The lineup for the Democratic National Convention tonight includes a highly anticipated speech from First Lady Michelle Obama and the keynote address from San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. The program also features an unveiling of the party’s 2012 platform. California Democratic Congresswoman Barbare Lee is on the Platform Committee and she comes to “Early Start” this morning to give a preview of the message she will deliver tonight.
Congresswoman Lee first tells Berman that Americans are better off now than four years ago. Four years ago, “this country was really on the brink, unfortunately, of depression,” she says. “In the last four years, while we still have a lot more work to do, the economy is beginning to turn around; the private sector is beginning to turn around.”
Congresswoman Lee also discusses the Democratic Party’s move to explicitly support same sex marriage in the party platform. Congresswoman Lee says the Democratic Party is an “inclusive party, and we believe in equal justice for everyone.” “It was the right thing to do,” she says. “And we moved forward to put it in as a historic part of our platform and I’m very proud of the Democratic Party for doing this.”
Asked whether this could hurt the campaign in the swing state of North Carolina, Congresswoman says she believes that people will realize that this is “the right thing to do, that this is equal justice under the law” and “really be fair.” “It’s about family values,” she says.
Congresswoman Lee doesn’t believe that supporting same sex marriage will cost President Obama North Carolina. “When you look at what has taken place in terms of the economy, that’s what it’s going to be about,” she says. “I think people are going to want to continue to move forward to continue to turn our economy around.”