Op-Ed: Here’s what the Republican and Democratic platforms looked like in 2016

Every four years, Democrats and Republicans have the opportunity to reevaluate and outline their goals in an official party platform tied to nominating a presidential and vice presidential candidate. This year, the GOP has opted to reuse its 2016 platform. Here’s what both parties were saying in 2016:

On policing

Republicans: The Department of Justice “has urged leniency for rioters while turning a blind eye to mob attacks on peaceful citizens exercising their political rights.”

“The next president must restore the public’s trust in law enforcement and civil order by first adhering to the rule of law himself.”

“Additionally, the next president must not sow seeds of division and distrust between the police and the people they have sworn to serve and protect.”

Democrats: “We will work with police chiefs to invest in training for officers on issues such as de-escalation and the creation of national guidelines for the appropriate use of force. We will encourage better police-community relations, require the use of body cameras, and stop the use of weapons of war that have no place in our communities. We will end racial profiling that targets individuals solely on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin, which is un-American and counterproductive.”

On LGBT rights

Republicans: In Obergefell vs. Hodges, the case that made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, “five unelected lawyers robbed 320 million Americans of their legitimate constitutional authority to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Court twisted the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment beyond recognition. To echo Scalia, we dissent.”

Democrats: “Democrats applaud last year’s decision by the Supreme Court that recognized that LGBT people — like other Americans — have the right to marry the person they love. But there is still much work to be done. … Democrats will fight for the continued development of sex discrimination law to cover LGBT people. We will also fight for comprehensive federal non-discrimination protections for all LGBT Americans, to guarantee equal rights in areas such as housing, employment, public accommodations, credit, jury service, education, and federal funding.”

On healthcare

Republicans: “Any honest agenda for improving healthcare must start with repeal of the dishonestly named Affordable Care Act of 2010: Obamacare. It weighs like the dead hand of the past upon American medicine. It imposed a Euro-style bureaucracy to manage its unworkable, budget-busting, conflicting provisions. It has driven up prices for all consumers. … It is time to repeal Obamacare and give America a much-needed tax cut.”

“To ensure vigorous competition in healthcare, and because cost-awareness is the best guard against over-utilization, we will promote price transparency so consumers can know the cost of treatments before they agree to them. … Consumer choice is the most powerful factor in healthcare reform.”

Democrats: “We will keep fighting until the ACA’s Medicaid expansion has been adopted in every state. Nineteen states have not yet expanded Medicaid. This means that millions of low-income Americans still lack health insurance and are not getting the care they need.”

— Compiled by Mariah Kreutter