Notice that I said read and understand. Some long time party advocates would also include the words 'adhere to and adopt' the platform principles. They would prefer that ALL candidates and elected officials 'adhere and adopt' ALL platform planks to earn the Democrat label. Can't say as I totally disagree, but remember, Democrats are the party of the 'big umbrella'. And, I think that if we are to be the party of the 'big umbrella', then we need to look at a wide range of ideas, at varying degrees of compliance with platform issues, and broad interpretations of concepts.
Some candidates refuse to pay any attention to the party ideals.
Some are successful in their endeavors. But they usually show a lack of consistency in their votes, or have a tendency to be 'wishy-washy' in their ideas. And they usually end up blind to the facts, because their egos keep them bouyant. So, this election season, let's look for the consistent candidates, who pay attention to the ideals of the local party. If we open the umbrella big enough, I think we'll find a couple quality individuals we'll be proud to have representing us.