Party Platforms on the Arts

Don't know if you've heard, but we've got this quadrennial event coming up in the United States we like to call a "general election." While I could say a lot (an epic understatement) of things about it, we are here as Lovers of The Arts and that calls for restraint on my part. So.

At the outset of the two major political parties' national conventions, each votes as a body for its official party platform -- basically a laundry list of what the party supports, aims for, believes in, and/or thinks will appeal to its likely voters. In case you are interested, The Arts was mentioned in the Democratic National Platform, here:

Arts and Culture: Democrats are proud of our support for arts funding and education. We are committed to continuing the policies and programs that have already done so much for our creative arts industry and economy. Investment in the arts strengthens our communities and contributes to our nation's rich cultural heritage.

We will continue to support public funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and for programs providing art and music education in primary and secondary schools.The entire nation prospers when we protect and promote the unique and original artistic and cultural contributions of the women and men who create and preserve our nation's heritage.

The Republican Platform had this to say about the same topic:

:: crickets ::

The only other thing I can tell you is that the Republican presidential candidate has said, more than once, that he is not interested in continuing to fund public broadcasting or the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. Other than that, I've got nothing.

Image Caption: Maquettes of donkeys and elephants, symbols of the Democratic and Republican Party, from the Party Animals Project are displayed March 22, 2002 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)