DNC platform endorses fracking, refuses to recycle leftover food, disavowing party's key principles

Tuesday, July 26, 2016 by: Julie Wilson staff writer
Tags: democrats, fracking, food waste

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(NaturalNews) Supporters of the Democratic Party have been abandoned, forgotten and left in the dust, as their purported representatives endorse policies that best serve their own interests, while completely ignoring the wants and desires of their constituents.

This was best illustrated at the Democratic National Convention, when the party made clear their decision to back the environmentally destructive practice known as fracking, giving full-fledged support to Big Oil and Gas.

Historically, Democrats have a reputation for at least pretending to care about the environment, promising to "protect America's natural resources," to regulate industry's biggest polluters to ensure people have clean water, soil and air, and to do whatever it takes to label GMOs.

Bernie supporters flabbergasted by party's decision to back fracking

But when it comes time to take action, the party falls flat, selling their souls to the very industries citizens are begging to be protected from.

Not only are Bernie Sanders' supporters (who supported their candidate based mainly on his anti-establishment rhetoric) supposed to now back establishment queen Hillary Clinton, but they're supposed to get behind fracking, too.

Thousands of protesters braved the scorching heat on Sunday as they marched through the streets of Philadelphia calling for an end to fracking – a process involving high-pressure injection of millions of gallons of water mixed with chemical additives into deep underground rock formations, releasing oil and gas reserves.

Multiple studies have linked fracking to water contamination, air pollution and potential changes in our atmospheric chemistry, creating genuine cause for concern, which seemed to be shared by the Democratic Party – that is until recently.

Flashback on fracking views

Both Clinton and Sanders publicly vowed to at least limit fracking, regulating the industry to ensure clean air and water. Sanders, in fact, unequivocally supported an outright ban on fracking, endorsing the "keep it in the ground" campaign, while vowing to stop future drilling on federal land.

"Some of the differences between the Clinton and Sanders camps are more on strategy than on substance: Both candidates believe in climate change and have said they want to work toward deploying renewable energy," The Hill reported in June.

It's now apparent that this does not include a ban on fracking.

"During a 9-hour meeting in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, members of the DNC's platform drafting committee voted down a number of measures proposed by Bernie Sanders surrogates that would have come out against the contentious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), fracking, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine," according to Common Dreams.

The panel rejected "a national moratorium on fracking as well as new fossil fuel drilling leases on federal lands and waters."

"[W]e are here today to tell the Democratic Party that their base wants to put an end to fossil fuels and to ban fracking," Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said while attending the weekend march.

"We're demanding a ban on fracking and an end to fossil fuel infrastructure and to keep it in the ground. It's time to really demand what we want and not half-measures."

Philanthropy not allowed at the DNC

Fracking isn't the only issue Democrats flip back and forth on. The party that claims to care deeply about helping the poor, essentially refused to recycle leftover food at a welcome party for delegates at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

One of the delegates, who reportedly "went to bed hungry many a night," grew angry after the caterer told him that donating the food to the poor "wasn't allowed," according to reports.

Democrats actively working against GMO-labeling

Democrats also betrayed their followers on the important issue of GMO-labeling. The promises began with Obama, who vowed to label GMOs during his campaign for presidency. But instead, he appointed Monsanto executives to the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The party again blocked GMO-labeling this summer, voting in favor of a bill that forces consumers to rely on QR codes obtained from their smart phones.

The legislation falls hugely short even for consumers who go the extra mile and check QR codes, because the decision about which GMOs will be labeled falls on the future secretary of the USDA, who will be appointed by the next president.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sources:

Democrats.org

TheHill.com

DemocracyNow.org