I managed to shake Kent Conrad up last fall by asking him if he was aware that Grassley was bragging about punking him on HCR. I was thinking about questions I could ask him the next time that would be equally embarrassing about the horrendous Pain Caucus committee he wants to set up to slash Social Security while leaving defense waste untouched. Eventually it evolved into a series of questions I thought I could share with the group as an opportunity to brainstorm questions that would shame some of our hired help into voting better. Or would if they had any shame. At least we can make some of them uncomfortable for a minute or two.
Please note that these questions are very short. Take it from someone who has attended way too many public meetings in his life. If your question is in the form of a paragraph, by the time you actually get to your question even the people in the audience who agree with you will hate you with a passion.
In the comments I would like to see the questions you would like to ask Ben Nelson or Bart Stupak if you had a chance. I don't think my questions are necessarily anything special. I would like to see them honed on the whetstone that is Daily Kos.
The questions are below the cut.
I was also influenced by some of the infamous "gotcha" questions that have sunk democratic hopefuls over the years, especially in question number 1.
- If a pregnancy related condition was killing your wife, would you allow her to have an abortion or would you watch her die?
- With the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff calling for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, are you going to defer to the military's position on that issue?
- If the military determines it cannot achieve its stated objectives in Iraq and Afghanistan, would you support a withdrawal of troops from those countries?
- By the end of this year, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will have cost more than $1 trillion. What value have we received for this investment?
- Would you accept a tax increase to maintain spending more on our military than the rest of the world combined?
- Because of preexisting conditions, the next time my sister gets sick she will lose her home or her life. Why do you find that acceptable?
- Your state/district receives $XXXXXXX in federal spending. How much are you willing to give up to achieve your deficit reduction policy? To find spending by state or Congressional district go to http://www.fedspending.org/...
- Do you think people should have been tortured to find the terrorists who attacked the Oklahoma City Federal Building or Atlanta Olympics?
- Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman believes sharp reductions in the deficit at this point in time could drive the country into depression. Do you think this is a desirable goal?
- General David Petraeus says he believes a public trial for Guantanamo detainees at a federal courthouse is the best way to do it so that it's not an al Qaeda recruiting tool. If General Petraeus says do it in court, why do you say that's a bad idea?
Bonus question for bipartisan fetishists:
For the life of me I cannot think of one issue where Republicans have negotiated in good faith in the last six years. What makes you think they will start now?