PRESS RELEASE

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joe Madden

June 29, 2010 (713) 443-9421 cell

State Party Platform Comparison on Key State Priorities

Democrat Propose Solutions to Problems Caused by Republican Platform’s Agenda

 HOUSTON - State Rep. Garnet Coleman, who has served as Chair of the Texas Democratic Platform Committee for the last five State Democratic Conventions, issued the attached “Fact Sheet” comparing policy positions in the State Democratic and Republican Party platforms on key issues that affect the everyday lives of hard working Texans.

 “Texas Democrats crafted a platform that offers real solutions to meet tough challenges caused by Republican politicians who ignore pressing problems to pander to special interests and the far right partisans that wrote the Republican platform,” Coleman said.

 “For example, Democrats propose solutions to keep kids in school, but the Republican platform, just like Rick Perry, completely ignores a dropout crisis that threatens economic progress and community safety for all Texans,” he observed.

 Coleman said Democrats will oppose any effort to repeal health care protections favored by the vast majority of Texans.

 “We oppose Republican efforts to go back to the days when insurance companies could deny or terminate health care coverage because of a preexisting condition or catastrophic illness, or use the Medicare ‘donut hole’ to charge seniors inflated prices for prescription drugs,” Coleman said.

 Coleman cited several other specific policy differences between the platforms, including: class size limits, state curriculum standards, protecting Social Security, the minimum wage, sales tax increases, and voting rights.

 Coleman also encouraged Texans to read the entire Democratic platform plank on immigration, which offers a balanced policy for comprehensive federal reform that demands secure borders, employer sanctions for hiring undocumented workers, and a path for qualified individuals to earn citizenship. At the state level, Democrats oppose any law that could violate the rights of citizens and divert law enforcement personnel from concentrating on crime fighting and public safety.

 “We’re Texans, and we don’t want to be Arizona,” Coleman said.

 “The Democratic platform spells out a problem solving approach favored by mainstream Texans, while the Republican platform advocates policy that would clamp an ideological straightjacket on our ability to address tough challenges that touch the lives of Texans every day,” Coleman concluded.

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