Questions for Candidates

[Timbuk3]

I have some questions for the Democratic candidates for POTUS.

All of them. Even "mine".

I am planning to send these questions to the candidates early next week along with the promise to post their replies (or lack of reply) here, on Daily Kos, and on my own blog on January 30th.

I will ask them to supply concise, easily cut and pasted comments so that my own "editing" isn't necessary.

I've tried to ask these questions in a way that doesn't favor any candidate. The list of questions isn't based on any foreknowledge of the answers. Trivial matters are far more important to our fourth estate than informing voters where our next President stands on things that matter to us, so they're not being asked, or asked often enough for me to have seen it.

1. Will you issue an executive order overturning Bush's first executive order sealing Presidential records, including those of Ronald Reagan? When?

2. When will you close the prison at Guantanemo, and what will you do with the prisoners?

3. What specific actions will you take to show the world that the United States does not torture prisoners?

4. What will you do to restore FISA court protections of our 4th amendment rights, habeas corpus, and to assure the American people that we are not "surrendering our liberty" for the illusion of "safety"?

5. Who will you nominate as your Attorney General, and will you encourage him or her to investigate known violations of the constititution by the current administration?

6. What characteristics will you look for when choosing judges to nominate to the SCOTUS?

7. What is your plan to deal with the sunsetting of the "Bush" tax cuts?

8. When will the last American soldier leave Iraq? (Note to John McCain: "100 years from now" is not an acceptable answer.)

9. When will you end "faith based funding" which sends taxpayer dollars to tax-exempt organizations?

10. What percentage of your campaign funds are derived from "the grass roots" or other sources that are traditionally supportive of the issues you speak about the most in your stump speeches?

11. What will you do to restore the "Fairness Doctrine" abolished by Reagan?

12. What will you do to protect the rights, and jobs, of workers who go on strike?

13. On what basis would you exclude living, breathing American citizens from the protections guaranteed by the 14th amendment.

14. Do you agree that corporations are people under the meaning of the 14th amendment?

15. What is your view of the powers of the Executive Branch as expressed in the Constitution?

I'm asking these questions sincerely. I'm interested in the answers based on what the candidate has said or has put in writing, not what what some media opinion writer says they think.

These are issues that matter to me, and aren't being addressed in the tradmed. I sincerely hope I'm not alone in caring about these things. If you know where any of the candidates stands on these things, for sure, please tell us all.

And, last but certainly not least, if you have a question that should be added, please let me know.

Disclaimer: Although I STRONGLY support John Edwards, I don't know the answers to ANY of these questions for ANY of the Democratic candidates. Well, maybe the funding one, but there are 15 questions on the list, and I may have to vote for someone else in the general election. Let me learn about them, too.

[Timbuk3]

1. Wow!

I'm amazed at how fast this scrolled off the page!

I guess no one cares about issues like this.

Is it true that all that matters to anyone is "I don't want YOUR candidate to win!"?