Where you stand, as of now.

[Jed Dilligan]

This is a follow-up to my thread soliciting input from people who are undecided as to which (if any) of the current candidates to support. I know these polls aren't scientific, but I'd like a general sense of how encamped we are right now!

Thanks in advance,
JD

The poll question:

Regarding Democratic candidates who have already declared, I am:

[Capn Sunshine]

1. I'm not 100% AGAINST anyone. They are all Democrats fer chrissakes.

so unless you wanted a push poll, you need another choice in there.

Like " 100% behind a candidate, appreciate the others"

[ElizabethDC]

3. That's my choice, too.

I'm 100% behind someone, but not 100% against anybody!

[Jed Dilligan]

4. Choice 3 is basically that

Okay with all of them, but preferring one over the others.

:shrug:

You never make everyone happy with poll choices!

[Totally Committed]

2. I'm still hoping someone else will declare....

but, if any DLC and/or corporatist candidate is the nominee, or if there is a DLC and/or corporatist candidate on the ticket, I will not vote, so it's a combination.

TC

[Milo_Bloom]

5. At this point, probably going 3rd party

I would vote for Obama in the general, but couldn't vote for Edwards, Clinton, Biden, Dodd or any of the other war enablers.

Edit to further explain: If Gore or Clark got involved, I would donate to them and passionately support either one. So I guess maybe I am in the disappointed category.. who knows, I am just disgusted with the field right now.

[Jed Dilligan]

12. Curious...

Why Obama over Edwards?

[Milo_Bloom]

16. Edwards is the worst of all the candidates.

He voted for the war... lied on the senate floor... lied about reasons for his vote... said he would vote the same way again, even after it was proven all the intelligence was false... disparaged Howard Dean... and then only when he decided to run for president again did he decide it was now a mistake and apologized for it.

I see Edwards as the absolute worst of all the possible candidates and a dangerous, power hungry, deceptive politician. I wouldn't trust him to be dog catcher, let alone president.

[Jed Dilligan]

17. So Category 2, then.

What were the lies?

[Milo_Bloom]

18. Far more than category 2

I wouldn't vote for Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Richardson either. I would vote for Kucinich, Obama or Gravel, but realistically, the only one with a chance is Obama and although I don't enthusiastically support him, I would vote for him in the general. In the end; however, I believe Gore fully plans to run, so I expect to be voting for him.

What were Edwards' lies?

His entire Senate floor speech during the IWR vote was one lie after another. There were significant doubts as to the evidence even at that time, (Scott Ritter had come forward a month before), but Edwards spoke as if Iraq being a threat was a fact. As all his reasons were undermined he later went on to use the "We needed to get in the inspectors" lie, however, failed to mention that Iraq agreed to UNCONDITIONAL return of the inspectors 3 weeks BEFORE the IWR vote (on Sept 16, 2002). From his floor speech, "Almost no one disagrees with these basic facts: that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a menace; that he has weapons of mass destruction and that he is doing everything in his power to get nuclear weapons; that he has supported terrorists; that he is a grave threat to the region, to vital allies like Israel, and to the United States; and that he is thwarting the will of the international community and undermining the United Nations' "

Actually, most of that WAS in disagreement. You had to actively NOT listen in order to believe that all of that was accepted as fact.

This guy is the epitome of sleazy politician. It is hard for me to believe the unmitigated gaul that this man has to now point fingers at the others for not "apologizing".

[BlueJazz]

6. I voted Disappointed as in >>

Disappointed, and hoping someone else will declare.

I have problems with the U.S. voting for a Woman or a Black Man.

It's all nice and warm to have such Fine People running but a cynical side
of me knows that a LARGE share of the American Voter is/are bigoted and/or Sexist.

I wish I lived in a country that I didn't feel this way but...I do...

[illinoisprogressive]

7. Blue, you underestimate people very much. I just told someone

that if the south was so bigoted still why did Obama draw 20,000 in austin and Atlanta.
There are bigots but, for the most part they are not going to vote for any democrat.
It's a good thing people with this thinking were not around to discourage people from voting for the unelectable crippled man in a wheelchair in 32.

[Jed Dilligan]

8. I agree,

we permanently lost the bigot vote with LBJ, and regardless of whether she is the candidate or not, Hillary has driven away the male chauvinist pigs. I don't approve of selecting a candidate to court bigots, though often that's what triangulation entails.

[BlueJazz]

10. With all due respect, you say I underestimate people very much....

...I humbly ask this.

1. How deep, artistic (or whatever you want to call it) is our popular music?
2. America's funniest Videos :)
3. You and your kind (I mean that in a Good way) hang together and most likely
have great conversations. A large share of the public worry who's going to get thrown off of
the Island.
4.How many Republicans have been in Congress in the last 15 years?

1A Who is the President of the United States.

Forgive me ..but Foreigners are correct...We may not be stupid but we (as a nation)
are extremely ignorant and are lead easily down the wrong path.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. 100% behind one,

but non committal about the others. If one of them gets the nomination, I'll vote for them.

[Jed Dilligan]

11. Thanks for responding...

:kick:

[Heath Hatcher]

13. I voted as wavering

I was once a die hard Edwards support but now i'm bounceing around the Edwards and Obama camps respectively.

[rasputin1952]

14. It is ridiculously early to be watching all of this...but from what I've seen

so far...all I see is


Someone had better come out and start making some sense of the most important issues...

Iraq

Health Care

Poverty

Realistic Tax solutions

The Infrastructure

Foreign Relations

Corporate ownership of the government

The Constitution and how to get back to it

Name your own...there are plenty of things to deal with. Point is, someone needs to get working on at least 2 of these and hammer their solution home.

The Imperial Presidency is looming on the horizon, and we need to get away from that whole notion.

I'm hoping someone will show up that addresses issues, step up to the plate and make a go of it...so far, I don't see much...x(

[Jed Dilligan]

15. I would add the War on Drugs and Global Warming

and that would be a pretty complete list.

[rasputin1952]

21. Yep...I was just shooting from the top of my head...

Immigration

"Border Fences" (read newer idea of Berlin style Wall)

Education

The insanity of PNAC

" " " The "Patriot Act"



The damage done by this administration and the previously GOP congress' is immense. They look to empire. the US, the world be damned....the "we know best" insanity has to stop.

[windbreeze]

25. Corporate ownership of our gov't...is the most important thing

we have to undo...because if we don't...none of the rest will matter...
wb

[KoKo]

31. Does Corporate Reform and Media Reform belong on your list, too? n/t

[rasputin1952]

43. Yes...by no means is my particular list all nclusive...I could

add equality for all citizens regardless of race, gender or sexual preference.

Reversing the USSC decision that gave corporations the same rights the citizen possesses...(for some reason they get out of that under the tax laws though).

Anyone can add to the list...but there is a snag in the situation. The issues that should be discussed, should also have the capacity to draw the majority of people, because those people are directly affected
by some issues, and not by others.

Take gay rights; I believe in equality for all people, however, most Americans are not directly affected, so it goes to the back urner for the time being. Regardless of how important it is on a personal level, it cannot be used as a wedge issue to divide the voters.

Freedom of choice is another wedge issue...neither side will budge, so put it on the back burner for the time being.

What do people have in common that they will vote on?

The war in Iraq

Illegal Immigration

Job loss

There are others, but issues need to be chosen to what brings the voters together to vote against interests that threaten them, later, w/education and discussion, people can be brought around to understand that some issues can be resolved equitably and people will benefit from the establishment of laws that protect people in this nation, as opposed to creating a situation where people are marginalized because of their role in life.

I am not female, black, hispanic, nor am I gay, but I fight everyday for the rights of people that are beaten down every day. I have learned through experience, that one must galvanize people on the larger issues, then work on some of the issues that "separate" some of our citizens from others. Some things take time, women's suffrage stands out, as does Civil Rights...I think it takes too much time sometime, but w/o education, and only confrontation, the time frames are extended.

[TSIAS]

19. I lean towards Obama

Mainly because I think he has the best chance of defeating the candidate who I truly hope will not be the nominee.

If another candidate came forward and fulfilled that role, I'd consider switching to that candidate.

[Perry Logan]

20. Nothing matters but getting a Democrat in there.

[KoKo]

32. Ummm....we did that in 04 with the "ABB Campaign." "Fool Me Once..."

Fool Me Twice....and you are outta here trying to fool me again.

[blondeatlast]

22. Other: SCOTUS. I could vote for any of them (some more than others). nt

[Colobo]

23. Obama. Period.

[Greyhound]

24. Other; Disappointed with the field, except for Kucinich that has taken the

best positions on the issues, but has so far failed to find a way to break through the noise machine.

Mostly I'm just terribly disappointed in the American People. We seem to have become utterly incapable of thinking for ourselves and seeing the consequences of our actions. Consider Howard Beale's revelation speech in the film "Network". In 1977 the character was raging about how less than 3% of us read books and less than 15% read newspapers (back when newspapers printed at least some news) and it is even worse now.

Even here among the political and news junkies of DU, I've read, just today, that we need a world government so that we can "just get on with it" and how living under corporate fascism is preferable to "European socialism". That it is wrong to ask those that can afford it to pay more to support the system that made their prosperity possible, and that our "free market" is just the best of all possible systems. That the fact that a (multi-millionaire) politician is paying lip-service to poverty and the decimation of the working class, while offering to viable plans to improve the situation, makes him a better choice. That the best "solution" to our health care crisis we can hope for is to give billions more to the insurance industry and then (maybe) they will cover all of us with the same "care" that the people depicted in "Sicko" have.

So, considering the fable of the frog and the scorpion, which is worse, the scorpion that acts like a scorpion, or the frog that is repeatedly surprised that the scorpion behaves just like a scorpion?

[rucky]

26. I could live with any of 'em.

But Kucinich would move this country further forward than any of the others.

[Jed Dilligan]

27. Hate to reply to myself but

I want to do a little analysis of results as they now stand. I'd like to keep this one kicked for a while to see how and if it evolves.

As I see it choices 1, 2, and 8 represent extremely negative positions against one or more candidates. IMO these are the people who seem most likely to jump ship if the primaries don't go their way. They're also the ones slinging the most mud in GDP, which is what this thread is ultimately about.

The most popular choice, 7, I think represents mostly people who realize they have to vote for the Party out of sheer sanity, but find the current field a little depressing. I'd venture a guess that the majority of this plurality are hoping Gore or Clark will step in.

The other non-other choices are supportive of the candidates in general. I'd say these are the least likely to fling mud in GDP or jump ship in the GE.

The others? Tack them onto whichever group you see fit.

This is just wild speculation on an unscientific poll, but my point is that the (potential) mudslingers and jumpships are only showing about 28%. That's too high for my tastes, but reading GDP lately you'd think it was more like 78%. Those of us on the middle ground show a solid majority at 66%.

[ozone_man]

39. You might be misinterpreting #7.

#7 - "Disappointed, and hoping someone else will declare"

Doesn't support your comment "I think represents mostly people who realize they have to vote for the Party out of sheer sanity". I will not vote Democratic unless there is a candidate worthy of voting for. I don't see one yet, except for Kucinich, so he gets my vote, unless Gore runs. If neither is an option in the general election, 3rd party looks likely for me. So I'm saying that there are those who will vote Democratic for the right candidate. Mostly Independents I guess.

In other words, there are those who don't simply take the "lesser of two evils" as a choice.

[Jed Dilligan]

40. It's complicated by the EC

Most of us live in states where the result is a foregone conclusion. If it's just symbolic, why not vote for your choice and not out of fear?

[Semper_FiFi]

28. I think we have some great candidates,

I am just not sure of whom I will vote for as of today. As long as we have a Democrat in the White House come 2008, I will be happy.

[Jed Dilligan]

29. Welcome to DU Fifi!

:hi:

[Semper_FiFi]

33. Thank you for the warm greeting Jed...

I am happy to be on this site. Finally a place to read about the world from a perspective much like my own.:hi:

[Jed Dilligan]

35. You'll find a variety of perspectives here,

and a range of personalities from the best to the worst. But the common ground is pretty solid and has been for years.

[KoKo]

30. If Al Gore doesn't Come In then I will write his name in...otherwise I support Kucinich.

[penguin7]

34. I don't think I can vote for Edwards

Kucinich gets my 100% enthusiastic vote and support.

I can vote for all the rest. There is a difference between Republican and Democrat unlike Nader's foolish statement. I think the others are GOP Lite though.

[Jed Dilligan]

36. It's nice to see the newer posters chiming in,

welcome! Are you opposed to Edwards for the reasons upthread, or something else?

[ArkySue]

37. I'm underwhelmed

with the lot of them. I'm really, REALLY tired of voting for the least bad option.

[That Is Quite Enough]

38. When it comes to candidates...

...I like most of them, though I have a few favorites.

[femmocrat]

41. It doesn't much matter in PA.

By the time we get to vote, it will be already decided.

[Jed Dilligan]

44. That's pretty weird, seeing as you will actually be

helping decide the GE (swing state). Maybe we should primary in the swing states first.

[baldguy]

42. I will vote for the Democratic candidate, regardless of who it is.