On Monday, the Democrats approved their 2024 platform, which includes no mention of the death penalty. This year’s platform marks the first time since 2004 the platform has not mentioned the death penalty (the 2008 and 2012 platforms called for making the punishment less arbitrary).
Public support for the death penalty has been gradually declining. A Gallup poll last year found that 65% of Democrats oppose the punishment.
The Democratic National Committee did not respond to an email asking if the party still supports abolishing the death penalty.
It’s not huge on my priority list, but why? It’s just…bad. Maybe it’s popular with too many people in the center.
ETA: How can you have the Central Park 5 represent at the DNC and then do this??
Honestly, there’s bigger fish to fry (pun only moderately intended).
If we didn’t have war in Ukraine, and war AND genocide in Gaza and two African countries at the moment, and then whatever the hell is happening in Venezuela and ascertaining its ramifications, along with stupid inflation on just what we need to live, and multiple generations locked out of homeownership or possibly even retirement due to a corporate greed-created housing crisis and predatory student loans, and a SCOTUS that is bent on removing the rights of just about anyone who isn’t a straight, white “Christian” man…then yeah, death penalty talk should have been on the table.
But, Harris is a politician, and all politicians have to focus on whichever sound bites can bring over those who are - astonishingly - undecided at this point. It’s naive to think that any candidate who has it “all” will get the nomination. That’s how Hilary got the nomination over Bernie, and it’s how we got Biden as well.
It blows my mind that anyone could be undecided now, but clearly there are folks out there who simply do not in any way follow the news or put any effort into understanding the candidates or issues until the very last minute.
It’s a mindset I simply don’t get.
It’s insane. You think those people just wouldn’t vote if they’re that uninformed, but nope, there must really be people out there who will vote based on the vibes they’re feeling that week or something.
The only way I could see it is if you’re a Republican voter who’s getting worried about Trump’s increasingly unhinged tweeting and speeches. But even then, considering what he’s done before, it’s hard to believe someone hitting that point now, so late.
The President can blanket commute federal death penalty sentences. It’s been done in specific cases before:
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/president-obama-commutes-two-death-sentences
Would just need the some White House lawyers to draw up the paperwork, and it’s done for at least one administration. Literally the minimum that could be done.
Most death penalty cases are at the state level, of course. Even if they have Democrats in the governor’s office, this power will depend on the individual state constitution.
The lefty side of me thinks: “We’re nominating a former prosecutor…what did we expect?”
The practical side of me thinks: “This is like Palestine/Israel. Sure, Harris could be better on this issue…but Trump is still a hundred times worse.”
How so? She did the “both sides” thing during her speech, and did nothing to actually condemn Israel’s actions. She called out Hamas for the October 7 attack. It’s as if Democrats think that Palestinians are just genociding themselves. Her position on Israel-Palestine seems to be to condemn Hamas and create the most lethal military of all time.
The democratic party has been adopting a lot of conservatives left behind by Trump’s republican party. I think this is resulting in a pretty strong divide between the younger leftists and the older bidenites. You can see this by the infighting over domestic policy like immigration, oil permits, economic policy, transportation, and this death penalty policy.
I think Kamala is basically straddling that line to keep the party together, adopting a bit from the left while avoiding any pain points for the right. She’s definitely more left than Biden, but I think it’s possible that the party could break apart into something like a new Socialist Party and a America Party, if Trump leaves politics and the republican party shrivels up.
I have a feeling that, in the very near future, the Republican party is going to fall apart, the Democratic party will shift to the right, and a new leftist party will emerge and draw off the Dems’ left wing.
Assuming the Republicans’ fascist takeover doesn’t succeed, of course.
Adopting a platform with as agreeable as possible to beat an extremist. As long as they don’t start endorsing the death penalty, I understand this strategy.
Adopting a platform with as agreeable as possible to beat an extremist.
They’re adopting an extremist position to beat an extremist.
We’ll get to it after we eat the rich
