<p>Members of both the Sanders and Clinton campaigns met in Orlando, Florida this weekend seeking common ground in preparation for the Democratic National Convention later this month. ;In today&rsquo;s era, where a socialist candidate can give traditional parties a run for their money, it&rsquo;s not surprising that the Dems are pushing what is being called the &ldquo;most liberal platform ever.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We are proud of the work that Democrats did in Orlando and for coming together to further strengthen the most progressive platform in the history of our party,&rdquo; said Clinton adviser Maya Harris.</p>
<p>Sanders&rsquo; influence is clear to see in the liberal platform, which will be ratified at the convention in Philadelphia later this month (July 25th-28th). According to Sanders policy director Warren Gunnells, the campaign achieved at least 80% of their goals. &ldquo;I think if you read the platform right now, you will understand that the political revolution is alive and kicking.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Sanders came to Florida after having already won negotiations regarding ;social security expansion and opposition to the death penalty in an earlier round of platform drafting. His ;biggest win of the weekend was convincing Clinton to agree to a plank raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. His biggest loss came Saturday morning, when the Dems voted against a plank opposing the TPP.</p>
<p>One of Clinton&#8217;s primary concerns for the platform was to prevent the document ;from containing any serious tax increases. Her campaign opposed single-payer healthcare, taxing carbon, and withdrawing the Social Security tax cap. ;</p>
<p>Both camps ;were quick to agree on a strong plank for criminal justice reform and a progressive climate plan that seeks to put a price on carbon. ;</p>
<p>The weekend meeting wasn&#8217;t entirely peaceful, with Sanders supporters shouting down the proposal to label Hillary as the official party nominee in the document. Police actually entered the audience ;during a heated discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict &#8211; with Sanders supporters failing to &ldquo;end the occupation&rdquo; of Palestinians and creating a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip.  ;</p>
<p>Even so, it appears that both parties left Orlando feeling optimistic, but with work still to do. Senator Sanders has two days to decide whether or not he will demand a vote at the DNC on any of the amendments he lost in Orlando. ;Both Clinton and Sanders will also have to work through separate processes for party rules before the convention, in which Sanders will attempt to do away with superdelegates. ;</p>
<p>Democrats have not fought in the open about the platform process since 1980. Despite all the attention this year&#8217;s platform is receiving, party platforms are typically forgotten almost immediately after they are written. ;If nothing else, Sanders supporters say they will use the platform to pressure Clinton to follow through on her promises should she be elected president. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Now, let&rsquo;s put in place a president that can actually deliver on this &ndash; and then let&rsquo;s make sure that she does,&rdquo; says former NAACP president and Sanders supporter Ben Jealous. ;</p>
<p>Overall, Orlando&rsquo;s meeting seemed to be focused on the Sanders team, making sure they had a clear voice in the drafting process. Clinton needs those votes in November, and Senator Sanders needed a few big wins to justify his ongoing campaign.  ;</p>