Email from Keith Ellison re: the TPP and the Democratic Platform Committee. [View all]

[99th_Monkey]

I hope this clears up some of the confusion about where Keith Ellison stands re the
Platform Committee's work of late. i.e. it's not all hearts and flowers.

Dear 99th Monkey,

On Friday and Saturday, I had the honor of participating in the DNC's Platform Drafting Committee at the request of Bernie Sanders. I have good news and bad news to share with you coming out of this incredibly important meeting:

The good news is that the resulting draft platform is, by and large, the most progressive statement I have seen come out of the Democratic Party in years.

It is clear that the party is responding favorably to the energy and passion brought to the forefront during this amazing presidential primary, and they've adopted stronger positions than they did in previous years on everything from expanding Social Security to tackling criminal justice reform.

Now, for the bad news: During the meeting, I put forward an amendment asking the DNC to take a strong stand against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but several committee members managed to block it from becoming a part of the party platform.

It's disappointing that we weren't able to get this critical anti-TPP provision added this past weekend, but we aren't out of luck yet. On July 8-9, the full platform committee will be meeting to give their take on the draft platform we created -- and they'll have the opportunity to make amendments as well.

Will you sign my petition to the DNC's Platform Committee and join me and DFA in asking them to adopt an anti-TPP amendment when the full committee meets in Orlando on July 8-9?
SIGN UP HERE: http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/TPP_platform_amendment/?t=2&refcode=g-tppplatform0629.d-20160629.m-8083.s-22895&akid=8083.1294488.HXbmZn

The committee members who voted against my amendment claimed that they were leaving the door open to the TPP for the sake of "party unity." But opposition to the job-killing TPP should not be controversial within the Democratic Party: Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigned against the TPP during this year's presidential primary.

I'm happy that both of our strongest candidates for president this year made fighting for fairer trade deals a major part of their platforms. But it's not enough for Democrats to give lip service to opposing bad trade deals while on the campaign trail. We need to show permanent solidarity with working families by taking a stand against the TPP as a party.

The full DNC Platform Committee meets next week -- and we need your help now. Can you sign my petition with DFA demanding a strong anti-TPP provision in the Democratic Party platform?

Thanks for doing everything you can to help defeat the TPP -- and to make the Democratic Party more progressive.

- Keith

Rep. Keith Ellison
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives