2009 Resolutions Adopted

Resolutions that will advance to the 2^nd CD Convention are in black. Issues that will not advance and local resolutions are in blue.

09-SI-1 Supporting Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin’s Executive Accountability Act (86 words)

WHEREAS, the DPDC respects the rule of law, the principle of checks and balances, and the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights;

WHEREAS, the Bush Administration has abused executive branch power and shown contempt for Congress and the American public by impeding congressional oversight;

WHEREAS, no administration should be allowed to commit the abuses of the Bush Administration; and

WHEREAS, Baldwin’s proposed Executive Accountability Act would reverse these abusive actions and restore executive branch accountability;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, DPDC supports Congresswoman Baldwin’s Executive Accountability Act.

09-SI-2 Investigate, Censure, or Impeach Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen for Impeding the Peoples’ Right to Vote and for Using Taxpayer Funds for Partisan Purposes(94 words)

WHEREAS, the DPDC supports free and open elections, encourages maximum voter turnout, and opposes taxpayer dollars being unlawfully used by elected public officials for partisan politicking; and

WHEREAS, in 2008, Van Hollen made repeated attempts at partisan interventions in the voting process and employed deliberate deceptions with regard to those interventions, costing the state more than $43,000 in legal bills, thus unlawfully encumbering civic engagement, fair elections and democratic results;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC calls for an open legislative inquiry into the misconduct by Van Hollen to provide a full accountability to citizens. and, if found guilty, a full accountability to Wisconsin taxpayers.

09-SI-3 Supporting Comprehensive Immigration-Reform in the First Term of the Obama Administration (94 words)

WHEREAS, most Americans embrace the principle: immigrants who have been working, paying taxes, and making positive contributions to our communities deserve citizenship; and

WHEREAS, the Bush Administration practiced inhumane, community-destructive, and often family-destructive policies of workplace raids followed by imprisonment and unfair, unreasonable deportation of immigrants who were guilty only of working for poverty wages in undesirable and often dangerous jobs;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC supports prompt enactment of immigration reform that includes citizenship quickly for immigrants who have made positive contributions to our communities through working, paying taxes, supporting families, or other ways.

09-SI-4 Calling on President Obama to Keep His Promise to Withdraw Troops from Iraq (91 words)

WHEREAS, at past DPW Conventions delegates adopted resolutions calling for an end to military operations in Iraq;

WHEREAS, a partial withdrawal of troops from Iraq while leaving thousands behind for “training” and “counter-terrorism” operations conditioned on the approval of Gen. David Petraus does not go far enough; and

WHEREAS, the Iraqi parliament and Iraqi civil society have become increasingly assertive in using nonviolent means to push for a US. withdrawal;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC calls upon President Obama to immediately begin the rapid and total withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.

09-SI-5 End Deployment of the Wisconsin National Guard to Iraq (96 words)

WHEREAS, in 2002, Congress approved the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) with a limited mission of defending the security of the US against Iraq;

WHEREAS, US forces, including members of the Wisconsin National Guard, have long ago fulfilled the AUMF, so there exists no lawful basis for continued deployment of Wisconsin National Guard units in Iraq; and

WHEREAS, maintaining Wisconsin National Guard members in Iraq is causing significant harm to them, their families, their communities, and Wisconsin's economy;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC demands the Wisconsin National Guard be withdrawn from Iraq and redeployed to Wisconsin.

09-SI-6 Calling Upon President Obama To End Religious Proselytizing And Discrimination In All Governmental Programs (99 words)

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has long stood strong for America’s cornerstone principle of separation of church and state, which calls for no taxpayer support of religion; and

WHEREAS, the so-called “faith-based” initiative is a particularly blatant example of taxpayer-supported religion, a Bush Administration scheme that gives tax dollars to churches and religious social-service providers without adequate safeguards to prevent proselytism and discrimination in hiring;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC calls upon President Obama to uphold constitutional separation of church and state by eliminating religious discrimination and proselytizing from all existing and future government-funded programs and eliminating the “faith-based” programs altogether.

09-SI-7 Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Financing (100 words)

WHEREAS, special-interest spending on Wisconsin Supreme Court races topped $5,000,000 in both 2007 and 2008 vs. $1,000,000 spent by the candidates themselves;

WHEREAS, justice should be impartial even in appearance, yet over 3/4 of Wisconsin citizens believe that campaign contributions to Supreme Court candidates influence their subsequent decisions; and

WHEREAS, in 2007, 2/3 of citizens and all 7 justices supported public financing of Supreme Court elections;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC supports public financing of Supreme Court elections, and requirements in all elections for full disclosure of, and contribution limits on, contributors to what any “reasonable person” would consider election advertising.

09-SI-8 Supporting A Wisconsin Single-Payer Health Care Reform Bill (87 words)

WHEREAS, our current healthcare system, based on disease management instead of prevention, is broken;

WHEREAS, skyrocketing premiums make healthcare unaffordable to millions of people; and

WHEREAS, healthcare institutions waste billions of dollars on administrative costs, devastating families and our economy;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC demands a Wisconsin Universal Health Care Bill that guarantees comprehensive healthcare coverage (medical, psychological, dental, vision, hospitalization, therapeutic, and prescription); preserves patients' rights to choose their own doctors and hospitals; and saves consumers, employers, taxpayers, and state and local governments millions of dollars.

09-SI-9 Calling On President Obama And Congress To Withdraw Troops From Afghanistan (99 words)

WHEREAS, the Afghanistan invasion was and illegal, aggressive war violating the UN Charter and proves military force an ineffective solution to terrorist threats reducing world peace and security while inflaming world opinion; and

WHEREAS, the Afghanistan/Pakistan region is now in deeper political turmoil;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, DPDC calls for President Obama and Congress to commence rapid, total withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, for UN intervention and for provision of humanitarian aid; and

FINALLY RESOLVED, DPDC renounces the claim the Afghanistan war is somehow the “right” war and reaffirms that war as a method of foreign policy must be abolished.

09-SI-10 Support Removing The Marriage Ban from Wisconsin's Constitution (79 words)

WHEREAS, Section 13 of Article XIII of the Wisconsin Constitution denies equal treatment under the law to gay and lesbian couples and harms the children of gay, lesbian couples by denying them the legal protection afforded to children of married parents,

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC supports repealing Section 13 of Article XIII of the Wisconsin Constitution, and, pending repeal, enacting legislation protecting gay, lesbian and other unmarried couples and their children to the extent permitted by the Wisconsin Constitution.

09-SI-11 Supporting The Employee Free Choice Act (95 words)

WHEREAS, workers across the nation are routinely denied the freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life free from coercion and intimidation;

WHEREAS, employers often refuse to bargain fairly after workers form a union by dragging out first-contract bargaining; and

WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act will safeguard workers right to join unions, provide for first contract mediation and arbitration and establish meaningful penalties when employers violate workers' rights;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPDC supports the Employee Free Choice Act, and asks our representatives in Washington for their vote in support of this legislation.