delegates in Philadelphia. I've driven on a 1,500 mile road trip to attend Platform Drafting Committee meetings and meet appointed members of that committee and share with them our very Progressive Colorado Platform. I was joined on that trip by Terry Tucker, the other Bernie-supporter elected to the committee from our state.
We met Sanders and Clinton appointees including:
Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, Rep. Barbara Lee, Bill McKibben, Deborah Parker, Dr. Cornel West, and James Zogby and hand-delivered our platform, watching the members peruse it during other testimony they were involved with. I believe it contributed to making the National Platform more Progressive than ever before. I had co-chaired the state platform committee and after having reviewed 2016 platforms from 16 states that have updated their document this year, ours stands at the top as representative of all Democrats.
The 187-member Platform Drafting Committee met July 7-10 in Orlando and as it turned out, I submitted 1/10th of the 237 amendments and received considerable attention because of that.
My biggest win was my own amendment to remove marijuana as a Class 1 Federal Controlled Substance and providing a pathway to legalization. It was the most exciting vote of the day and passed 81-80 with a certain amount of controversy.
Because of other tricks in the national process, I was instrumental in creating a pathway for Jim Hightower to submit his anti TPP amendment in a procedural manner through my amendment. Wouldn't have happened had I not submitted a similar amendment to his.
I am proud to have gotten into the platform a focus on long-term home healthcare to keep seniors living in their home longer as a preference to institutionalization and another that opposes the practice of deporting noncitizen veterans who have served in the US military, applying retroactively, and giving them a fast track to citizenship. There is no reason people who served our country in the armed forces should have been debated. I look forward to seeing it and other items in the final draft of the platform and can't wait to tell the people who protested at our state convention to even more highlight the issue. I'm sure I will cry when I speak to them to tell them it is in the national platform of the Democratic Party now.
The $2,800 I'm seeking represents about half of my expected total costs -- just gas for the drive to Phoenix, and 3 nights in a hotel, with flights and other hotel costs for Orlando and Philadelphia.
While I am not a delegate to the National Convention, Bernie Sanders delegates in Colorado elected me to represent OUR views in creating a new and incredibly progressive Party Platform.
I've been involved with creation of the Colorado party platform for years now, and was fortunate enough to have been named by our state party chair to co-chair the state platform which was approved by Colorado Democrats in April.
Look at it for yourself, and you will see what our state platform is both very progressive and representative of the majority of Democrats. (See: Universal Healthcare and Ban Fracking for example):
Colorado Democratic Party 2016 Platform
I tell people that representing Bernies' views are easy, because his views really do match those of Colorado Democrats. My tact with the national platform is to try and overcome the stiff differences between Clinton and Sanders campaigns and focus of what is clear to me: grassroots Democrats really are in line with the majority of Sanders views. I was able to pilot a couple of his positions into the state platform years ago, one dealing with credit card interest rates and others seeking prosecution for bankers responsible for the 2008 economic collapse and related banking abuses. I even spoke about these issues at the request of MoveOn.Org in 2012 in front of Obama campaign headquarters in Denver.
For those of you who don't know me, I am a county chair, a state house district chair, a state senate and judicial district vice-chair, a member of the state central and executive committees, and co-chair the Progressive Democrats of Colorado statewide Initiative.
A rare Colorado native, I was born in Pueblo, received a Journalism degree from CU-Boulder in the 70s and an MBA from CU-Denver in the 80s. I interned for US Senator Gary Hart as an undergraduate. My grandpa took me to see JFK speak in Pueblo.
My Dad, the son of Polish immigrants who settled in Trenton, NJ, ran away from home as a child and "hobo'd," at one time working at a bootleg factory for Dutch Schultz. Dad rode the rails and was a homeless kid in DC at FDRs 1st Inaugural before fighting in Iwo Jima and Okinawa always taught me:
The Democrats are the Party of the Little Guy.
In 1993, through a huge piece of luck, I was able to take my Dad to Bill Clinton's 1st Inaugural. It wasn't so much about Clinton and his politics as it was an opportunity for me to do something for my Dad. He was thrilled because he loved politics and was something of a CSPAN addict. We won tickets to the White House to meet the Clintons and the Gores. (And think about it - homeless kid riding the rails to inside the White House! I still tear up with good feelings about it).
We had beers at the Kennedy Center with one of my Dad's favorites, Robert Reich, who was Clintons first Secretary of Labor and now a Bernie supporter "for the kind of presidency we "should" have. I've followed and believed in him ever since. Living in Denver at the time, I did it all with the help of my awesome and liberal congresswoman, Pat Schroeder, who had 4 tickets for an Inaugural Ball and sold me two, I was a regular constituent not involved in the political system and I think she got the tickets for me because I wasn't trying to impress anyone. It was for my Dad, and It meant so much to me, and to him.
At the platform drafting meeting in Phoenix, I got quite a laugh out of Committee Chair, Congressman Elijah Cummings, when I told him my Dad's email address was "SteveCSPAN." Dad would frequently call me in the middle of the night to tell me to turn on the TV and watch a CSPAN hearing replay, "because that's where the work gets done." I learned a lot from Dad.
I humbly ask for any help you can provide, and note that even the $27 figure that Senator Sanders received as an average contribution would help. I "was retired" in 2015 and at age 61 am living on my 401k for now; not an easy deal for a guy who worked 31 years with the same firm.
For me, and for my Dad (now residing with his fellow soldiers and my Mom at Ft. Logan National Cemetery), I hope to get our party to re-focus and better support the "Little Guy" again. I honestly believe that the Platform is where I can make a difference and I appreciate your support.
2016 DNC Platform Committee Member
Meetings in Phoenix, Orlando and Philadelphia
More Amendments incorporated into the National Platform than any other member of the 187-member committee
I'm proud to have been elected to the National Platform Committee of the Democratic Party and supporting the grassroots is a huge issue for me. After attending national platform meetings in Phoenix and Orlando, I'm now heading to Philadelphia to provide additional support for the Revolution, discuss and share information about the Platform process, and use my many years of experience on the front lines as a grass-roots Progressive to work to move our country forward! I've been asked to assist other committees and also intend to network. Work in Philly will be my priority over fun and games.
I've never been one to ask for money, but the fact is that as a member on the national platform, my expenses will actually exceed those of many delegates in Philadelphia. I've driven on a 1,500 mile road trip to attend Platform Drafting Committee meetings and meet appointed members of that committee and share with them our very Progressive Colorado Platform. I was joined on that trip by Terry Tucker, the other Bernie-supporter elected to the committee from our state.
We met Sanders and Clinton appointees including:
Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, Rep. Barbara Lee, Bill McKibben, Deborah Parker, Dr. Cornel West, and James Zogby and hand-delivered our platform, watching the members peruse it during other testimony they were involved with. I believe it contributed to making the National Platform more Progressive than ever before. I had co-chaired the state platform committee and after having reviewed 2016 platforms from 16 states that have updated their document this year, ours stands at the top as representative of all Democrats.
The 187-member Platform Drafting Committee met July 7-10 in Orlando and as it turned out, I submitted 1/10th of the 237 amendments and received considerable attention because of that.
My biggest win was my own amendment to remove marijuana as a Class 1 Federal Controlled Substance and providing a pathway to legalization. It was the most exciting vote of the day and passed 81-80 with a certain amount of controversy.
Because of other tricks in the national process, I was instrumental in creating a pathway for Jim Hightower to submit his anti TPP amendment in a procedural manner through my amendment. Wouldn't have happened had I not submitted a similar amendment to his.
I am proud to have gotten into the platform a focus on long-term home healthcare to keep seniors living in their home longer as a preference to institutionalization and another that opposes the practice of deporting noncitizen veterans who have served in the US military, applying retroactively, and giving them a fast track to citizenship. There is no reason people who served our country in the armed forces should have been debated. I look forward to seeing it and other items in the final draft of the platform and can't wait to tell the people who protested at our state convention to even more highlight the issue. I'm sure I will cry when I speak to them to tell them it is in the national platform of the Democratic Party now.
The $2,800 I'm seeking represents about half of my expected total costs -- just gas for the drive to Phoenix, and 3 nights in a hotel, with flights and other hotel costs for Orlando and Philadelphia.
While I am not a delegate to the National Convention, Bernie Sanders delegates in Colorado elected me to represent OUR views in creating a new and incredibly progressive Party Platform.
I've been involved with creation of the Colorado party platform for years now, and was fortunate enough to have been named by our state party chair to co-chair the state platform which was approved by Colorado Democrats in April.
Look at it for yourself, and you will see what our state platform is both very progressive and representative of the majority of Democrats. (See: Universal Healthcare and Ban Fracking for example):
Colorado Democratic Party 2016 Platform
I tell people that representing Bernies' views are easy, because his views really do match those of Colorado Democrats. My tact with the national platform is to try and overcome the stiff differences between Clinton and Sanders campaigns and focus of what is clear to me: grassroots Democrats really are in line with the majority of Sanders views. I was able to pilot a couple of his positions into the state platform years ago, one dealing with credit card interest rates and others seeking prosecution for bankers responsible for the 2008 economic collapse and related banking abuses. I even spoke about these issues at the request of MoveOn.Org in 2012 in front of Obama campaign headquarters in Denver.
For those of you who don't know me, I am a county chair, a state house district chair, a state senate and judicial district vice-chair, a member of the state central and executive committees, and co-chair the Progressive Democrats of Colorado statewide Initiative.
A rare Colorado native, I was born in Pueblo, received a Journalism degree from CU-Boulder in the 70s and an MBA from CU-Denver in the 80s. I interned for US Senator Gary Hart as an undergraduate. My grandpa took me to see JFK speak in Pueblo.
My Dad, the son of Polish immigrants who settled in Trenton, NJ, ran away from home as a child and "hobo'd," at one time working at a bootleg factory for Dutch Schultz. Dad rode the rails and was a homeless kid in DC at FDRs 1st Inaugural before fighting in Iwo Jima and Okinawa always taught me:
The Democrats are the Party of the Little Guy.
In 1993, through a huge piece of luck, I was able to take my Dad to Bill Clinton's 1st Inaugural. It wasn't so much about Clinton and his politics as it was an opportunity for me to do something for my Dad. He was thrilled because he loved politics and was something of a CSPAN addict. We won tickets to the White House to meet the Clintons and the Gores. (And think about it - homeless kid riding the rails to inside the White House! I still tear up with good feelings about it).
We had beers at the Kennedy Center with one of my Dad's favorites, Robert Reich, who was Clintons first Secretary of Labor and now a Bernie supporter "for the kind of presidency we "should" have. I've followed and believed in him ever since. Living in Denver at the time, I did it all with the help of my awesome and liberal congresswoman, Pat Schroeder, who had 4 tickets for an Inaugural Ball and sold me two, I was a regular constituent not involved in the political system and I think she got the tickets for me because I wasn't trying to impress anyone. It was for my Dad, and It meant so much to me, and to him.
At the platform drafting meeting in Phoenix, I got quite a laugh out of Committee Chair, Congressman Elijah Cummings, when I told him my Dad's email address was "SteveCSPAN." Dad would frequently call me in the middle of the night to tell me to turn on the TV and watch a CSPAN hearing replay, "because that's where the work gets done." I learned a lot from Dad.
I humbly ask for any help you can provide, and note that even the $27 figure that Senator Sanders received as an average contribution would help. I "was retired" in 2015 and at age 61 am living on my 401k for now; not an easy deal for a guy who worked 31 years with the same firm.
For me, and for my Dad (now residing with his fellow soldiers and my Mom at Ft. Logan National Cemetery), I hope to get our party to re-focus and better support the "Little Guy" again. I honestly believe that the Platform is where I can make a difference and I appreciate your support.
Organiser
Dennis Keith Obduskey
Organiser
Glenelk, CO
