Do Democrats Hate God AND Israel? Let's Find Out!

I sometimes wonder whether Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Michael Steele will ever get a TV show together, where they can discuss just how piss-poorly they each did as spokemen for their respective parties.  DWS has been doing the thankless job of trying to spin a last-minute DNC platform change regarding the removal (and re-insertion) of references to "God" and to Jerusalem being Israel's capital.  This issue is of course a huge deal to absolutely no one.

There was once a time when a political party's platform actually meant something as far as the direction of that party--the best example was the 1948 civil rights plank that soon-to-be Senator Hubert Humphrey put in the Democrats' platform, leading to a walkout by Southern Democrats and Strom Thurmond's third party race against Harry Truman.  Nowadays, platforms are the usual drivel, as they by no means bind a president or any other office holders.  They just send a signal to the activist base--"this is what we stand for!"--that matters as a brief flash in the pan.  Do you recall any point during Obama's presidency that he said "I have to push this policy because I need to be consistent with our 2008 party platform"? 

And the references in question are just stupid anyway.  So what if a political party--which should be a secular entity anyway, as they're not making religious doctrine but rather trying to determine who we should bomb next and who should pay what in taxes--makes no mention of God in their platform?  Does that suddenly mean the Democrats are godless atheists?  I haven't mentioned "God" in my resume, so I hope employers don't think I despise God.  Because I really don't!

And the reference to Jerusalem?  Talk about symbolic crap anyway.  Last I checked, the Israelis have decided where their capital is.  If a major political party in Spain declared the U.S. capital to be Cleveland instead of Washington D.C., that would matter how?  We're not even talking about where Obama stands on the issue--just the Democrats.  And instead of "Jerusalem or Tel Aviv" the better question is "why is Israel so important to our nation that we have to make it a central part of every election?"  I've got nothing against Israel itself, it just seems weird that the U.S. is so deeply enmeshed in their messes.

The platform "controversy" just illustrates one central point--political conventions as they currently exist are dinosaurs.  Better to modernize them into full entertainment extravaganzas, produced to scare up good ratings and sell your party in a fun, imaginative way.  Platforms, roll call votes, and customary speeches and videos that drone on?  Skip 'em.  I'd rather see a roster of standup comedians and puppet acts.