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

[Declan McCullagh <declan@eff.org>]

I never really liked having my ass kissed much, so I'll find out the 
truth tomorrow.

I got a fax sent from a Senate office yesterday saying that it was in the
platform, even though it doesn't appear (yet) on the rnc.org web site --
a fact you'll note I mentioned in my original message. 

It was a good rant, though, Rich. Nicely done.

-Declan




On Thu, 22 Aug 1996, Rich Graves wrote:

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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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// declan@eff.org // I do not represent the EFF // declan@well.com //