Calaveras Democrats
Our Values and Why
We Believe in the Constitution
- Promoting the “general welfare” of the people as written in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution
- Equal protection of the civil rights of all persons in the United States irrespective of race, creed, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, abilities, or legal status
- Fiercely protecting the right of all citizens to vote
- A woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices
- The strong defense of First Amendments rights and freedoms
- Campaign finance reform including repealing “Citizens United”
We Believe in Economic Justice
- Living wage for all Americans with equal pay for equal work
- Safe working conditions
- A fair tax system
- Affordable housing
- Investment in rural economic development, including low-cost broadband access
- Strong oversight of high-risk financial markets
- Safeguarding the Dodd-Frank statutes on consumer and bankruptcy protection
We Believe in the Universal Right to Health Care
- Medicare for all (single-payer)
- An emphasis on preventative care
- Investing in rural healthcare delivery
- Expansion of local health clinics
- Controlling drug cost
We Believe in Universal Public Education
- Free education for all (elementary/high/trade school, college)
- Equity for all students in the quality of their education
- Substantially greater investment in advanced technical education
- Broadband access for all students
- Restore civics as a high-school curriculum requirement
We Believe in Reversing Global Climate Change and Preservation of the Environment
- War should never be used, except as a last option
- Pro-active policies for national cyber-defense
- Giving our intelligence agencies the ability to offer independent assessments
- Establishing independent oversight of defense technology investments
We Believe in the Right to Abortion and Bodily Atonomy
- The Government has no right to interfere in anyone's healthcare decisions. All healthcare decisions are sacred and a private matter between a citizen and their doctor
- We believe that abortion is a very difficult decision and is nobody's business. This decision is private and between a woman, her mate, and her doctor.
- We believe that Governments should stay out of the doctor's office and bedroom
We Believe in a Strong and Transparent Defense Policy
- War should never be used, except as a last option
- Pro-active policies for national cyber-defense
- Giving our intelligence agencies the ability to offer independent assessments
- Establishing independent oversight of defense technology investments
We Believe in Investing in and Improving Our Public Safety Infrastructure
- Public safety needs to be managed as a holistic system including law enforcement, fire suppression, medical response, and social services related to probation, parole, addiction, and mental health services
- Establish a uniform medical response system for geographic areas
- Expand neighborhood watch programs
We Believe in Strong Gun Control Laws
- First and foremost, we need everyone to believe that life is sacred and gun ownership is not. No law should ever be passed that places guns above life.
- The Second Amendment has been grossly misinterpreted. A sane and true interpretation is badly needed and recognized by the Supreme Court, or it needs to be rewritten
- Individuals do not need weapons of war. Automatic and semi-automatic weapons should be banned and never owned by non-military individuals
- Existing gun laws need to be modified to include, background checks, a waiting period, mandatory licensing, training, and insurance on all guns and gun owners.
- Further, the indemnification of gun manufacturers needs to end through Congressional legislation.
We Believe in Civility
- War should never be used, except as a last option
- Pro-active policies for national cyber-defense
- Giving our intelligence agencies the ability to offer independent assessments
- Establishing independent oversight of defense technology investments
