WA Dems: A big platform vs. a big tent
One of the most noticeable differences between the Democrats and the Republicans in their conventions this year is likely to be their platforms.
As adopted two weeks ago, the Republicans have a platform that fit neatly on three sides of standard size paper. Each section was a paragraph or two. They were in and out of the big issues quickly, an attempt to keep from shedding political blood over the fine points of orthodoxy.
The Democrats currently have a 17-page platform (true, the type is a bit bigger and not every page is filled to the bottom, but trust us, it's muchhhh longer), and they spent several hours making refinements that may have added lines here or there.