Platform Diving

Hammering
together the poarty platform used to be one of the main jobs of the nominating
convention, but led to unsightly rows and delays; nowadays it is written
and approved months in advance. While covering the Democratic convention
we never actually saw a copy of the platform, and only heard it refered
to once, by a Congressman objecting to a plank on Water Rights. However,
we are sure that each party is closely parsing the OTHER side’s platform,
looking for weak points or evidence of "extremism."

Republicans approved
a platform yesterday that puts the party firmly on the record
against legalized abortion, gay marriage and other forms
of legal recognition for same-sex couples, reflecting the political
clout of social conservatives and setting up a stark contrast with the
Democrats
for the fall campaign.

article from the New York Times

pdf of the Republican platform