There are THREE ISSUES for the next election:

[Tyler Durden]

ENDING THE WAR IN IRAQ/PREVENTING THE BOMBING OF IRAN

NATIONAL HEALTH CARE

GLOBAL WARMING

Period. Finito. END OF FUCKING DISCUSSION.

NOT "Teacher's merit pay," NOT "Faith Based Initiatives," NOT ANYTHING but THOSE THREE.

Period.

Anyone, and I do mean ANYONE whose stump speech does not begin with those three issues as the first things out of their mouth is DODGING THE ISSUES.

END THE WAR/PREVENT THE NEXT ONE
NATIONAL HEALTH CARE NOW
ADDRESS GLOBAL WARMING

[Heidi]

1. I disagree. Equal rights and equal protection for ALL Americans

are essential. These are not a fringe issues. The guarantee of equal rights for ALL Americans is essential to who we are as progressives and who we are as a DU community.

[EST]

2. Would you not put recovering habeas corpus, ending illegal spying

on Americans, solving the illegal immigration problem, achieving energy independence, and prosecuting and imprisoning all neo-cons and their allies fairly high on the agenda?
Or even hand counted paper ballots in national elections so this crap won't happen again?`

[Ghost in the Machine]

3. What about election reform? Paper ballots and hand counted votes

.. we can wait a day or so for the results, if need be.

Verifiable Voting is a must also, to prevent another selection2000 and theft2004

[Scooter24]

4. Are we going to see the 3 G's from the GOP?

God, Guns, and Gays? :rofl:

[Uben]

5. So, I guess your not on board

....with the notion that the most important issue is to carve George W. Bush into Mt. Rushmore? After all, he is probably the only president who is "stoned"!

[WilliamPitt]

6. Um...SCOTUS?

Kinda important.

[Tyler Durden]

10. Elect the right people, it fixes itself. N/T

[blondeatlast]

14. Not really--those are lifetime appointments. The activists currently on the bench are

pretty young; and it was no mistake on the RW machine that they were.

I wish it were that easy, but it isn't by a long, long shot.

[Tyler Durden]

17. True. It's going to take a while.

But unless you think we can IMPEACH one or two of them (and with a complete SLIME like Thomas not on any lists) I think we may just have to wait them out.

SCOTUS is only an issue for shutting off the supply of RW assholes to the bench.

[earthlover]

7. well, it's a good start!

Another "issue" will overshadow others in terms of who will get elected: national security. If the Reps are successful in painting us as weak on that, we won't get elected, and that means that the issues of ending the war, preventing another one, national health care and global warming will be decided by a new Republican government. Security is not such a glamourous issue, but we need to win to gain power.

[depakid]

8. You're forgetting about the economic chickens that are coming home to roost

All it's going to take is the right little hiccup... and the house of cards comes crashing down.

[Tyler Durden]

9. All of you so far are missing the point.

Haven't we been through enough with politics to see that the moment you start showing the electorate more than a few VERY DIRECT CHOICES, then it's "DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS" TIME?

People, ALL of those issues ARE important, but remember why this asshole was able to take over?

1. He was a "God-fearing Christian,"
2. Bubbas wanted to "HAVE A BEER WITH HIM."

The electorate is a snapshot of the general population; the IQ studies are a weighted average, based on 100. I don't want to sound like an elitist pig here, but I was on record as the only person who resigned from my MENSA chapter because I was bored. This is to say, For EVERY PERSON like me walking around, there are at least FIVE walking around with an IQ of 86. You want to know mine, you do the math (any 3rd grader should be able to).

My point is, I CAN'T REMEMBER 5 IMPORTANT THINGS TO BY AT KROGER that my SO told me to get WITHOUT A LIST. HOW do you expect the general population at its current state of education and enlightenment to do ANYTHING but zero in on their pet peeve from your shopping list and say "UH UH. NOT FOR ME."

We have been shown in stark uncertain terms that if we do not UNSEAT the highly organized and unified Republican Party Majority, then DISASTERS will ensue, like IRAQ, like THE MEDICARE DISASTER, like GLOBAL WARMING IN HIGH GEAR. Ad to that the SCOTUS, which NOBODY other than politically educated people understand in the first place, and you should see the point.

ANY CANDIDATE who is LEFT enough to handle THE BIG THREE will by nature be amenable to the rest of our agenda, but without THE BIG THREE, then what's the point anyway?

[DangerDave921]

11. Can't impose issues

Unfortunately, the public dictates the issues. Candidates takes polls all the time, which tell them the primary issues that resonate with voters. They then address these issues. If an issue does not make it into the top 3 or 5 with the majority of voters, most pols won't touch the issue, no matter how important it is. Sad but true.

We need a leader who can TEACH the issue and make the public realize why it is so vitally important.

[doni_georgia]

12. War must end before anything else is even possible

Doing something about healthcare and global warming will be impossible unless we end the war. Our country is going deeper and deeper in debt and losing any respect we once had in the world. We have to end the war. After that is done, we can start tackling other issues, of which global warming and healthcare are paramount. But I disagree, there are other issues, still none of them matters if we are going to keep throwing money in the fire in Iraq.

[some guy]

13. Impeachment trumps all

Convince me this maladministration is even going to leave office on their own. If you can guarantee there will even BE elections in 2008, and that this nightmare of a crime syndicate of an an administration will step aside, then I'll consider your three priorities.

[Forkboy]

15. I'll put Global Warming as #2,but I agree otherwise.

[sandnsea]

16. Converting to a Green Economy

But otherwise, yeah, those are the issues. I say green economy because people will respond if they think there's money to be made.

When you're talking to the NEA, however, you better be able to speak to teachers' issues and bring them to their feet when you do.

[Toasterlad]

18. That Depends on Who You Are

I'm voting for Kucinich because he and Gravel are the only candidates willing to say I have the same rights as any other American. To you it may be a secondary issue, and not worth basing an entire election on, but it's actually pretty important to me, and other like me.

And I'm sure there are other people who have just as legitimate a concern with their own issues as I have with mine. It's kind of ridiculous to say that "These are the three main issues, and everything else will sort itself out". Clinton or Obama or Edwards stopping the Iraq war isn't going to get me marriage rights. I want to know how a candidate feels about ALL the issues that are important to me. That's what an informed voter does.