What are your top 5 or 10 issues?

[mandyky]

I know we all want to send the mad cowboy back to TX in 2005, but what issues do you feel are important for the next administration to deal with?

Mine are: Health Care, Education, Trade/Employment/Environment Issues, Civil/Womens Rights, and Job Creation

We will need judges in SCOTUS and federal jurisdictions.
We may have to reinstate the draft. Our military cannot go on the way it is, and unfortunately I don't think we CAN pull out of Iraq now.
Along with the draft, I think Peace Corps/AmeriCorps could be beefed up a bit to help in Iraq once security is more stable.
We definitely need a more balanced budget. Where can we trim waste and pork? We can not balance budgets on the backs of the poor and middle class.

Well, there is a start for me, what are yours?

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Mine:

Education
The disparity of wealth between the rich and poor
The environment
Civil/Women's Right
Corporate Welfare

You're right, mandyky, SCOTUS is the key. That is why we MUST get a Democrat into the White House, and we MUST retake control of Congress.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

2. #1- The Class war (The rich against the rest of us)

#2 - corporate power, "free trade" outsourcing, etc.
#3 - Jobs
#4 - health care
#5 - Social Security

[Sagan]

3. I only have one...

But it addresses every one of my concerns.

1-10 -- No More Bush

[sphbecker]

4. Finish Iraq / Stimulate the VOLUNTEER military / Fix Health Care

Set up a democratic form of government in Iraq that is of the people, by the people and then get out! Granted this is much easier said then done, but its my biggest concern.

All signs show the economy growing, and with the growth we will see new jobs. Many people talk about “job creation,” but what can the government do to create jobs, other then try to stimulate the economy?

I think the best way to supplement the military is to require all citizens to sever for 2 years. This will be of little benefit to Iraq, because of training time, but I think it will generate more long-term volunteers and do a lot of augment our reserves.

I agree Health Care needs to be looked at. We need a program that will provide Health Care to low income families without encouraging larger corporations to drop their already funded programs. The last thing I want is to setup a system to help 30% of the people and have it end up helping 100% just because greedy businesses figure the government will handle it, so they shouldn’t have to pay.

That’s what I feel needs to be done next for America.

[sphbecker]

5. Close the borders

One thigh I forgot. The borders need to be closed to all unwelcome immigration. We need to have a well established trade and guest worker programs. This is my paramount concern.

This is a requirement, not only for our security, but for our economy and to relive the health care burden of illegal immigrants.

[edzontar]

10. Indictment of Bushco...

We must invesitagte, try, convict, and punish our homegrown war criminals.

Plus labor-wages, health care, environment, civil/human rights/free expression.

And busting up the media monopolies (more trials, convictions, etc.)/

[denverbill]

8. Are you sure you're on the right message board?

The economy's improving. Finish the job in Iraq. Start a draft. Fix healthcare by doing nothing significant. Seal the borders.

I think you forgot more tax cuts and school vouchers.

[sphbecker]

12. Now wait

The economy is improving, almost all experts agree on that. I didn't say anything about starting a draft, that was the guy who created this thread. I basically want mandatory military training plus a short stay (18 months) in the reserves, because I'm willing to bet that more people would sigh up after training that might have not thought about it otherwise. I don't want to see us fored to have a World War II style draft.

As for healthcare. I didn't say anything significant, but I agree that drastic measures may need to be taken. I don't know what the answer is, but I never suggested that we leave it alone. All I am sure about it is that I don't want to encourage more companies to drop health care.

As for Sealing the borders, this is a “well du” issue. Why wouldn't you want to seal the borders? I welcome emigrants and guest workers to our nation, but they need legal means of coming in. It is of no benefit to anyone for them to sneak in illegally. If someone can sneak in from Mexico (assuming they don’t die in the process) to work for sum-minimum wage, then any terrorist could sneak in and do whatever they want to.

[denverbill]

19. OK, I guess I'll have to take you at your word.

As to immigration, I actually do agree with you. Illegal immigration is a major problem and is costing Americans jobs at a time when Americans need every job they can get. Illegal immigration also depresses wages for everybody, and the porous border, as you said, is a terrorist's dream. Unfortunately, I haven't heard any Republican or Democrat speak against illegal immigration. In fact, they are talking again today about pardoning them.

As for the economy, well, I guess you could say it's improving. Unemployment isn't getting any better, but it's not getting much worse currently. The stock market has recovered some of it's losses. I guess going from being in the shitter to being slighter higher in the shitter is an improvement.

As to healthcare, drastic measures DO need to be taken. More and more people have lost their insurance. More and more companies are dropping insurance for their employees. Virtually every company is paying way higher rates and increasing deductibles. Companies are switching plans and forcing people to find new doctors every few years who participate in their new plan. People who are laid off are given the choice of paying hundreds of dollars a month for health care on COBRA, on their unemployment checks, or risking going without. The time is way past due when we need to radically reorganize the way we pay for health care in this country. If the richest country in the world can pay for good basic healthcare for all Americans, then we aren't really that well off after all.

[sphbecker]

21. They will not talk about immigration

I think it is because of the large minority populations. Politions feel that if they clamp down on immagration it will alinate hispanic voters. This is true on both sides.

[sphbecker]

24. Its on the way

Your right in that the economy has not fully recovered and that many people are still out of work. I am saying that all signs point to a recovery happening pretty soon. Unemployment rates are not going up, which is a very good sigh. The stoke market has recovered a little, which means companies have more available funds to buy the equipment they have been putting off for the last 2 years. I am hopefully that this Christmas will help to drive the economy and create new jobs in retail, which will trickle into other fields later in 2004. Will unemployment be down below 4%, I don’t think so, but at least it is now moving in the correct direction.

[HereSince1628]

14. I'm confused

How do you stimulate a volunteer military by requiring 2 year of service? I am a little dense.

[sphbecker]

18. More training, more volenteers

If you require training then you require people to take a look at the military. Perhaps some people who didn’t think they would be interested would find an interest. You might also have more people look into military academies or ROTC programs so that their 2 years of service could be during collage (not before).

Where that happens or not, you still get the benefit of having a larger reserves.

I also believe it would help our nation make sound decisions if more of us had military training.

[AWD]

22. Right wing ideas...

...plus horrible spelling

equals....

Yep, you guessed it!

[sphbecker]

27. Whats Wrong with Military Training?

I have often heard people bring up the point that the US population would make more informed and educated decisions about going to war if they were not so distant from wars and the military. So, military training would put two things into people’s mind when they cast their vote, one “hey, they could be me going over there now that I have been trained”, and two, they would better understand the risk to our own people when we get involved with war.

[AverageJoe]

6. My issues

1. Bush stole the White House.
2. The Supreme Court helped Bush steal the White House
3. The national Republican leadership is made up of hate mongering, money-grubbing, bigoted, earth-killing fascists.
4. These bastards waged a preemptive war in the name of my country so that they might line their pockets with stolen oil money.
5. Health care.
6. Jobs.
7. Education.
8. Social Security.
9. Media consolidation.
10. Bush stole the White House.

[larryepke]

7. PEACE

Until the U.S. is out of Iraq, all other considerations will be overshadowed, both politically and economically.

Then the president can end The War on Terror, which will bring about the end of the Constitutional crisis, the civil rights theft and the detention of foreign and U.S. citizens. Then comes the economy and jobs, federal deficit reduction, environmental protection, protection of citizens from rapacious corporations. That would be a good start.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. Federally funded elections

Federally funded elections
Media ownership restrictions
Corporations banned from contributing to campaigns
Universal Health Care



Without the first, many will be difficult or impossible to implement.

[Terwilliger]

11. you just covered pretty much everything

except foreign policy

[VelmaD]

13. #1 - Choice

#2 - restoring our civil liberties
#3 - equal rights for everyone
#4 - the huge disparity between the rich and the rest of us
#5 - the environment and finding renewable energy sources
#6 - peace and a committment to multi-lateral cooperation
#7 - globalization and using it as a tool to bring people together rather than a means of keeping the workers of the world in chains

I could go on and on and on but I'm gonna stop now.

DV

[TheDonkey]

15. Let's see

1. Affirmative Action/Civil Rights
2. Gay and Women's rights
3. American modernization & energy independence
4. Education
5. Social Security/Welfare assistance

[ModerateMiddle]

16. my list

1. Foreign Policy I have absolutely no doubt that HOW we deal with the rest of the world is THE most critical issue facing us right now. Whether we like it or not, many things have occurred over the past decade or so that has made this world a "global village". The internet was a huge one, but so was increases in air transport. Both of these "shrunk" the world. Before the internet, how many of you had friends or acquaintances in several other countries? How many of you do now?
   
   
2. Education And this isn't just our local public schools. This has to do with how we consider ALL skills that people have. There is no question that capitalism, even in its deteriorated form, is around to stay as the basic foundation of economic interactions. But one of the foundations of capitalism is that resources are easily converted. Labor, for instance, should be able to move effortlessly from where it is no longer needed to where it will be most productive. That isn't the case. We need programs to train workers and get them apprentice jobs in new areas so that we can, as an economy, grow and be productive, not just "defend" against other countries infringements. We need to elevate teaching to a hirer level. The pay rates for teachers is horrible, as is the fact that the majority of teachers are funding their classroom needs out of their own paltry paychecks. Paying off college loans for folks who are willing to teach in low-income areas is a wonderful idea. We need to do much more than tie the hands of our good teachers.
   
   
3. The Economy / Deficits The overspending of this administration is devastating our economy. What we have seen since Jan, 2001 is payment for the contributions received and expected to be received by the politicos in the White House. Its disgusting. We need to turn this around and start back down the path of fiscal responsibility. But we have to be careful how we do it, because the economy is already fragile. Bush II is leaving a terrible mess, and there is no way any kind of "quick fix" is going to get us out of it.
   
   
4. The Environment We have only one planet. If we wreck it, what are we going to do? Native Americans had a wonderful relationship with the world they lived in, a healthy respect and co-existence. The assholes in Washington seem to believe that they can fuck the environment with impunity so long as there is a buck to be made. When I was living in California, we HAD to recycle. They gave us a tiny waste bin for trash, and a bunch of crates for recyclables. Here in Colorado, where you'd THINK that folks had a healthier respect for their beautiful environment, I have to PAY our waste company to pick up recyclables separately, and they won't take glass or cardboard! In order to recycle those things, I have to drive it down to the local Recycle America station.
   
   
5. Health Care I honestly don't know the answer to this one. One thing I am fairly sure of though, is that we aren't going to be able to fix this one any time soon because of the economic crisis we have right now. I believe that the best solution is to go to single payer, but that's not going to happen without a sustained push over many years. This is going to be as big of a battle as civil rights.
   
   
6. Separation of Church and State We need leadership on this item, and we need a leader to explicitly acknowledge how VERY important religion can be in one's PERSONAL life, but that it has NO place in government, and that this position is the reason why the US can be so diverse without creating civil wars left and right.
   
   
7. Protection of a woman's right to choose A woman's right to terminate a pregnancy needs to be legal, safe and rare. The government has no business interfering with her choice over her body. It's between her, her family and her physician. Period. I am NOT pro-abortion, as some would have it seem. But I am very against the government being involved in this very personal decision.

There are more, but these are my top issues.

[poskonig]

17. WTO, environment,

1) Protect international workers with the WTO/NAFTA or scrap them.
2) Maintain or increase environmental safeguards nationally and internationally.
3) Government debt. I don't want to be paying off trillions in baby-boomer debt 20 years from now; this is *very* important to me as a young person.
4) WMD proliferation. Nuclear weapons going off in Los Angeles or Philadelphia is a midterm risk that needs to be addressed ASAP.
5) Corporate welfare -- a mammoth waste of money, especially in the DoD.

Runners up:

End the war on drugs

Privacy -- no patriot acts, government involvement in medical decisions, etc.

School choice -- I support homeschooling, state-level vouchers, and choice between public schools.

Energy independence, even if gov't investment is required.

Streamlining of social security from a handout into a safety net.

[mandyky]

20. Help keep this kicked -

Maybe we can cut down on candidate bashing threads!

[RichM]

23. media reform, & downsizing the military-industrial complex

[JanMichael]

25. 1. National, Single Payer, Healthcare.

2. National, Single Payer, Healthcare.

3. National, Single Payer, Healthcare.

4. National, Single Payer, Healthcare.

5. National, Single Payer, Healthcare.

[Dissenting_Prole]

26. GLOBAL PEAK OIL

What would you do if there was 20% less oil and natural gas in 10 years?

[GiovanniC]

28. 1. Economy/Job Creation

2. National Health Care
3. Repairing International Relations
4. Education
5. Ending Death Penalty
6. Protecting Roe v. Wade
7. Reinstating Stem Cell Research
8. Protecting Separation of Church/State
9. Legalizing Gay Marriage/Unions
10. Environment/Alternative Fuels

[DemocratSinceBirth]

29. Five Top Issues

Choice

Gay Rights

Affirmative Action

Freedom Of Speech

A commitment to social justice....


If you are wrong on any of those issues you're not my candidate....

[DealsGapRider]

30. Mine:

1) national security
2) getting American kids to learn another language fluently in school
3) improving race relations
4) national service for young people
5) soft drug decriminalization