What will be the major issue of this election?

[last1standing]

I keep reading here and elsewhere how the war in Iraq and our fears for security will be the deciding factors in the 2004 election. Personally, I disagree. I believe voters will decide the same way they always have, by their pocketbooks. Every election in recent history has been decided by the economy and this one will be no different. Bush* isn't rising in the polls because of Saddam, it's because of the constant media blitz about our supposedly booming economy.

I'm not saying that media propaganda regarding the war and terror won't give bush* a blip in his ratings, as we've seen, but every time, those same ratings fall right back down to around 50%. For a sitting president one year before elections, that is a strong sign of a discontented electorate. In my opinion, our candidate needs to be able to tell the people in terms they can understand how our economy is not producing jobs, how our deficit is strangling our future, and how he/she will turn things around. If we do that, we will win, media propaganda or no.

Anyway, that's my opinion, what does everyone else think?

[wanderingbear]

1. Ending the War on Terror..

If I have anything to say about it..Then it would be repealing the Patriot act and then dismatalling the Office of Homeland secrity..Then takeing down the Cameras and Razor wire fence that is surrounding this nation.

[Demobrat]

2. It depends on whether or not the Dems

let the Pubs set the agenda. If they do, it will be the WOT. If they don't it will be pocketbook issues.

[last1standing]

5. The theme of 2000 was "Time for a Change".

And yet Gore still won both the popular vote and the electoral one. It took an act of the supine court to over turn democracy. I think that was because of the economy being so good at the time.

Can one even imagine the overt media bias that will happen this time?

[mlawson]

8. What you just said.

I agree completely. But will the Dems have the 'gumption' to try and set the agenda, or will the campaign be run by a Daschle type (_____ forbid!!!) ???

[last1standing]

13. It's the Daschle types that want to run their campaigns on security.

It's the same philosophy that killed us in 2002. If we run a campaign saying that we can be more agressive than bush* on "terror", we will lose, just like so many democrats did in 2002. The only demos that did win were those who stood up and talked about what they could do for our economy, not our security.

[Festivito]

22. Agree, not economy, but, rather, unanswered ads.

Americans have a healthy disrespect for politicians, they are ready to accept that one is worse than the other rather than one is better than the other.

Those three Al Gore lies that weren't Gore lies but were RW lies... I saw NO REBUTTLE FOR MONTHS AFTER THE ELECTION.

Succint rebuttles would have moved conversations along. That 2000 election should have been fought harder.

[A HERETIC I AM]

3. The Repubs will make it "The war on Terror" and how great the economy

is doing. (hackcoffyeahrighthackcoff) They will say Bush is making us safer. They will say Bush has removed a threat (Saddam) and cleared another (Libya) and hope we buy it.
The Dems should just beat the "Bush is a not for the avereage American" drum among other things.
I am hoping one of them will finally call a spade a spade and take a stand against Wal-Mart and the decline of the middle class. I see perhaps Kucinich doing that, but not Dean.

[meti57b]

4. It will be a bunch of republican mud-slinging at our candidate, just like

they did to Al Gore, and tv ads about bush "standing strong, and bravely fighting terrorism" or some such.

We need a candidate and a party structure that is effective in fighting that.

[Killarney]

6. I think we need to tout fiscal responsibility

Imelda Marcos in a shoe store is more fiscally conservative than Bush and a big issue with Republicans is their money. We need to show them that Bush has gone crazy with spending and that it has to stop. $40 Billion on Patriot Act II Saturday for example.

And if there's anything Republicans hate more than excessive spending, it's spending on rebuilding another country. We need to focus on the money. We need to appeal to their selfish sides and say, 'while your son's school is falling apart, we're building new schools in Iraq. While your town is laying off police officers, we are paying police officers in Iraq.'

$1 Billion per week is spent on Iraq. In the time it took you to read this message, we spent $100,000 on Iraq. (100,000 per minute)

[Wwagsthedog]

20. I'm with you on this one

I think bush baby has signed every spending bill that happened to pass under his pen.

[Virgil]

7. If we will be ruled by treason

The big issue in the country is the media and power structure that let the resident of the White House use the Constitution as print on toilet paper. The big question is how can over 10 percent of the country think that Bu$h is acceptable as a president much less doing a good job.

Fact is fact and he is doing a terrible job. Look at Patriot Act 1 and the pieces of Patriot Act 2 being paragraphed into the appropriations bills.

The question is are we going to be happy with fantacyland or are we going to get real and call treason, treason.

[last1standing]

10. You're right, but people don't vote on rights.

They vote on money. If we can convice the people we have a better plan on that, the rest will be icing.

[Room101]

9. According to my freeper brother...

The Democrats destroying the Constitution , No I'm not kidding. Oh and Gay Marriage. :argh:

[LeahMira]

23. Didn't they learn anything from prohibition?

The Democrats destroying the Constitution

Where in the Constitution is it permitted for the government to extend its control over citizens as the Patriot Act would have it? I suppose it depends on which parts of the Constitution you think are being destroyed.

The Constitution provides a mechanism whereby any law can be challenged through the appeal process. If your brother opposes gay marriage, he is free to bring his case to court and to appeal any court decision all the way up to the Supreme Court. Contrary to popular freeper opinion, the Supreme Court is not composed of nine red-eyed radicals.

The freepers know they would lose the gay marriage issue in the courts, just as Roy Moore lost on the commandments monument. Sometimes even the majority is wrong. We don't amend the Constitution lightly or to satisfy some religious or moral cause du jour. Didn't they learn anything from prohibition?

[deminflorida]

11. Well if it has anything to do with Middle Class Taxes, then Dean

is finished out of the starting gate.

[last1standing]

14. I hope we can keep the flamebait to a minimum.

When it comes to economic issues, Dean has a fantastic record to run with, whereas your candidate, while he would be an excellent president, does not.

Also, since we know that the "middle class tax cut" does not exist, I wonder why you're doing the repubs work for them?

[deminflorida]

15. Wrong and you can repeat that as long as you want but the...

Middle Class Tax Cut was the one thing the Democrats in the evenly divided congress got accomplished when Bush's full tax plan was passed. Look at the bill. Now Dean want's to take that away???

[deminflorida]

16. Looks to me like Dean is just gonna finish up on the middle class

where Bush left off.

[last1standing]

18. So you don't think that bankrupt states increasing taxes...

and reducing services negates your precious tax cut? Dean, and I hope other Democrats including Clark, would see that the entire "cut" needs to be repealed. Fiscal responsibility is our greatest asset. Even during the debate for this error, a majority said that a tax cut was unecessary.

And our Daschle Democrats pandering to the right does not make good legislation.

[Demobrat]

17. I wasn't going to get into it, but

if it's Clark the pubs will have it all their own way. The election will be on their terms, and Rove will make mincemeat of the fired general. Dean as least has a chance to make it about his issues, health care, education and jobs.

[Demobrat]

21. Don't worry about Dean and taxes.

He'll come out with his own tax plan shortly, and it will benefit the middle and lower classes, not the top 2% and corporations.

[no_hypocrisy]

12. Because of the "war" on "terrorism" and "repairing" the economy, the

big theme will be "You don't change horses in mid-stream."

That argument bypasses the credentials of any opponent and the voting public should support the incumbent to finish the job that he started.

I don't agree of course, but that's what the endless loop of rhetoric will be.

[cryofan]

19. It will be whatever the media decides it will be

But you can bet it will not be healthcare, or anything to do with immigration, or improving the welfare state.