Re: Republican and Democratic party platforms [NOT!] on technology

[Rich Graves <rich@c2.org>]

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On Thu, 22 Aug 1996, Declan McCullagh wrote:

> But the benefit of having a pro-privacy statement in the platform (which in
> fact was watered down significantly from that originally proposed by
> advocates on our side) is that the platform covers Republican Party
> candidates for any office, not just the presidency.

One Republican staffer sent you an ass-kissing note quoting an ALLEGED piece
of the platform WHICH IS NOT ACTUALLY THERE. The platform was finalized on
August 12th. The text you quoted is not even in the list of rejected
amendments. I assume that either you or the staffer you talked to innocently
mistook some Senator's position paper for the platform; it's hard to believe
that anyone would intentionally lie about something that is so trivial to
check.

Even if the text you passed on were part of the platform, I fail to see the
importance of a feel-good statement in a platform that the party's
presidential candidate CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE EVEN READ.

Also from the Republican Platform (perhaps out of context, but unlike the
text some anonymous alleged Republican staffer sent you, this is actually
in the platform): 

[...]

In a Dole Administration, U. S. Attorneys will prosecute and jail those who
prey upon the innocent. We support upgrading our interdiction effort by
establishing a Deputy Commissioner for Drug Enforcement within the Customs
Service. We will intensify our intelligence efforts against international
drug traffickers and use whatever means necessary to destroy their
operations and seize their personal accounts.

We support strong penalties, including mandatory minimum sentences, for drug
trafficking, distribution and drug-related crimes.  Drug use is closely
related to crime and recidivism. Drug testing should be made a routine
feature of the criminal justice process at every stage, including the
juvenile justice system. Test results should be used in deciding pretrial
release, sentencing, and probation revocation.

[...]

Terrorist states have made a comeback during Bill Clinton's Administration. 
He has treated their rulers with undue respect and failed to curb their
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction.  Although congressional
Republicans passed anti-terrorism legislation earlier this year, the Clinton
Administration has not implemented many key provisions of the law. It has
not been used to freeze terrorists' assets, deny terrorists' visas, cut off
foreign aid to supporters of terrorist states, or halt terrorist fundraising
in the United States. The Clinton Administration has not implemented the
anti-terrorist research program established and funded by Congress in the
1990 Aviation Security Act.

[...]

Our technological edge is at risk not only because of the Clinton
Administration's refusal to sustain an adequate investment in defense
modernization, but also its virtual abandonment of national security-related
export controls.  Acquisition of technology by aspiring proliferators of
weapons of mass destruction has been irresponsibly facilitated. A Republican
Administration will protect the American technological edge. It will do so
by expanding investment in defense modernization, ensuring that the Defense
Department has a key role in approving exports of militarily critical
technology, and restoring the effectiveness of export control regimes.

[...]

The intelligence community should be our first line of defense against
terrorism, drug trafficking, nuclear proliferation, and foreign espionage.
Bill Clinton's neglect of our country's intelligence service is one of his
most serious sins of omission. He has underfunded, misutilized, and
marginalized critical intelligence missions and capabilities. No wonder his
first appointee as Director of Central Intelligence has endorsed Bob Dole.
The nation's security - and the personal safety of our citizens - cannot be
placed at risk.

Effective intelligence can be expensive. But what it costs is measured in
dollars rather than lives - an important lesson of the Gulf War. A
Republican Administration will reverse the decline in funding for
intelligence personnel and operations while better managing the development
of futuristic capabilities. We will not constrain U.S. intelligence
personnel with "politically correct"  standards that impede their ability to
collect and act on intelligence information. We will conduct whatever
intelligence operations are necessary to safeguard American lives against
the terrorists who bomb our airplanes and buildings.

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