What Is The Most Important Issue We Need To Address?

[cincinnati_liberal]

What is the most crucial issue at hand for the Democrats? The war, the environment, education, abortion, gay rights? I'm interested in where people think we should concentrate our efforts.

[libertypirate]

1. This

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=106337&mesg_id=106337

[NAO]

2. Bush Term II Damage Control

That's a very tough question - (what should be our priority) but I think things are SO BAD and they are GETTING WORSE VERY FAST that we need to focus all our energy on damage control and try to derail as many * agenda items as possible.

Think about how much damage he has done just since Jan 2005.

- Torture Man/Fry Guy Gonzales as AG. Before Gonzales was justifying torture, he served under W as Gov. of Texas, and helped him execute more people than any governor in history. He derailed the normal procedure for requesting clemency so Bush could fry 'em as fast as possible.

- Brainwash about Social Security "crisis". There is no crisis. There are dozens of different ways SS could be put on an indefinite secure foundation by modest tax increases on the wealthiest 1%. Yet thanks to *'s aggressive propaganda, many believe SS is really in trouble.

- Budget Cuts FDA testing of drugs. Just when we are riding a wave of horrific FDA approved drug caused deaths, * has the balls to slash funding for the FDA.

That's only three items. Bush is cranking out horrific, destructive policy initiatives by the dozens every week. If we focus on anything other than fighting each one tooth and nail, there is not going to be anything left in four years for us to work on.

[Sugarbleus]

7. I agree with you...

about the DOMESTIC TERROR in Bush's plans; cuts and kills of all sorts of funding and programs. What will be left to fight for if we become a hollow shell of a country?

"They" are using the divide and conquer routine. While the neocons have us entangled in foreign affairs unwisely; our eyes are focused on what's going on in Iraq/Iran and elsewhere, they go about with a machete to THIS country....defunding and killing programs that have been our life blood. Doing so right and left!

[gumby]

3. election fraud

Until democracy is restored -- meaning -- that the people's votes actually count and are actually counted, NOTHING ELSE matters. Nothing.

[borg5575]

11. I agree.

We will never see a Democrat in the Oval Office again until we get fair elections. Their success in stealing the last two elections will only embolden them to keep it up unless we stop them somehow.

[nickgutierrez]

4. Vote spoilage.

It feels to me like the remnants of the Jim Crow laws, transferred to the voting booth.

In the state of Florida back in 2000, there were almost 180,000 ballots marked as unreadable. Of those, some 54% were filed by black voters -- a racial group that made up only about 10% of the Florida electorate.

In 2004, a black voter in Florida was nine times more likely to have his/her vote go unread as a white voter. In New Mexico, a hispanic voter was five times more likely.

In Ohio, minority and low-income districts spoiled, on average, 8% of all votes, while high-income white districts saw only a 1% spoilage rate.

Those spoiled votes, which we can assume would have gone in both cases overwhelmingly to the Democratic candidate, could have turned both elections.

SOURCE: http://gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=411&row=0

[libodem]

5. patriot act

don't let our constitutional rights be destroyed. We are nearly under martial law with this color terror alert. They are after any right to privacy, down to seeing through your clothes, at air port screening. I'm hearing more about check points and having dogs sniff your car. 'they' want to make the patriot act permanent as of now! They are taking our rights

[genius]

6. HR 418. The Death Camp Bill AKA PATRIOT III AKA the Real ID Act.

BTW, Dennis again had the good sense to vote against it. Will our Senators? Or do they mind their constituents being hauled off into death camps?

[Eric J in MN]

8. UBL and Mullah Omar are seeking a nuclear bomb to nuke us (nt)

nt

[Eric J in MN]

16. kick

kick

[napi21]

9. Primary concentration needs to be on the topics at the top of

the Pub agenda. Right now, that's SS and the budget. We have to deal with this shit as it appears on the radar screen. I would like to have added his renomination of the 12 judicial people, but I'm not sure we could possibly get the votes to defeat them. The other issues have some Pubs hating them too, so you concentrate your efforts on the battles you can win.

[zann725]

10. Save Social Security from Privatization NOW! Time is of the essence.

The Admin plans to win the privatization of SS by lying...as Brit Hume did recently by INTENTIONALLY misquoting FDR on SS. The only way we'll win this, is if we STOP the lying NOW. As FDR's grandson said tonite on KO, and as Al Franken has suggested several times now...we need to start by getting Brit Hume to resign for his intentionally false misquoting of FDR's position re: SS. We need to win back the media, and this is a start toward saving SS, AND also re-training the Media to serve the Constitution and We The People too.

[LdyGuique]

12. The fundamental core issue is Corporatization

Corporatization is the genuine and real problem. There is vast wealth and power being controlled by a small group of immensely wealthy and corrupt people. It's buying the elections, funding the media, and pushing the agenda of privatization of all agencies -- Social Security isn't the only one. It's gutting environmental protections, and the core cause of the oil wars. It's behind the torte reform proposals, behind packing the federal courts. It's behind globalization, the WTO, World Bank and all of the draconian anti-social measures that poor countries must adopt in order to get loans -- loans which go directly to major corporations, such as Halliburton.

Eliot Spitzer is the Lone Ranger on the battlelines.

Neocons are purveyors of the political message. Fox, Clear Channel, Sinclair, etc., are all the messengers to tell their "truth." It must be fought at all levels.

Guerrilla warfare tactics are the only way to bring this structure down. From disseminating the news to street level activism. Fighting for Social Security is fighting a symptom -- as is anti-war activities. They must be done, but they are not the genuine problem. You do NOT want the world being created. It has no heart and people are merely pawns or canon fodder.

The issue is being clouded by religious fundamentalism -- whether it's Islamic or Christian. These people are so scared that this is their only solution.

Frankly, I think that the battle is lost already. Until it collapses and most people have nothing left to lose, they won't be willing to create the havoc necessary to get the message out. The comfortable middle has too much to lose; so, they will continue to be Republican and supportive in a vaguely general way in the name of security.

Until people are willing to learn, to educate themselves, to use their minds and think, the propaganda machine will keep bullshit spewing forth and people will continue to be placated.

How many of us, common people, are really willing to go to jail and or end up dead. We know what the Patriot Act is. Otherwise, it's just words, cheap words.

[Blue_Roses]

13. not one

but many. The Democratic party should never pigeon-hole themselves into one issue. We are a party that is inclusive, diverse, and multi-lateral. These are not one issue foundations.

[loudsue]

14. All other issues stem from ONE issue: ELECTION FRAUD.

Bush wouldn't even BE in power if it weren't for stolen, crooked, fraudulent elections. We wouldn't even be ASKING this question if it weren't for election fraud on the part of the republicans....because THE DEMS WOULD BE IN POWER, and none of this would be happening at all.

I just don't understand how there is even one single person reading threads on DU who doesn't understand this.

Please read and re-read this next statement until you have committed it to permanent memory:

ON THE VERY FIRST DAY AFTER WE HAVE FAIR ELECTIONS IN THIS COUNTRY AGAIN, ALL OF THE PROBLEMS GEORGE BUSH (AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY) HAS STARTED CAN BEGIN TO BE REVERSED.

We can start getting justice back in our courts.
We can start getting rid of the right wing media monopoly.
We can start getting ourselves out of Iraq.
We can start giving $$ back to Social Security.
We can start giving rights and privacy back to the people.
We can start insuring fair labor practices.
We can start cleaning up the corruption in the corporations.
We can start spending $$ on alternative fuels, which creates jobs.
We can start supporting the Geneva conventions.
We can start to reverse environmental damage.

Until we have fair and honest elections in this country again, we will continue to try to put out all of the outrageous fires the republican party starts on an hourly basis; acts that are dooming our country to a third world status, a fascist/totalitarian militarist government, and deep, personal poverty for the vast majority of our citizens.

Fair elections ARE Democracy. Without that, we can't do anything about any other problem.

:kick::kick::kick::kick:

[LdyGuique]

15. I agree -- but who is funding the lack of fair elections?

[DaveinMD]

17. I think its about tactics

not issues. We need to fight Republicans hard. Obviously, we can't lose the Social Security fight. But even the battles we lose, we need to make political points.

[marcologico]

18. Very tough call. I'd say 1) Iraq and 2) election reform. But

they're trying to pull off so many swindles before the bottom drops out (soon, very soon) it's all about multitasking.

[cheshire]

19. To counter Bush in as many ways possible. If he is going to talk up

his SS plan we counter it loud and clear. If he wants to invade Iran we work to help them. Anyway we can. When he tries to pass his budget we send emails to the reps. We need to stand together on these issues as a mighty force. Like the reps did to force Fox to lie for them we can too.