Kerry heads off platform squabble

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry’s campaign headed off a showdown in the party platform yesterday over Iraq, convincing rival Dennis J. Kucinich’s supporters not to demand withdrawal of U.S. troops or the establishment of a Department of Peace.

Saying party unity is more important than particulars, delegates agreed to forgo amendments on Iraq, a broader call for same-sex unions and a stronger endorsement of Palestinians’ rights.

Mr. Kerry has ensured that his party will adopt a platform that matches the centrist image the campaign is trying to portray for the Massachusetts senator.

“They didn’t think we could do this. They didn’t think we could be on message. We showed them, we did it,” said Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Ohio Democrat and co-chairwoman of the platform committee. “We have kept our eye on the prize.”

The platform was adopted unanimously and will go to the full convention in Boston on July 26 for final approval. It is far shorter than the 2000 Democratic platform, and instead of a list of specifics, it is a broader statement of principles.

The document includes several pointed rebukes of President Bush’s policies, calling them “wrongheaded” and a “dangerously ineffective” disregard of other nations.

Almost half of this year’s platform is devoted to national and domestic security — something Kerry campaign officials said emphasizes that Democrats, led by Mr. Kerry, are ready to assume the challenge of defending the United States.

The platform includes Mr. Kerry’s call for boosting military troop strength, his initiatives to contain weapons of mass destruction and his pledge to channel more funding to homeland security.

The Kerry campaign was very much in charge of the drafting process, with deputy campaign manager Steve Elmendorf, adviser Miles Lackey and campaign foreign-policy adviser Rand Beers on hand in the hotel ballroom here in Hollywood, Fla.

And most delegates responded: At one point, just a handful were standing to second an amendment, until a campaign representative announced that Mr. Kerry accepted the amendment, which prompted half of the other delegates to rise immediately to second it.

Another time, the campaign did not step forward to support an amendment that embodied one of its own principles, to raise fuel-efficiency standards, which failed for lack of a second.

“This came directly off the John Kerry Web site,” pleaded amendment sponsor Hue Beattie, a delegate from Washington, to no avail.

One amendment that did pass was to eliminate a praiseworthy mention of 1996 Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole.

Originally, the platform had closed by crediting Mr. Dole for trying, but failing, to make the Republicans’ platform more inclusive in 1996. But delegates yesterday said Democrats shouldn’t have to credit Mr. Dole when their party had been inclusive long before the Republicans’ attempt.

“Basically, we can do it without him,” said Marla Camp, the delegate from Texas who sponsored the amendment. It passed by voice vote.

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