Last week in this space we focused attention on the platform of the Republican Party that was adopted at its National Convention in Cleveland. This week, we take a look at the Democratic Party’s platform.
First, however, a short preface. The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America informed those on its e-mail list that it had been in touch over the past several months with the Democratic and Republican national committees, as well as advisors to several presidential candidates from both parties, and stated that the UCCA “commends the inclusion of Ukraine in both party platforms for the first time in over a decade.” The UCCA added in its July 21 release: “Demonstrating the level of bipartisan support for Ukraine in this country, both party platforms now include specific commitments to seeing Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity restored.” (NB: The UCCA release was written before the Democratic Party’s platform was officially adopted by its convention.)
We’ve now taken a look at the final version of the Democratic platform and can say, yes, it does mention Ukraine and Russia’s violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, but not in words as strong or specific as those in the GOP platform (see last week’s editorial). In a paragraph about Russia contained in the section “Confront Global Threats” the Democratic platform simply notes: “Russia is engaging in destabilizing actions along its borders, violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and attempting to recreate spheres of influence that undermine American interests.”
Another reference to Ukraine appears in the entry about Europe under the section titled “A Leader in the World,” where it is stated: “…We will seek to strengthen our strategic partnership with Turkey while pushing for reforms, end the division of Cyprus, and continue to support a close relationship with states that seek to strengthen their ties to NATO and Europe, such as Georgia and Ukraine.”
It should be noted that the platform also expresses the Democratic Party’s position on NATO and its Article 5 commitments, especially in reaction to the most recent statements made by the Republican Party’s presidential candidate. “We reject Donald Trump’s threats to abandon our European and NATO allies, all while he praises Putin. …We will maintain our Article 5 collective security commitments to NATO because we are stronger when we have our allies at our side. …Donald Trump would overturn more than 50 years of American foreign policy by abandoning NATO partners – 44 countries who help us fight terrorism every day – and embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin instead. We believe in strong alliances and will deter Russian aggression, build European resilience and protect our NATO allies. We will make it clear to Putin that we are prepared to cooperate with him when it is in our interest …but we will not hesitate to stand up to Russian aggression. …”
Having reviewed the platforms of both parties, we must ask: But what’s a party’s platform worth if its presidential candidate chooses to not only ignore it, but to voice positions in direct contradiction to it? That’s what’s happening on the Republican side, with Mr. Trump not only questioning the value of NATO and undermining its founding principles (the platform declared that NATO’s “continued effectiveness is vital, especially in light of recent military challenges in Eastern Europe”), but now suggesting that he is open to accepting Russia’s annexation of Crimea (the platform reads, “We will not accept any territorial change in Eastern Europe imposed by force, in Ukraine, Georgia, or elsewhere…”). According to The Washington Post, asked whether he would recognize Crimea “as Russian territory” and lift sanctions, Mr. Trump said: “We’ll be looking at that. Yeah, we’ll be looking.”
Clearly, then, though the party platforms are important (and that is why we’ve chosen to inform our readers about them), the words of the candidates running in this all-important presidential election must also be scrutinized. And that’s something we urge our readers to keep in mind as this unprecedented election campaign continues.