REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS PREPARE
"CENTRIST" PLATFORMS   

Despite pressures on the Democrats from the left and the Republicans from the right, the platform committees of the two major political parties have drafted "centrist" position policy statements to present to their respective national conventions.

Republican Party officials, whose nominating convention begins in Philadelphia the end of this month [July], want to prevent the ideological battles between conservatives and moderates, especially over the abortion issue, that damaged the party's chances in the 1992 and 1996 elections.

Texas Governor George W. Bush reportedly has agreed to retain an anti-abortion plank in the proposed Republican platform to appease conservative forces.

The plank calls for enactment of a constitutional ban on the procedure and for prospective judges to make their views known prior to being appointed to the bench. It is expected to remain in the platform even though Bush does support abortions in the cases of protecting the life of the mother, rape and incest, and he opposes the requirement for prospective judges.

In exchange, the conservatives reportedly indicated a willingness to accept changes in other planks that would move the party toward the center on such issues as immigration, education and women's health. These are issues on which the party hopes to appeal to key swing voters.

Democratic Party officials, preparing for the presidential nomination of Vice President Al Gore at their mid-August convention, have prepared planks in their proposed platform that affirm Gore's support for free trade and for federally mandated certification for school teachers.

The proposed platform also will stress Gore's position on debt-reduction fiscal responsibility and reject efforts by many advocacy groups to use the nation's budget surplus to create new spending programs. The Gore campaign is determined to regain the political middle that it surrendered during the primary season when it moved left to appease supporters of former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley.

Some rhetoric in the Democratic draft platform is critical of the Republicans, including references to economic problems and rising crime rates during the 1988-1992 administration of Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush. Some Republicans, on the other hand, want their platform to stress their own party values and not focus on the Democrats.

Other aspects of the proposed centrist Democratic platform propose modest tax cuts and tougher penalties for violent criminals. As concessions to liberals, however, it also calls for enforcing worker rights, human rights and environmental protections in trade accords; and supporting "the full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of a nation."

Presidential nominees are not bound by these multi-page platforms prepared by the parties, and in fact, most of the voters in the November general election are unaware of what they contain. But for the party faithful, the platform planks are strong indications of what they stand for and in what direction they believe the nation should be headed. And the candidates will still try to make the opposing parties' platforms a campaign issue.