Flailing Texas Democrats Finally Unfurl Platform Filled with Utopian Socialist Designs

AUSTIN – Texas Democrats failed to approve a party platform during their state convention in Dallas July 14 - 16 because of a lack of a quorum.  There were not enough Texas Democrats in attendance to vote on the platform.  

Over the weekend during the sleepy weekend news cycle, the leadership of the minority party released an update of it's marching orders for candidates up and down the ballot and it is very consistent with the current hard left, socialist policies being chiseled out in Washington; wealth redistribution, disarming the public, 'fixing' the electric grid which has been working normally since the Republican led Texas Legislature mandated repairs following Winter Storm Uri, and attempting to circumvent the Constitution and the Supreme Court on abortion.   

“When Texans compare the Texas Democrats’ platform to the jaw-dropping secessionist trash the Texas Republicans adopted earlier this summer, the differences between the two parties truly speak for themselves.” said Texas Democrat Party Chair Gilbert Hinojosa.  “While Texas Republicans regress further down their dark rabbit hole of divisive culture wars, Texas Democrats stand ready to put this platform into action come November: creating an economy that works for all Texans, not just the wealthy oligarchs; expanding access to quality, affordable healthcare; freeing our communities from the constant threat of gun violence; ensuring a quality education for all Texan children; giving women back their bodily autonomy and the ability to get abortion care; and yes, fixing the damn electric grid."

Here's a taste of what Texas Democrats want to do: 

Take Away Guns & Gun Rights: 

• Support compiling a registry of people with violent histories, including family violence, to ensure these individuals cannot purchase guns until their records are cleared;
• Mandate the temporary surrender of all guns by a person who has had a protective order issued against them in the past 3 years or is convicted of a violent misdemeanor or felony, including animal abuse, or has been in the past 5 years in Texas, any other U.S. jurisdiction, or in military court, returning them only when that person has been deemed safe to own a gun by an approved licensed psychologist hired or contracted by the state or county and no sooner than one year after temporary surrender;
• Require universal background checks coupled with a reasonable waiting period, with the exception of an exchange of firearms within families or by inheritance, to ensure those charged with violent crimes cannot possess or acquire firearms while their charges remain pending; 
• Remove loopholes that exempt gun shows and private sales to non-family members from background checks and other safety requirements prior to the sale of a firearm;
• Restore the prior federal prohibition on the purchase of assault weapons, as well as prohibit the manufacture, sale, or possession of bump stocks, binary trigger systems, trigger cranks, attachable silencers, and magazine clips that hold over 10 rounds; 
• Prohibit the open carry of all firearms and repeal “campus carry” policies;
• Repeal laws that insulate manufacturers and distributors of firearms from civil liability;

Fixing the Electric Grid the Texas Legislature Already Fixed

• Prioritize the growth of renewable energy options;
• Require the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and ERCOT create and enforce specific weatherization standards for all power plants including stringent standards for black start units. Black start units must be incentivized to always be ready, and penalties must be imposed when they fail;
• Offer relief funding to Texas residents to help cover the costs of damaged homes, cars, other property and potentially high utility bills from price surges during extreme weather conditions, and to invest in energy efficiency measures; and
• Require the PUC and ERCOT to take climate change into account when planning for the future grid.

Redistributing Wealth:

• Enact a constitutional amendment to prohibit sales tax on food and medicine, while opposing efforts to replace local property taxes with a tremendous increase in state sales taxes;
• Reform the business “margins tax” to provide fairness to all economic sectors, especially small businesses, while opposing eliminating it and shifting the burden further onto sales taxes and residential property taxes;
• Eliminate tax loopholes and unproductive special breaks to simplify the tax system and provide revenue for essential services;
• Prohibit “corporate welfare” incentives that pit states and communities against each other;
• Require government procurement contracts and taxpayer-funded incentives to businesses to target, when possible, historically underutilized small businesses and prohibit such awards to companies that export jobs or utilize tax loopholes to avoid state or federal taxes;
• Require the Texas government to spend taxes and fees for the reason they were collected; and
• Prevent the continued use of the Texas Enterprise Fund as a corporate slush fund that rewards businesses owned by political cronies and contributors.
• Require the Texas government to pay its employees competitive wages and provide for indexed wage increases every two years.

Circumventing the Supreme Court:

• Expand access to contraception and reinstate the right to an abortion;
• Expand access to contraception, including those covered by Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP);  
• Fight for the human right to an abortion, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment, which disproportionately impacts people of color and other marginalized communities;
• Ensure individual rights to obtain all forms of contraception, including long-acting reversible contraception, abortion care, and other reproductive services through their health insurance provider without additional premiums;

The State Democratic Executive Committee, which governs party business in between biennial state conventions, met over the weekend to charge a committee to amend the existing platform and approved this document after it was amended by committee. 

The committee began with the 2022 Convention Permanent Platform Committee approved platform that was unreported to the Convention due to quorum call/adjournment on July 16, 2022.