Questions I want all candidates to answer

Here are some questions I want all the candidates to answer.  In writing, with the promise that if they are caught lying, or cheating on the answers or putting them into action, they will resign immediately

Questions I would like the candidates to answer.

What is the fiduciary responsibility of the US government to future generations.  
How will you ensure your administration is accountable for that?  
What area in the administration will be accountable for that?

How do you balance economic needs versus non-economic needs around protecting the environment?  What are the priorities in determining what environmental initiatives to take on versus eliminate?  Relate this to the fiduciary responsibility of the government to future generations.

How do you balance the needs of business versus the needs of individuals in decision making?  
How do you balance the rights of workers versus the rights of corporations?

What is your belief on the unitary executive?  
What is the appropriate balance between the legislature, executive and judicial braches?  
How will you vet out judges for federal courts?  
How will you work with congress to enact your priorities?

Which department in your administration will have the responsibility for foreign policy, including but not limited to Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Israel, Palestine, Sudan, Europe, Asia Russia.  
How will your administration work with the UN?

How will your administration work to reduce terrorism across the world?
What is the role of the military in reducing terrorism?
What is the role of the state department?
How will you use other organizations such as the FBI and CIA?

If you could choose right now, who will be your secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Transportation?

What is the role of signing statements.  How will you use signing statements?

And yes, I want written answers to these questions.  You will have three hours to write your answers, no copying off the person next to you.

•  Answers, I want Answers

  or tips maybe.

  Beatle Baum in the third.

  by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 05:55:45 PM PDT

  •  someday I want answers too, and I want them...

    ...from you about your handle, but it doesn't have to be today.

    I love your questions, btw. These are the kinds of things I'd love to see at a presidential debate. Mmmmmm I love me some substance!

    by Timroff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:34:02 PM PDT

    •  Jim Raff

      first name part of last name
      last name way to long to put in a handle, and I want to remain at least semi anonomous.

      by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:39:24 PM PDT

•  Why do you intend to maintain permanent bases

  in a sovereign country?

  (This can go for Iraq or Afghanistan)

  by Diaries on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 05:56:57 PM PDT

  •  oooooo good one

    I might reword it to be open like, where do you intend to maintain permanant bases, and why.

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 05:58:15 PM PDT

•  These questions are too hard

  remember these are politicians you are talking about.

  by redcardphreek on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 05:57:55 PM PDT

  •  Ok now for the easy ones

    Explain how to spell your first and last name.

    How many consultants did it take to help you answer the above question?

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 05:59:29 PM PDT

    •  Those are good questions

      no dodging around those.

      by redcardphreek on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:06:32 PM PDT

  •  Two questions

    How do you feel about praying for the sanctity of gays using their second amendment rights to protect unborn life from evolutionists?

    and

    How much did your haircut cost?

    by crystal eyes on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:09:15 PM PDT

    •  Is it just me

      or is that one whacked question ?

      by indycam on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:37:41 PM PDT

      •  Nope, just you

        :)

        by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:46:12 PM PDT

        •  So you flail to see it

          also ?

          by indycam on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:49:49 PM PDT

          •  chuckle chuckle chuckle

            by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:51:14 PM PDT

    •  Haircut: $0.00

      Did it myself, and it shows.

      by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:52:21 PM PDT

      •  Its worth

        every penny .

        by indycam on Wed Jun 20, 2007 at 03:18:21 PM PDT

•  Are you kidding? If you actually took them to

  task based on their answers; Elected officials would be extinct. Whch reminds me of my favorite joke:
  How do you know when a politician is lying??

  Cause his lips are moving!

  by PoliSci 000 on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:13:16 PM PDT

  •  what about when they write?

    Shouldn't the answer be when they verbalize in any way?

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:14:32 PM PDT

    •  That means GWB would have resigned on Day 1.

      by PoliSci 000 on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:17:40 PM PDT

      •  and that would be a problem why

        oh, wait, cuase Cheney would be evil one in chief.

        by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:19:58 PM PDT

        •  Nope, because the Cheney would resign on Day 2.

          Which means Colin Powell would be prea, oh oh, wait a minute, hmmm chain of command..Oh shit does that mean Delay would Prez? Speaker is 3rd in line right?? Oh, never mind. Shred the test.

          by PoliSci 000 on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:33:44 PM PDT

          •  That would be been hastert

            with Delay as chief bug hunter.

            by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:37:02 PM PDT

•  I like them

  Those questions are all about how a person will govern, what they stand for, and what they think about some of the biggest questions of the new century.

  by jbou on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:14:42 PM PDT

  •  That is what I was trying for

    thanks for the thoughts.

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:16:38 PM PDT

•  to W,who are you ,and why are you here?

  Just kidding.I absolutly know why and what he is doing and that is wrecking America.

  by eddienic on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:29:40 PM PDT

  •  did you think

    it would be this easy to destroy the earth, or were you expecting it to take all eight years?  Explain your answer.

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:36:12 PM PDT

    •  Barnum and Bayley easy..sucker born etc etc n/t

      by eddienic on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:38:16 PM PDT

•  19 Essays in 3 hours?

  Got lots of questionaires in my last Senate race, none of them this labor-intensive, and they all gave at least 10 days.

  by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:50:44 PM PDT

  •  I suppose, I would be

    happy to have answer to the first set and the second set.  But I really want real answers to these.  Not just fluffy consultant fed sound bites.

    What would you answser to any of these?

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:54:45 PM PDT

    •  1st set

      What is the fiduciary responsibility of the US government to future generations.  
      How will you ensure your administration is accountable for that?  
      What area in the administration will be accountable for that?

      First off, budget is more Congressional than Presidential responsibility.

      We gave the teenager the credit card. even though he spent it on strippers, we're stuck with the bill.

      1. Get out of Iraq.

      2. Slash mil budget to say twice the sum of China's, Russias, Iran's, N. Korea's.

      3. Carbon tax.

      4. Highly skeptical of major new domestic program's until the debt's paid down.

      by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:20:49 PM PDT

      •  And, end the drugwar.

        $60 Billion/year in law enforcement costs alone, not counting lost productivity of those imprisoned and employed at less than optimum due to the Urine Patrols.

        by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 08:07:51 PM PDT

    •  2nd set

      How do you balance economic needs versus non-economic needs around protecting the environment?  What are the priorities in determining what environmental initiatives to take on versus eliminate?  Relate this to the fiduciary responsibility of the government to future generations.

      Use tax structure to incentivise cleanest production approaches. The legacy Clean Air and Water Acts are flawed in grandfathering older facilities, which spew a lot more per unit of production than more modern designs. Pollution now means expensive cleanup later. These Ideas were leads in my campaign for Governor in 1990 as a "Green Republican," when I pitched the idea that if wisconsin led on clean production models, we'd be placed to sel the techs in 15 years. Alas, i didn't win that race.

      by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:27:16 PM PDT

    •  Judicial Appointments

      Senators don't get to make those, but do approve.

      In State Judicial races, the 1st question I ask is "What's the last time you supressed a search do to improper police conduct?" In our last State supreme court race, i used an opportunity to ask "When the US Supreme Court narrows its interpretation of the 4th Amendment, does that automatically narrow Privacy protections under the State Constitution?"

      by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:36:08 PM PDT

      •  These are great answers

        by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:42:49 PM PDT

        •  Thanks.

          When out campaigning last summer, I'd often get a question I knew little to nothing about. So, "I'll be honest. I don't know enough about __ to give you a good answer. Instead of my bullshitting you, why don't you explain it to me? Campaigns should not just be about selling the Candidate, but also are important as a way to make sure those we elect have a chance to learn the issues their constituents care about."

          by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:59:31 PM PDT

    •  "How will you use other organizations such as FBI

      To begin, re-instate the Levi Guidelines, originaly promulgated by Ford's Attorney General, which required any investigation of political and religious associations to be predicated by substantial evidence of criminal activity, and for that evidence to be signed off by the AG, or Deputy AG.Weakened by Clinton after the OKC bombing, eliminated by Ashcroft May 2002.

      by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 08:05:57 PM PDT

•  Answered

  Read Al Gore's new book!

  by MakeChessNotWar on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 06:56:51 PM PDT

  •  That's one

    now on to Barack, Hilary, Bill, John, Rudy, Mitt, and the others.

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:00:03 PM PDT

  •  Gore's borrowing my ideas again.

    I invented the Internet  as we know it today. Not the hardware, but the political uses. 1984.

    by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:41:55 PM PDT

•  I think you ignored

  some important areas:

  Will you stand up for women's reproductive rights? WIll you back comprehensive sex ed and widely availabel and cheap comtracpetion?

  Will you stand up for separation of church and state? WIll you instruct theiRS to investiagte FULLY churches which actually push one candidate over another (as opposed to sermon against war, or even the Iraq War)? WIll you tell the Religious Right to sit down and STFU when it comes to inserting their religion  and their belief in creation science into science classes?

  Will you make it easier for qualified students with low incomes (but not dirt poor) to attend college? WIll you turn back the mess BushCo has made of student loans and grants?

  by irishwitch on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:03:07 PM PDT

  •  Change will to How

    and let's add em in.  What I really want are the tough questions without the questioning bias to give the candidates the right to stick their foot in their mouth.

    Leading too much may give them a way to dance around it.  

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:06:35 PM PDT

  •  Oh, let's add one...

    ...how will you help qualified students who are dirt poor attend college?

    by ecclesioleft on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:14:50 PM PDT

    •  Thye actually CAN get loans

      and grats. Middle class kids cannot.

      by irishwitch on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:57:57 PM PDT

  •  Contraception

    When my daughter hit the appropriate age, I started keeping a large bowl of comdoms by the front door. Had a steady flow of teens dropping by to grab a handful. We became known as "_'s dad's free condom store." Several parents hanked me, "I wish I had the nerve."

    by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:40:10 PM PDT

•  The impact of global warming hasn't hit us yet

  I'd ask a ton of global warming questions, because if (when) the planet goes to crap, then all the other questions don't really matter.

  by crystal eyes on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:13:07 PM PDT

  •  Hopefully this is in the fiduciary

    responsibility questions.

    by jimraff on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 07:31:19 PM PDT

•  So where's all the other candidates?

  Do I win?

  by ben masel on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 08:08:40 PM PDT

  •  Dude, I would SO vote for you......n/t

    nt

    by auroraborealis on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 10:42:28 PM PDT