Mayor Cory Booker Presents Democratic Party Platform At DNC
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker took the stage Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, giving an impassioned speech touting a platform he said goes beyond party politics.
"It is not about left or right, but about moving America and our economy forward," Booker said.
Booker, the co-chairman of the party's platform committee, has been campaigning for Obama across the country in recent weeks.
The Democratic platform calls for higher taxes on wealthier Americans while backing same-sex marriage and abortion rights. Booker also addressed Republican criticism about raising taxes for the very wealthy.
"When your country is in a costly war and our nation is facing a debt crisis at home, being asked to pay your fair share isn't class warfare, it's patriotism," Booker said.
"We're about inclusion. We're about a big tent," Booker said. "We're about bringing everybody together."
During his speech Tuesday evening, Booker laid out the case why the President Obama deserves a second term.
"With the re-election of President Barack Obama, this generation of Americans will expand upon the hope, the dream and the promise of America," Booker said.
Booker gave the speech despite the fact that he sprained his ankle in the morning.
WCBS 880s' Peter Haskell details Booker's speech at the DNC Tuesday evening
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On his way to address the Florida delegation Tuesday morning, Booker tripped on a curb and sprained his ankle as he was getting out of his car.
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Booker went on to deliver his speech to the Florida delegates, but then headed to the hospital to be treated for his injury.
"I am in throbbing pain right now, Booker told CBS 2's Marcia Kramer after an event this morning. "I am desperate to get to an ice bag, and my staff has been really good to me, so I am going to go back and do that," Booker told Kramer.
He later Tweeted a photo of his ankle, which he described as "badly sprained." He added that he stands with Obama, "even with this bum ankle."
In a nod to dissenters on gay marriage, the platform expresses support for "the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.''
The document is a sharp contrast from the Republican blueprint that the GOP adopted at its convention last week. The Republican plan would ban abortion and gay marriage, repeal Obama's health care overhaul law and shift Medicare into a voucher-style program.
Democrats acknowledged that divergent views.
"This election is not simply a choice between two candidates or two political parties, but between two fundamentally different paths for our country and our families," the Democrats said.
As with the deeply conservative Republican platform, not all of which Romney endorses, nothing binds President Barack Obama to the specifics of the party's manifesto.
Obama's big acceptance speech is Thursday.
(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
