2006 #1 Issue Poll

I was wondering if the front page entry reflected the views of the majority here. Hence this poll.

Of course, the main focus for Democrats now should be raising money and lining up candidates. That will change in about nine months. This poll is looking ahead nine months.

The traditional issues line is for people who think the #1 issue should be the environment, social security, health insurance, equality, education, and those sorts of things or some combination thereof.

Of course, no campaign should only focus on just one of these things, but if you had to pick one...

Also, I would love to read some justifications.

•  Healthcare and Education

  by HairOnFire on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:16:12 AM PDT

  •  Traditional Issues, You Mean

    Though that's not what I voted for, I do think those two issues are important. I also think that we need a coherent strategy on these issues.

    I think it is time for Dems to come up with a universal health care system, but the focus needs to be on how that would help everybody--not just the 15-20% of Americans who don't have health care.

    We also need to show how the federal and state governments can help local schools without dragging them down. I am a teacher, and it bothers me that a party which claims to be for local control is taking away local control in such an ignorant way.

    by Reino on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:23:52 AM PDT

•  The R's will OWN the Iraq story next year

  Because they're going to start pulling out troops just in time for Memorial Day, Independence Day and election season parades.  They've already started talking it up.  

  I predict that, although it will sound like a complete pullout, we'll end up only bringing enough soldiers home to get plenty of Republican Congressmen their photo ops, and at the end of year we'll still be at about 90% troop strength.

  And then we'll invade Syria or Iran.  Or both.

  Our issue HAS to be malfeasance and incompetence.  

  by ThirstyGator on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:18:24 AM PDT

•  As of this moment

  our #1 issue should be election reform, because without open, honest, free&fair voting, it does'nt matter WHAT issues we run on.When you allow the rethugs to count the votes, the rethugs win.

  Having said that, my choice in the poll is rethug dishonesty/incompetence, as all other issues (the war, economy, environment, etc)derive from that.

  by drewfromct on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:19:30 AM PDT

•  Iraq and Corruption

  Corruption Corruption Corruption!

  by See you out there on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:21:34 AM PDT

  •  You got it!

    That's the issue that will get the job done.

    Issues don't get press but corruption does.

    by Tomtech on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:35:28 AM PDT

•  OK

  I voted for the economy -- what else would you expect?

  However, Republican dishonesty is probably a much better issue.  

  Just make sure someone talks about good-paying jobs.

  by bonddad on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:25:17 AM PDT

  •  the great thing about (r-dishonesty)

    is that it can encompass everything else!

    Why is Iraq a mess?  Republican dishonesty!

    Why are lower wage-earners shouldering the bulk of the tax burden?  Republican dishonesty!

    Why does the environment continue to be poisoned?  Republican dishonesty!

    Why is health care such a nightmare?  Republican dishonesty!

    Oh, I could go on for days.

    ( and have, actually ... )

    by grrtigger on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 09:26:26 AM PDT

•  Incompetence

  Emphasize this. As Bush's approval ratings continue to spiral down, associate all of the Republican candidates with him. He's not getting anymore popular anytime soon. The incompetence feeds into everything.

  by Diego on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:28:54 AM PDT

  •  Not Just Him

    Members of the House have to be associated with Tom DeLay early and often.

    by Reino on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:49:55 AM PDT

•  Corruption

  The closest you offer is 'Republican dishonesty/ incompetence,' which clouds things a bit: incompetence is a separate issue. Reasons:

  • A national issue has to be one on which virtually all Democratic Congressional candidates can take the same position. That rules out the Iraq War, health care, etc. But attacking Rove, DeLay, Abramoff and Halliburton is fun for all.
    
  • The GOP is incredibly vulnerable here. Choose any other issue and we swim upstream against the news as the indictments roll in. Choose corruption and we surf the wave.
    
  • Certain issues are top-of-mind for voters, but convincing the voter that our candidate can fix things is well nigh impossible. The Iraq War and the economy fall into that category.
    

  by Elwood Dowd on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:29:01 AM PDT

•  GOP corruption

  Dem corruption (though much milder than the DeLay/Hastert/Ney/Cunningham/Feeney stuff today) was the key ingredient to 1994. GOP corruption will be the key ingredient to 2006.

  by Nathaniel Ament Stone on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:33:11 AM PDT

  •  Feeney

    This guy is the very essence of IOKIYAR.  Strange as it may seem, his congressional bio page doesn't mention that he resigned from the Florida House after being arrested in a crack-whore sting operation in the mid 90's.  Of course, the insanely hypocritical republican voters of central Florida forgave him the next election cycle and have re-elected him ever since.  

    I say his story should be told more often.

    by ThirstyGator on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:56:36 AM PDT

•  Oh, boy......

  Election reform, citizen education reform, taxes, paper trail at the voting booth, jobs, etc.

  Whoever wins in 2008 has to raise taxes. The only alternative to that action is to borrow even more money and then sometime in the near future some one has to raise taxes.

  The US Government is a business without a product. It doesn't sell anything. It doesn't make money from profits.

  It collects taxes. Taxes establish the general revenue fund from which all debts are paid.

  It is impossible, IMPOSSIBLE, to cut taxes, start a war, keep legislating PORK bills.

  IT CAN NOT CONTINUE.

  Bush could be replaced with a ten year old retarded monkey and what difference would it make?

  The President does NOT legislate laws. Congress does that.

  This Congress has passed legislation respecting bankruptcy laws, tax cuts, the Patriot Act, Tort
  reform, the energy giveaway, transportation pork, etc. Not the President but the Congress. The
  Congress gave the President the ability to start a war. The President can’t legislate law. He
  executes laws passed by Congress.

  Has the Congress done anything, created any legislation designed to benefit the common man in
  America?  Has Congress been a good steward of America’s resources?

  Here’s a couple of additional items coming up in the very near future. Tax reform and social
  security reform.

  Give this question some serious deliberate thought as it warrants such.

  Do you really believe that Congress isn’t going to pass legislation reforming social security and
  income taxes?

  I think it’s a “done deal.”

  Not only do I think it’s a done deal but even if we gain control in the next election, it won’t be
  changed. Corporate America owns Congress. Ask DeLay. Ask any of the current Congressmen.

  by 0hio on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:37:50 AM PDT

  •  I Don't Think

    I don't think that social security and tax reform bills will pass Congress this session. They might pass the House, but even that will be tough.

    The problem with those issues is that people, especially Republicans, love them as general issues but hate the specifics.

    The idea of setting up private accounts, not raising taxes, and keeping the guaranteed minimum payment the same is wonderful, unless you consider the fact that it is all fantasy.

    The idea of making taxes fairer also is wonderful until you consider the fact that everybody has a different idea of what that means. When you start asking fairer how and for whom, then you get millions of different answers.

    One thing you are absolutely correct about is the bad job Congress is doing. However, that's a fact that works in our favor in 2006.

    by Reino on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:45:08 AM PDT

•  Republican dishonesty

  Republican dishonesty should be the number one issue, and the economy should be a close second - witht the two tied together as much as possible.

  The Iraq war and removing troops should be another important issue.

  People know our traditional issues - we should mainly stick to pointing out how changes we would institute would affect them, how we support them, and how Republican attacks on them are hurting America.

  Voting reform should not be a campaign issue. It should simply be left unsaid that we'll do that if we get in. In states where we are in control, we should be passing voting reforms NOW. It's not something the American people will really trust either party to do without helping their party being the main goal, so it makes a bad campaign issue.

  by Banana Republicans on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:38:45 AM PDT

•  Corporate Welfare Reform

  A possible slogan:
  End it, don't mend it!.

  Corporate Welfare Reform is one issue with tremendous legs, because it taps into so many other areas, including economic populism. And, if there's one area where the corrupt Republicans in Washington is particularly vulnerable it is their blatant system of legalized bribery, which they have implemented at all levels of the federal government.

  by wdrath on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:42:29 AM PDT

•  Should be vs. Is

  As I understood Armando, Iraq is the #1 issue in 2006, regardless of whether or not we wish it were the case. I'd much rather focus on any number of other Republican acts of malfeasance and corruption, but I also believe Iraq is simply going to be the big issue regardless.

  by eugene on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 08:56:45 AM PDT

  •  Iraq WILL be a story, but it won't be ours.

    The Iraq story next year will be "the troops are coming home."  Even though it will likely be disingenuous, that will be the headline.

    We won't win on Iraq in '06.

    by ThirstyGator on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 09:02:08 AM PDT

  •  You May Be Right

    You may be right about Armando's meaning, but we should have a goal in mind as well. Do we want Republican Congresspeople associated more closely with Tom DeLay or the Iraq War? Is it worth the effort for Democrats to play up corruption, or is our time better spent focusing elsewhere? My opinion is that our biggest effort should be publicizing Republican corruption and the lack of effort from Congress in general to control it. That is what worked for the GOP in 1994, and it can work for us now. I hate to open a can of worms, but Kerry and his aide's unwillingness to focus on Bush's weaknesses was what lost the election. (And unlike 2000, I think we actually did lose 2004.)

    by Reino on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 09:05:01 AM PDT

•  Dishonesty/incompetence

  because it is an issue that can reach everyone. People may differ on what we should be doing in Iraq, or on how to fix the economy, and likewise on many other issues, but everyone should agree on honesty.

  by liberal atheist on Fri Aug 05, 2005 at 09:19:57 AM PDT