What is your top priority?

[dave29]

No right answer. Add yours below if not listed. I am curious to see what DUers see as their top priority in moving the country forward. Some of the choices are inter-related, so you will have to decide which "angle" holds more weight for you.

[Laelth]

1. I voted "health care reform."

By that I mean real reform and not propping up the current system (as the CorporaDemocratic Party seems determined to do).

:dem:

-Laelth

[dave29]

2. why is this "version" of healthcare reform your top priority?

I am assuming you mean single payer

[Laelth]

4. I am uninsured, and I don't want to be ordered to buy bad insurance that I can't afford to use.

Plus, I think the current bill, if it passes, will badly hurt the Democratic Party. It will be very unpopular.

It's an embarrassment that the U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't have a sane and humanitarian solution to this problem. The bills now being negotiated in Congress will merely preserve this perverse system.

:dem:

-Laelth

[daa]

22. I am for the expansion of Medicare

I was 53 and IBM sent my job to India. As you know there are 500,000 less IT workers in this country than a decade ago, so there are NO jobs. I do not want anyone to go through what I have had to go through waiting to get on Medicare. As a diabetic, this is not way for Americans to live.

This stupid bill does not lower costs, especially drug costs. Just keep feeding our dollars to the health care industry that lobbies better than I can (until Tuesday).

[dave29]

25. my IT job was outsourced as well -- sorry to hear about your situation

:(

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Ending war and cutting off the military industrial complex

We would have money for a lot of things if we stopped making war.

[WeDidIt]

5. Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs Jobs

Don't solve that one and the nation will throw every other one under the bus come November.

[Coyote_Bandit]

6. Meaningful healthcare reform

Not the piece of shit clusterfuck proposed legislation that is currently being bandied about.

I gave up a long time ago on job creation and long-term economic growth and stabilization. Amerikkkans don't have either the stomach, the creativity or the self-discipline for what is required.

[tonysam]

33. American's do--it's the politicians who lack the political will

to do it.

This health care "reform" is nothing but a shell game.

[Coyote_Bandit]

35. Some Americans do

But the majority are still consumers who prefer to make purchases based on price considerations - and the appearance having those possessions gives to others. They have to look like they are doing well even if their debt is 100 times their annual earnings. They don't give a damn whether their consumption and credit choices negatively affect the employment and/or wages of the family next door. Indeed, many barely understand that relationship.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. The media

If the actual truth of things is made known, all other issues will be resolved.

[OnyxCollie]

21. Sadly, even if the actual truth of things were made known

there are some who still wouldn't believe it. I have been researching cognitive motivation for grad school, and have seen a study where the focus was on whether highly partisan people, if provided correct information (in this case the fact that there was no connection between Saddam and al Qaeda), would put aside their previous misperceptions and accept the new information, or if they would refuse the new information and retain the misperceptions. The authors of the study even used a clip of bush himself denying any connection between Saddam and al Qaeda.

Guess what happened: They still wouldn't believe it. Most often, they would simply refuse to acknowledge the new information. They would rationalize and justify everything. "He knows things he can't say," and even took that clip of bush to mean the exact opposite.

I see the same thing happening here with the health care debate. It's so frustrating. The Sycophant All-Stars are doing exactly what the bushies did. They are now part of the problem.

My ignore list has grown by leaps and bounds. These people offer no constructive critiques and it is impossible to reason with them. I've wasted too much energy on their silliness.

[NightWatcher]

8. Survival

Survival for the millions below the poverty line,
survival for the hundreds of thousands without a job or hope of a career,
survival for the long term and short term of the middle class/working poor,
survival against the capitalistic machine that is shredding the people, the land, the air, the water....


yes, survival involves getting affordable healthcare for the tens of thousands that die each year for lack of care
yes, survival involves bringing back or creating new jobs for the blue collar man (and lady)
yes, survival involves treating the planet in a way that will ensure it's survival as a viable platform for existence


It's not a this or that, but a whole package deal.

oh, and by the way, we're losing

[mdmc]

40. +1

poverty

[noamnety]

9. Prioritizing some people's human rights over others is distasteful, at best.

I'm not interested in deciding whose rights take priority over someone else's rights. It strikes me as an exercise in justifying who the party can throw under the bus "for the greater good."

[dave29]

10. It may seem distasteful, sure

but there are interest groups in this party that have made these issues their top priority. It's not distasteful, it's reality. This is an agnostic poll, not meant to divide or judge.

Edit: Grammar

[noamnety]

11. You should be aware that it DOES divide, and is hurtful.

Evidence:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221x138601

Other than making an explicit point of letting certain groups of oppressed people know democrats don't generally give a shit about them as compared to "more important issues" - what does this poll accomplish, exactly?

[dave29]

12. My goal is to see what you have as your top priority. Period.

If Equal Rights for all is your answer, you are more than welcome to add it, as I suggested in the OP. Our party is made up of many special interest groups. That is reality. Some people work very hard for those causes, and that may be their top priority... there is nothing wrong with that.

[noamnety]

16. I didn't say equal rights (which always seems to exclude poverty), I said human rights.

Which encompasses everything on your list. The ONLY way to prioritize that list is to decide that women dying from unsafe abortions or violence is LESS bad than poor minorities dying from corporate toxic waste, or white middle class folks dying because they don't have health insurance is better or worse than brown folks overseas dying because we're invading, bombing, destroying the resources of their country, or dying because you can't be on your partners health insurance because you are gay is trumped by dying from being homeless because you lost your job or house in a mortgage bubble.

They all fall within human rights, and making lists to decide which people have more right to live than others - and voting on it - is a sickening diversion.

HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL HUMANS.

[dave29]

20. Human Rights. Got it --

sorry, I checked the link in your previous post and saw the equal rights heading. Again, not picking fights (or at least trying my best).

[noamnety]

26. Do you understand WHY this type of poll is hurtful?

Do you get what it is for a gay person to see poll after poll, even on the most left wing sites, confirming that their lives are not a priority?

Do you get what it is for women who've been raped - and forced to chose going to jail or living in barracks with their rapist to read polls confirming that this isn't a priority?

Do you get what it is for someone who is homeless to read that democrats in general don't care all that much about their lives, we have other priorities?

I'm thinking that you really don't care one way or another about the effects of this type of thread on real people. From your responses here, you seem detached about that.

[dave29]

29. Please do not attack me for posting an internet poll.

I am sorry you are hurt by my thread. There are many others whom have also given thoughtful responses without doing so. I am with you on Human Rights, and for that reason my vote is for Climate Change as the means to move in that direction, as I see it as a planetary emergency. Do you think I am happy to see one vote for it? Of course not. Does it make me sad there is not one vote for Education... of course. The fact of the matter is, all of these things do run together, but many see them as issues that must be tackled first before anything else. It is reality, I did not make it up, and I'm sorry if the way the world makes you angry.... me too. Everyone has different ideas about how to achieve the Democratic Party's goals.

If I seem detached it's because I am trying to remain neutral and, ironically, not get into fights. I am genuinely curious what is motivating people.

[noamnety]

30. I was hoping for a less detached answer.

It's not about me being hurt or not hurt by the poll. That's not what motivated me to post my response. Not about me, not about you.

I'm wondering if you can understand why this type of poll is hurtful to some people. Instead, that got turned around into being about you, about you feeling attacked, about you feeling defensive.

I am wondering if you can understand that any feelings of defensiveness you have about having this type of poll critiqued < feelings people have about seeing, yet again, that their lives are a low priority even to democrats.

[dave29]

34. This poll is not about you, or me

it is about priorities. Of course I understand hurting people's feelings. However, I would not participate on this board if I was truly worried about that. Would you? You are more than welcome to critique this poll however you like. I have been trying to explain my intention, and you have been busting my chops. I am not ashamed by it as you seem to think I should be. I have tried to be kind about it. You can't seem to let go.

If by less detached you mean apologizing for offending what you assume to be everyone else's delicate sensibilities, that's just not going to happen. Let people speak for themselves.

[noamnety]

36. giving up. poll away. nt

[Bucky]

13. Jobs. Healthcare will always be a struggle. They'll still be tweaking the system when I die.

But people need to get work now.

The environment worries me a good deal, but technology will eventually fix that problem. Renewable energy will become profitable in the next 20 years and we'll start switching over. But if we don't get jobs going and growing in the next few months, people who want to derail environmental reform, renewable energy, and healthcare expansion will get back into power.

Pissed as we are at him, we need for this president to rack up a lot of political successes in the next six months. If you don't like what he's doing now, wait till you see what the compromises are going to look like with Republican Congress in three years.

[Mari333]

14. STOP BOTH OCCUPATIONS

geez how can you forget about our illegal 54,000 dollars a minute war mongering?

[dave29]

15. I actually smacked my head after posting for not making ending wars an option

was not intentional, but thank you for adding.

[Individualist]

41. +1

[SmileyRose]

17. Tax reform will fix all of this.

When the ultra wealthy had to spend a chunk of change on supporting this nation's infrastructure and labor force in order to get any tax deductions - or else be penalized with a 95% tax rate so Uncle Sam could do the job for them - we did not have these sorts of problems.

Workers could afford medical care, food, housing and a decent education. It was not necessarily easy, but we had a fighting chance with a bit of government oversight in banking, work safety, fair labor practices and consumer safety.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

18. Campaign finance reform. Without that you won't get real progress on the others. nt

[notesdev]

24. I'm with you on that

Unless we fix the lawmaking process, any law passed is virtually guaranteed to worsen the key problem in this country, which is that criminals run the show.

[lpbk2713]

19. Other: Defeat of Conservatism

And more specifically, the defeat of the RW Media Lying Hatemongers.

[ebbie15644]

23. I picked health care but

I think the most important isn't on hear and that is Lobby reform!!! Get corporate $ out!!!

[Stardust]

27. Campaign/election reform. Without that, everything is moot.

[ixion]

28. Other: Restoration of the Rule of Law, and our Civil Liberties

in total.

The means, specifically, but not limited to:

Repealing the unPATRIOTic Act and the MCA, and;
Disbanding the TSA and the DHS, and;
Ending the so-called 'wars' of abstraction on terror and drugs, and;
Repealing all the BS legislation passed over the last 25 years, the justification of which was said 'wars' of abstraction.

That would be a great start.

[tonysam]

31. Health care "reform" is meaningless as far as I am concerned

Job creation should have ALWAYS been front and center of this administration, and it has failed to do it.

[slackmaster]

32. Full implementation of the Metric System

Poll needs an "Other" option.

[dave29]

37. I specifically left off metric system

as it is the square root of all evil

[Odin2005]

49. DUZY!!!

[Unvanguard]

38. Climate change and health care reform.

Climate change because literally no issue is more important, but health care reform because the likelihood of a policy solution (or at least substantial improvement) is higher there.

[Nancy Boy]

39. ....

After making my selection, I thought to myself, "Wait, I'm an adult. I know that all these can share the top priority." Luckily there was a confirmation button.

[dajoki]

42. Poverty, without a doubt n/t

[Lorien]

46. Which has it's roots in education, jobs, health care, and climate change

treating the symptom without treating the disease won't get us very far. Combat climate change NOW; it's having a devastating effect on the third world, as it will on the rest of us very soon, demand quality education (not even on most people's radar right now), affordable health care, public works programs, greater investment in food stamps and public housing.

Oh, and election reform. Because NONE of this will happen until Big business stops controlling our government.

[dajoki]

47. Sometimes poverty is just poverty...

although there are many reasons for it, illness, job loss, born into it, there should be no reason people have to suffer through it in this country.

[Lorien]

43. Climate change. Because nothing else matters if you can't grow food or breathe.

[Edweird]

44. Jobs. All the reform in the world is useless when people are broke.

[Luciferous]

45. I chose healthcare reform because I think that if they actually

passed real healthcare reform, businesses would have more money to hire more workers. People might be willing to start more small businesses if they didn't have to worry about losing health insurance. People wouldn't have to skip going to the doctor because they can't afford the bill, and we wouldn't have thousands of people a year dying because they are uninsured. Overall, I think healthcare is probably the biggest priority, with jobs being a very close second.

[Odin2005]

48. Jobs

[Maru Kitteh]

50. healthcare x 1000