After speaking with co workers & reading some posts here I was a little troubled by the fact that many people seemed to Not be voting on issues , but distractions such as: a candidates Religion,Race,Gender,Values,Perceived media bias, & general pettiness,etc.. but the ISSUES seem to get lost. I was simply curious about what handful of issues(3-5) most posters here are concerned with since that is what the electorate should be concerned with & not these trivial distractions. If you would like to BRIEFLY explain why that issue is important to you,where you stand & what candidate(s) best reflect your stance. Here is a site that can give insight into how all of the canditates stand on YOUR particular issue:
http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm
For me:
1) Social Security Although I'm probably two decades away from retirement I have seriously started to think about it now & would like to retire with dignity just as all hardworking Americans should. I understand that SS as it structured would have been just fine had it not been for misallocation of that money . I was once very,very, minutely interested in at least listening to partial privatization, but with Wall Street I now have my doubts.
Obama/Nader/Mckinney
2)General Social Issues Abortion Rights/Gay Rights/Civil Rights, etc... Some of these issues do not affect me directly ,but it gives me an indication of how one feels about persnal choice,privacy & freedom.I am appalled at the general lack of tolerance of others individual lifestyles & choices in this Country. Obama/Nader/McKinney
3)Crime I feel like the WAR ON Drugs is a joke. I thought this country had learned nearly a century ago that prohibition DOES NOT WORK. Rehabilitation,Decriminilization & Education is where that money wasted on this silly war should go instead. I can see a woman get PAID to do a 50 man gangbang/bukkake ,but prostitution is illegal? What hypocrisy?Regulation,taxation,etc... of these VICTIMLESS crimes would save Police resources to fight other real crimes,stop prison overcrowding/overspending, while at the same time generate revenue that we will never see because these 'crimes" DO HAPPEN on the Black market. Capital Punishment bothers me,does not really deter(because I have seen many man in prison/death row exonerated) & should be used for the most heinous of crimes.
Nader/McKinney/ Obama to a small degree ,but a politician can not have such extreme views & win public office in this self righteous country.
4) Foreign Policy I just don't feel like this military should be making unilateral invasions of another State that hasn't attacked us. Where the heck does all of this money come from they are spending in IRAQ? Mostly ca we afford this & would that money have been better spent here?I am okay with very SOLID coalitions like in Kuwait & more humanitarian deployments.
Obama/Nader/McKinney/Barr?
5)Safety Net Programs For the Unemployed,Disabled , Elderly,Poor,etc... Though I have been fortunate I know that people get down on their luck sometimes. Saefty Net programs today account for about 9% of the US budget . Welfare less than one. You can face poverty NOW or have to COMBAT it's consequences(violent crime/bitterness/unrest )in the future(see Brazil)
Overall Obama is most aligned with MY issues , but it seems that I am also real empathetic to the views of McKinney & Nader especially. But they are simply too extreme for a self righteous country.
http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm
For me:
1) Social Security Although I'm probably two decades away from retirement I have seriously started to think about it now & would like to retire with dignity just as all hardworking Americans should. I understand that SS as it structured would have been just fine had it not been for misallocation of that money . I was once very,very, minutely interested in at least listening to partial privatization, but with Wall Street I now have my doubts.
Obama/Nader/Mckinney
2)General Social Issues Abortion Rights/Gay Rights/Civil Rights, etc... Some of these issues do not affect me directly ,but it gives me an indication of how one feels about persnal choice,privacy & freedom.I am appalled at the general lack of tolerance of others individual lifestyles & choices in this Country. Obama/Nader/McKinney
3)Crime I feel like the WAR ON Drugs is a joke. I thought this country had learned nearly a century ago that prohibition DOES NOT WORK. Rehabilitation,Decriminilization & Education is where that money wasted on this silly war should go instead. I can see a woman get PAID to do a 50 man gangbang/bukkake ,but prostitution is illegal? What hypocrisy?Regulation,taxation,etc... of these VICTIMLESS crimes would save Police resources to fight other real crimes,stop prison overcrowding/overspending, while at the same time generate revenue that we will never see because these 'crimes" DO HAPPEN on the Black market. Capital Punishment bothers me,does not really deter(because I have seen many man in prison/death row exonerated) & should be used for the most heinous of crimes.
Nader/McKinney/ Obama to a small degree ,but a politician can not have such extreme views & win public office in this self righteous country.
4) Foreign Policy I just don't feel like this military should be making unilateral invasions of another State that hasn't attacked us. Where the heck does all of this money come from they are spending in IRAQ? Mostly ca we afford this & would that money have been better spent here?I am okay with very SOLID coalitions like in Kuwait & more humanitarian deployments.
Obama/Nader/McKinney/Barr?
5)Safety Net Programs For the Unemployed,Disabled , Elderly,Poor,etc... Though I have been fortunate I know that people get down on their luck sometimes. Saefty Net programs today account for about 9% of the US budget . Welfare less than one. You can face poverty NOW or have to COMBAT it's consequences(violent crime/bitterness/unrest )in the future(see Brazil)
Overall Obama is most aligned with MY issues , but it seems that I am also real empathetic to the views of McKinney & Nader especially. But they are simply too extreme for a self righteous country.
