Join the "Healthcare NOT Warfare" campaign!
PDA 2006 Election Video
» 56K modem
» broadband
Stop Funding War Video
» All
formats
Click here for the Congressional Schedule
![[Improve and Expand Medicare! Send your FREE Fax!]](http://www.1payer.net/ads/1payerfaxad.jpg)
August 8, 2005--Last week I attended the annual Young Democrats of America (YDA) national conference as a delegate from Arizona to the YDA platform committee. Two of my goals were to speak for the Arizona delegation and to work on behalf of PDA to advance the progressive agenda within YDA.
Since 1932, YDA has been the official youth arm of the Democratic Party and is open to any party affiliate under the age of 36. YDA is a nationwide grassroots organization with over 45,000 members in 780 local chapters in 43 states. It draws its membership from the ranks of high school students, college students, young workers, young professionals and young families, and it reflects the broad diversity of both our nation and the Democratic Party.
This year, progressives dominated the platform meeting at the national conference. While the initial language proposed by the committee was very moderate, when progressives entered the debate, we easily won over the body and managed to gain the inclusion of progressive ideals and language with very little argument. The planks we put forward at the platform hearing included a proposal to group marriage equality under family and civil rights and language related to support for a single payer healthcare system. We also fought for day labor visas for migrant workers, a national voting holiday, decriminalization of marijuana and the inclusion of queer and intersexed communities into GLBT language.
View the final YDA platform. (193kb, PDF format).
In addition to this work on the platform committee, PDA co-sponsored an "Action Caucus" resolution that will encourage YDA organizations to support and mobilize around 1,000 progressive candidates from now until 2007. Find more information about the Action Caucus and PDA's support of it.
Overall, our experience at the platform committee meeting was symbolic of the Democratic Party in general. When progressives are not at the table, the party misses the boat, but when we are able to sit at the table and articulate progressive ideals, the moderate members listen and learn. This is why PDA was founded, to provide an organized movement of progressives within the Democratic Party. We encourage you to continue to commit your voices to this movement. You are needed now more than ever.
We will provide the link here to the Young Democrats of America 2005 Platform when it is live.
