I'm undecided - sell me on your candidate!

[Loyal]

Hey, I'm new here, first of all :hi:.

I'm a lifelong Democrat, and I've seen all 4 of the debates so far, and most of the town meetings/forums also. I'm in awe of most of the candidates, and I think that any of the 10 would make a fine nominee for our Democratic Party. I just can't decide. I watched the debate on thursday night and it seemed that no one screwed up at all. The bashing got a little bit out of hand but I thought that everyone did a great job.

Here's where I am on the issues:

Abortion: I fully support a woman's right to choose, including Medicaid funding for low-income women.

Trade: I think that trade is a good thing, but that worker and environmental protections are an important part of good trade agreements. I don't support unilateral trade agreements where our workers suffer.

Civil Rights: I oppose the flag burning amendment. I support the right of gay people to adopt and marry and be free from job discrimination. I also support affirmative action, with means testing instead of it being entirely based on race. I support the right of gay people to serve in our military.

Death Penalty: I do support the death penalty in principle, but I cannot support the application of it becuase I am scared to death that we might execute an innocent. Therefore, I am against it.

Defense/Homeland Security: I am against the ridiculous amount of waste and fraud in our DoD. I support a strong national defense including a missile defense shield, but I want a national defense, not a national offense. I want better pay for our troops so that none of them have to be on food stamps, and I want all the money that we take out of the Defense budget to be put into the VA Budget. Our vets deserve the absolute best.

Drugs: I oppose the war on drugs, and I believe that voluntary treatment is the way to treat addicts. I wholeheartedly support medical marijuana because it is the moral thing to do. On a side note, I also support re-importation.

Education: I do support the use of experimental vouchers for low-income children like in DC, but I don't think that $7500/yr is enough. I would support it if it covered the full cost of a private school in the area.

Environment: I support our environment and the Sierra Club, and I oppose drilling in ANWR and the lowering of CAFE standards.

Foreign Policy: I opposed the operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, because I believe that the U.S. does not have the right to kill people in foreign countries, even if the deaths are accidental and supposed to be on the way to a greater good, like liberation of a people.

Government Reform: I oppose campaign finance reform because it entrenches incumbents across the U.S., and makes them much harder to defeat.

Gun Control: This is one of my very conservative issues. I opposed the Brady Bill, the Assault Weapons Ban, and most other recent federal gun control legislation. I support the rights of states and localities to make their own gun control laws, but I would probably oppose those too ;-).

Health Care: I would support any of the candidates' health care plans, considering that any of them are better than George Bush's plan. He doesn't have one.

Social Security: I support a full lockbox on social security, stripping politicians of the ability to use social security surpluses to balance the budget and fund other government needs. If working families are going to entrust the government with their retirement money, it must be protected.

Tax Cuts: I opposed all 3 Bush tax cuts, because they left out working families and enriched the rich, who don't need help, imo.

Labor: I am 100% Pro-labor.

Ok, I'm open to suggestions now about which candidate I should support. Also, please, no candidate bashing in this thread. I have seen other well intentioned threads degenerate into candidate bashing, and I really don't want it to happen to this one. Thanks in advance

[PA-DEM]

1. You can have Lieberman for just $2.00

SOLD

Welcome to DU :toast:

[Loyal]

2. ?

Huh?

[thebigidea]

18. ah, a haggler...

ok, I'll give you Lieberman AND Graham for $1.50 and we'll call it even.

[Loyal]

32. Graham is worth far more than $1.50

n/t.

[Loyal]

3. kick

:kick:

[Loyal]

4. kick

:kick:

No one wants to sell a candidate to me? x(

[LWolf]

5. Welcome to DU, and check out my candidate!

Dennis Kucinich:

Without peer in

Speaking out and introducing legislation in opposition to Bush Inc.

advocating for:

Universal Health Care for all

Withdrawal from Nafta and the WTO

Worker's rights

Social Justice

Peace...he is the 2003 recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award.

Tinoire has a thread giving his platform and record on these and many other issues here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=10913

Check him out!

[Loyal]

6. Dennis seems really cool,

but his stance on gun control, like most of the other candidates, save for Dean, seems very iffy to me. I'm a big gun rights person. Does he support the Assault Weapons Ban and the Brady Bill?

[LWolf]

31. Well, DK won't do that part for ya.

He supports gun control.

That's not my issue; I just don't relate. I want people who need them to have them, but having to wait to get one doesn't bother me.
He does match everything else on your list really closely.

So far, I've taken a good look at every candidate except for Clark. I'll look at him if and when he comes up with a well-defined domestic platform. All of them have some things I like, and some things I don't. I chose Dennis because I could only find 2 votes in his record I disagreed with, his platform was the closest match, and his priorities matched as well.

And, when he says something, he actually acts on it. He introduces legislation to address his issues.

You can check out his legislative record here:

http://www.house.gov/kucinich/welcome.shtml

Productive searching, Loyal! :hi:

[Yupster]

20. I eliminated Kucinich when I heard

his health care proposal. It just seems like a disaster to me.

I think Carol Mosley-Braun has the best health care plan I've heard of.

[LWolf]

29. LOL

What is the difference between CMB and DK on health?

They're closest on health care to each other than to any other candidate.

I'm a CMB fan as well as DK. :hi:

[Yupster]

33. The difference

as I heard explained by each of them in the NY debate is

Carol M-B wants to detach health insurance and health care from employment status. The costs of the program would be paid for by general government revenue.

Kucinich wants to pay for his plan by a 7.7 % tax on employers.

Ask a guy running a small business if he sees any difference between those two plans?

I cannot understand why health insurance is still connected to your job for most people.

I understand why it first began during WWII that way, but why is it still that way today?

It's a permanent need for all of us from birth to death. Why would we attach it to something as transitory as employment. We change jobs. We work, then take years off. We retire. We go back to school. And each time we need new health insurance. That just seems crazy to me.

Carol M-B is right. Detach the two things. It's just a quirk that ever got them attached in the first place.

[quinnox]

7. Gephardt is good on labor

He is the one with the most labor endorsements, and has always been a good friend to labor.

Kerry is good if you are an environmentalist, he also is a liberal that often is perceived as more moderate/centrist than he really is which is a plus for a general election.

Edwards is good if considering electability, a southern candidate with charisma, he also has some innovative programs that I haven't seen in other candidates platforms.

[Loyal]

11. Good points

n/t

[blm]

8. Kucinich matches you almost to a tee.

.

[Loyal]

12. thanks

n/t.

[jfxgillis]

9. Heck, I can do it quicker than you can ask.

I'm goddamn sick and tired of Southerners in the White House. (sorry, Edwards, Graham)

I'm goddamned sick and tired Governors in the White House. (sorry, Dean)

I'm goddamned sick and tired of people who have been successful in other fields of endeavor waking up one day thinking "Oh, I was a good (insert career here) therefore, I'll be a good President." (sorry, Clark, Sharpton, Kucinich, Moseley-Braun)

I'm gooddamned sick and tired of relgiosity being accepted as a qualification for President, especially when it's ruled out in the Constitution (sorry, Lieberman)

That leaves Kerry and Gephardt. I'm from Massachusetts, so Kerry it is!!

[Loyal]

10. I like Kerry

I like all the candidates, unfortunately. I have no idea who I'm going to vote for in the primary in March. There are so many good candidates! Dean, Kerry, and Gephardt immediately come to mind. Those are 3 huge names, and then of course you have all the others so it's going to be really really tough! :(

[Loyal]

13. kick

:kick:

[gully]

14. Check out Howard Dean

He is pro death penalty, but has said as President he will re-examine the process to ensure fair application.

You don't agree with him on all the issues, but he shares many of your positions.

http://www.deanforamerica.com

You can search by issue, or click on the "on the issues" button.

[gully]

15. Welcome BTW!!!

:toast:

[Loyal]

16. Thanks

:hug:

[davhill]

17. You sound exactly like Graham

on each issue. In addition he is by far the most experienced candidate, having spent two terms as Governor of the 4th most popululous state, followed by three as Senator, including foreign policy experience as chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee. He has always been widely popular in Florida, dispite his low key manner. He is one of the few candidates who can attract both Independents and Conservatives who are fed up with Bush, and not alienate the Democratic base. He is the one Presidential candidate who could work with a hostile congress and still get things done. He is not well known outside of Florida because he spent his time devoted to the people of that state and has only recently reached out for national recognition. Check out his http://www.grahamforpresident.com/">web site. He has not caught fire in the polls for some reason, though he towers over the other candidates in his qualifications.

[Loyal]

19. I like Graham a lot

I posted a threat in GD asking why he hasn't caught fire. I'm definitely looking at Graham, and thanks a lot for your information. It's appreciated. :)

[George_Bonanza]

21. Welcome! Let me pitch Kerry...

Your trade policies seem to match right up with Kerry's. Kerry wants business and capitalists to succeed, but not at the expense of working people. He supports NAFTA, but is for cutting down on its environmental and labour risks. He proposed the Kerry Amendment, which sought moderate but rightful changes to NAFTA.

John Kerry, in his first senatorial year, wrote the gay civil rights bill, which would've made it illegal to discriminate against gays because of their sexual preferences. Since then, he has championed many other gay causes. He voted to include anti-gay crimes as hate crimes. He was one of 14 dissenters to vote NO on the Clinton-approved DoMA (Defense of Marriage Act). He has actively sought to include gays in the military, and opposed Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policies, because he didn't like the idea of simply sweeping the anti-gay feelings in the military under a cloak of silence.

John Kerry has the war veterans solidly behind him. One of his biggest supporters, Max Cleland, was a war hero himself, who lost two limbs in action. Kerry has always stood up for veterans' causes, and has been endorsed by them. Kerry's battle credentials is considerable, winning numerous medals. And not only that, he also had the courage to see that the cause he risked his life for was wrong, and he spoke out against it! And this was after he had the courage to fight in it in the first place!

Kerry's a no-brainer on the environment. Go to his website. It's too much to type!

Kerry is an adamant gun-control guy. I don't think he'd agree with you.

[Loyal]

23. Good pitch.

One correction though, I think: Cleland lost 3 limbs, and not 2. That's even sadder than you said. :(

[gottaB]

22. There's no perfect match

You need to prioritize. Somebody suggested Kucinich and you replied as if gun control were a deal breaker. I'd say Braun was an even better match for your issues--except of course for the issue of gun control.

You could pick Dean if NRA ratings mean the world to you. He's no Charleston Heston, but he's the closest you'll find among the Dems. There are reasons for Dems being overwhelmingly in favor of sensible gun laws, you know.

Of course Dean is not opposed to the death penalty, and his views of foreign policy I'd reckon are to the right of where you are, he supports federal laws making it a crime to burn the flag, and you'll have to decide for yourself how you feel about his record on drug treatment vs. incarceration.

Gephardt is 100% prolabor, but he voted for the flag desecration ban.

Lieberman supports vouchers, but.....

You're going to have to prioritize and make some compromises. The only thing for sure is that all things considered any of the Dems are way closer to you than Bush. The only issue where the Republicans better represent your views is gun control.

[Loyal]

24. Thanks for your analysis

:)

[SuffragetteSal]

25. Excellent post

Welcome to DU Loyal!

After watching the debates I wished we didn't have to choose just one, because the combined knowledge, experience and passion of the group of democrats on that panel brought such happiness and hope, I wished for a 'round table' of them all, as how great it would be to be able to utilize such incredible talent.

By the way, that is a great photo shot of Senator Bob Graham. :)

[Loyal]

27. Heya, thanks

:) I like CMB too, she's cool in my book!

[KG]

26. like to but the Socialist Party - USA hasn't chosen their candidate yet!

:)

www.sp-usa.org

[Loyal]

28. Thanks for the suggestion,

but I am most definitely not voting Green or Socialist this year. Not that I would anyway, but too much is at stake for me to waste my vote. Sorry, I prefer to be a Paul Wellstone Democrat.

[JohnKleeb]

30. Kucinich

I think do to your views on labor, Kosovo, and the death penalty. Then again your gun views may be more compatable with Dean.