We recently posted an article on the Montana Republican Party Platform. Yikes. It was creepy and disturbing. Today, I figured we could take a look at the Montana Democratic Party Platform and see what the Vote Blue crowd supported during their Party Convention in July 2022. The meeting came a few weeks after the Montana Republicans and, unlike their Republican counterparts, the Democrats had near unanimous agreement to their platform.
The party added new language around Democrats’ support for the right to abortion in Montana: “Protecting a person’s right to abortion, contraception, and other reproductive healthcare.” Delegates didn’t fixate on the issue, unlike at the Montana Republican convention. As noted by Democratic Representative Laurie Bishop of Livingston, Montana Democrats have long focused on defending the right to abortion.
What about the other issues that we highlighted in our article about the Montana GOP platform? Here is a side-by-side comparison of the relevant quotes from each party’s platform.
| Issue of Concern | Montana Democratic Positions | Montana Republican Positions |
| LGBTQ+ Rights | “We support equal treatment of all individuals before the law, regardless of race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical or intellectual ability, physical or mental health status, language of origin, national origin, or marital status.” | “We believe the ideal traditional family structure is a father and a mother….” “We support policies and services that preserve and strengthen the traditional family units as well as promoting the wellbeing and innocence of children and youth.” |
| Public Education | “We are…committed to a continuum of high-quality, equitable public education opportunities with adequate state funding to develop the potential of every Montanan.” | “Adopt school choice policies.” “Facilitating programs that allow money to follow the child for education opportunities…inside or outside the public school system.” |
| Climate Change | “Montana Democrats believe we must reduce our reliance on fossil fuels through a combination of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the development of clean, renewable energy sources.” “We believe we can achieve this goal and create – or provide transitions into – good Montana jobs. | “We…oppose any regulation on domestic energy production or consumption. We oppose any and all parts of the Green New Deal, the ‘War on Fossil Fuels’, the Paris Climate Accord…” |
| Workers’ Rights | “We support the right of workers to establish democracy in the workplace by forming or joining independent unions for purposes of bargaining and advocating collectively. | “We believe that membership in labor bargaining units should be optional.” |
Other core issues raised in the Democratic Party platform:
- Affordable housing: “We support increased state investment in affordable, quality housing for all Montanans.”
- Property tax relief: “A fair and equitable property tax system that provides funding for necessary local government services, requires wealthy property owners to pay their fair share.”
- Mental health: “expansion of affordable access to crisis support, substance use disorder treatment…and other mental health care.”
- Child care: “Ensure access to affordable, high quality child care…reducing out-of-pocket costs for working and middle-class families.”
- Montana constitution: “We support Montana’s constitution…and we’ll resist any partisan effort to repeal and replace Montana’s constitution.”
Well, what the funk! I have to say that sounds pretty appealing to me. What future vision are Montana voters going to select in November?
Excellent analysis! The comparison of the two platforms is so telling. GO, Blue!!!