Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz urged members of the party’s platform committee to draft a document that will get people to vote for Democrats rather than simply against Donald Trump.
“Trump has disqualified himself from holding a position as important as the presidency,” Wasserman Schultz said during the platform drafting committee meeting on Wednesday, the day after Hillary Clinton secured enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
She added, “But it’s not enough to just give voters a reason to vote against Trump. It’s time to gear up for the general election and give the American people a clear vision of what they’ll be voting for when they cast their ballot for a Democrat.”
Due to requests and complaints from the Sanders campaign, for the first time in recent history, 75 percent of the drafting committee is made up by representatives nominated by the two campaigns.
Sanders nominated pro-Palestinian activist James Zogby, progressive activist Cornell West, environmental activist Bill McKibben, Native American activist Deborah Parker and Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.
Clinton picked Democratic insiders familiar with the political process, including former State Department official Wendy Sherman, Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., former head of the Environmental Protection Agency Carol Browner, Ohio state Rep. Alicia Reece and union leader Paul Booth.
The DNC chair encouraged members to focus on the core issues of the party when drafting the platform and attempt to appeal to as much of the Democratic base as possible.
“Everything is on the table and nothing is off limits,” Wasserman Schultz said. “If you disagree, try not to be disagreeable. We’ve all seen how being disagreeable can affect things on the other side.”
