Politically What Is Your Most Important Issue

[ThomWV]

We face many problems, both domestic and international. Which broad issue matters most to you:

[annie1]

1. you forgot the environment

[bklyncowgirl]

3. I was just going to say that, Environment and Energy Independence

Both tie into the foreign policy issues and also the other domestic issues.

[ThomWV]

4. Didn't have room

Sorry, I was just typing them in as I thought them up. I ran out of room before that one occured to me. Guess that shows you where it is on my list. Acutally I guess it would fit in to non economic domestic policy. Maybe in a way its not so important either - not that its not important - its just that we already have some pretty good laws that effect environmental matters, its a matter of strict enforcement. So no matter what the environment wins when the next Democrat takes office.

[xultar]

2. GLBT rights, Health Care, Education, Womens Health, Internet Privacy and

autonomy, new fuel development, water conservation, and what annie1 said.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Individual Rights

I don't want the government intruding into my personal life.

[cyclezealot]

6. As I recall , Martin Luther King said

Medical discrimination is the worst kind of discrimination. Healthcare reform number one. Acutally , maybe ending the power of the lobbyists, because without restoring a balance in our democracy nothing is possible.

[panader0]

7. All of those issues are important.

Certainly health care and the environment are important for human life, but I voted for ending the war. Do that first, and then the rest. The US presence in Iraq (and the ME in general) is wrong, immoral and illegal. Let's not turn to the important domestic issues until we get the hell out of other people's countries. For example, shpuld we dare reform health care before we quit bombing and killing people? Should we obsess over CO2 when we are destroying the environments of others? First, do no harm.

[pberq]

8. all of the above

We need a complete overhaul

[iamahaingttta]

9. Corporate Personhood.

Seriously, most of those problems stem from the fact that big corporations have too much power, not enough oversight, and are not responsible for their actions. They need to be reigned in, controlled and not allowed to rip us off and start wars.

Half your list there would get fixed by controlling corporate behavior.

[Demeter]

11. That Would Fall Into the Corruption Slot

and that's why I think it's the most important. Until the system is free of undue influence and outright fraud, and until the ECONOMY is also free, we are not going to progress.

[robcon]

10. None of the above.

Trust in my candidate to react correctly to the unknown and unpredictable events that will occur during the next presidential term is by far the most important determinant of my vote.

[Demeter]

12. You Want the Thinking Man's Candidate

That would require that the population think, however.

Remember Dorothy Parker's quip:

"You can lead a horticulture (whore to culture), but you cannot make her think!"

[robcon]

21. Not at all

You wrote: "You Want the Thinking Man's Candidate"

I think those who think that issues are what determine candidate preference among voters are the ones who overemphasize logical thinking. It's Position X + Position Y + Position Z = voting preference in that mistaken analysis.

A lot of Kucinich supporters make this mistake: his 'positions' are favored by many, if not most, Democrats, but he can't get out of his own way and gets support by only about 1% of Democrats. He has not been able to generate any preference among Democrats not because of his positions on issues, but because, like me, they don't trust him to make smart choices in office when faced with unexpected stresses.

It's like 'Dukakis in the tank' turning off voters in 1988: it was not his position on issues, but a conclusion by voters that he looks foolish and out-of-his-element in military situations that presidents often face.

'Trust' is how I summarize those feelings. It is not logical - it is a connection, or even an emotion, that determines voting preference - far more than positions on issues.

[Demeter]

25. I Agree With Everything You Said

Hope that helps. Yes, I want it all: emotional, logical, ethical, and charismatic.

No wonder I'm not married. Or dating, or anything!

[OhioChick]

13. The Economy. n/t

[MethuenProgressive]

14. Throwing Out The Republicans.

That'll take care of all the rest.
:kick:

[THUNDER HANDS]

15. I think the most important issue

is the limits of executive power and how the candidates view it.

Do they see Bush as over-reaching with his power, and would they self-limit their own power, or use Bush's expansion of powers as their new guide on what they believe they can do in the executive branch of goovernment.

I want a president who knows what the limits of the executive office are, not one who feels they have no limits.

[BOSSHOG]

16. The erosion of the constitution by actions of religious zealots

[Kucinich4America]

18. ....and the corporatist zealots

the religious zealots WANT to wipe their asses with the Constitution, but it's the corporatists who have actually done so.

I want them both gone. And in doing so, that will take care of "all of the above".

[bunkerbuster1]

17. Sorry, but "Restoration of the Constitution" is too damn broad to be an "issue."

Obviously I'm ultra-focused on stuff like domestic spying which would fall under this category, but then so do abortion rights and any number of other things.

Anyway, I did vote, for healthcare reform, because I think it's the single most important victory that Progressives claim. If we can't secure that ASAP, we'll never (I fear) turn the tide against these fascist pricks who've convinced too many Americans that a representative government is something evil and horrible, and incapable of doing good things on behalf of a majority of its citizens.

[Seabiscuit]

19. Until we get our Constitution back, nothing else can change.

[blondeatlast]

20. Other: Foreign Relations. We begin by getting the hell out of Iraq,

working with the UN to end terrorism, and become proactive on several woefully ignored fronts (Afghanistan/India/Pakistan is a good example of where we've failed miserably...).

[ZombieHorde]

22. In no real order...

Education reform, environment, prison reform, ending the war on drugs, health-care, and glbt rights.

[Colobo]

23. Health care.

[LanternWaste]

24. Cleaning up the environmental mess we've made...

Cleaning up the environmental mess we've made and becoming responsible stewards of this planet.

Because if we don't, sooner or later the other issues won't matter a tinker's cuss since we'll all be dead.