Which issue is most important to you?

[kentuck]

I think the American people should be forced to prioritize. They should be forced to make choices. Which of these do you keep and which do you discard? We cannot have all of them.

[vi5]

1. Your second to last choice....

"Depends if Democrats are for it or Republicans are for it."

If people were being honest there'd be a huge chunk of people on DU who would have to make that pick.

[JuniperLea]

13. How do you figure?

From my POV that comment would only make sense if Dems walked lockstep, which clearly is NOT the case.

[vi5]

22. Dems don't walk lockstep.

And nothing about the OP or my response implied that.

But there are a vocal group of people on DU who pretty much all but outright admit that they are o.k. with policies or disregarding of policies that if done by a Democratic president, Senator, or Representative whereas if a Republican advocated or implemented the same policies they would be against it. They defend horrible policies and decisions by saying "Well I'm o.k. with it if a Democrat does it because the Republicans would be worse."

They are the ones who if they were being honest should answer the poll with that choice because ultimately there are no convictions to their priorities as to "Well I support this because it is right." or "I'm o.k. with not supporting that because it is morally wrong" or anything of the sort. There is only "Democrats are in power and I want Democrats to stay in power so I will support them no matter what they do."

[JuniperLea]

23. Erm... you just described walking lockstep...

"But there are a vocal group of people on DU who pretty much all but outright admit that they are o.k. with policies or disregarding of policies that if done by a Democratic president, Senator, or Representative whereas if a Republican advocated or implemented the same policies they would be against it. They defend horrible policies and decisions by saying "Well I'm o.k. with it if a Democrat does it because the Republicans would be worse."


That is what lockstep is all about.

[vi5]

26. O.K., Dems as a whole don't walk lockstep

The group of people I am talking about DO walk lockstep.

Is that clear enough?

I don't believe the poll was asking what the entire Democratic party as a whole was supporting or not supporting, but as by the very definition of a poll was asking individuals for their opinion. There is a group made up of individuals individuals for whom the statement I mentioned would be true because each of them walk lockstep behind 2 unifying and related ideas "Democrats good, Republicans bad". Actual policies and values and everything else are secondary to them. They are the ones for whom the question "What ideas do you support as economic priorities" could best be answered by "Depends on if Democrats are for it or Republicans are for it".

[justabob]

2. people vs corporations generally

returning power to The People over rapacious megamultinational conglomerates covers many things on that list

[dkf]

3. The choices are going to come down to providing for the elderly or the poor.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. No, we don't need to "make choices".

Item #1 is off the table. Social Security doesn't need touching.

The rest should each be given greater of lesser emphasis based on the degree to which they promote the general welfare.

We can't stop doing any of them.

... except tax cuts. We can most certainly stop that.

[InvisibleTouch]

5. Other: Environmental Protection. n/t

[MH1]

24. I second that.

Isn't it sad that the environment is relegated to 'Other' even on a supposedly Democratic / liberal forum?

:banghead:

[kentuck]

25. It's not that it's not important...

It's just that when you are old and sick and homeless or without a job, the environment doesn't seem so important to you...

[AmandaMae]

31. I third that.

[panader0]

6. Other

The wars are the main thing. As the doctor's oath says "First, do no harm"
We need to stop doing harm to others first, then fix our many domestic problems.
Ending the wars will free up billions in tax monies.

[Union Scribe]

7. If / when prioritizing is needed, I say go with the base of the hierarchy

of needs (Mazlow's? Too lazy to look it up). Food, shelter, and health care for all. That's the foundation of any hope at a successful future for our country and our world. Only with those in place can education be equal and effective and diplomacy be more than disguised sabre rattling.

[kentuck]

10. Do you think the time has come to prioritize?

Can we afford the wars and taxcuts for the wealthy any longer? Can we afford the taxcuts for a big portion of the middle class if we want to provide for the needs mentioned above?

[Union Scribe]

17. Not only can we not afford those

They weren't logical or responsible uses for funds in the first place. A lot less prioritizing is necessary when such morally bankrupt leaches are detached from our treasury department.

[kentuck]

19. But you have to sell it.

Framing it is the first step.

[grahamhgreen]

8. Real HeAlth care, because it also helps the old

[kctim]

9. Other: Protecting the rights of all

[blindpig]

11. "Rights" is nebulous,

without the material means of sustenance they are useless. Thus political equality doesn't mean much without economic equality.

[kentuck]

14. Economic democracy?

was a movement in the 70's or 80's as I recall?

[blindpig]

20. It is the basis of socialism.

The owners are justified in their fear of it.

[kctim]

27. BS!

Neither money nor the material crap it buys are needed to be free. This is why people who live in or near poverty will vote for somebody who promises to protect their rights over someone who promises them things.

[blindpig]

28. Great

You are free to starve. Freedom don't mean shit if one doesn't have the ability to live.

Can you eat freedom?

[kctim]

30. Sigh

So sad that you live in such fear.

One side fears govt taking everything from them and the other side fears govt not giving everything to them.

[blindpig]

34. Perhaps that's easy for you to say....

1%er.

And where do you get this shit "fears govt not giving everything to them"?

[kctim]

37. Yes, it is easy for me to say

I do not live in a constant state of fear of the rights of others. Perhaps being a 1%er has something to do with that, but more than likely it is what led me to it.

(And where do you get this shit "fears govt not giving everything to them"?)

From the same place you got "rights don't mean shit" and people will starve if given too much freedom. You didn't think you were the only one who knows how to try and use the extreme as the norm to scare up support for you're opinion, did you?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. Stopping Obama's "necessary" war in AfPak.

[JuniperLea]

15. Feed Hungry Children, then provide health care for all...

First things first.

I had a Pubbie tell me the other day that because the US gives more money to charity than any country in Europe, the idea that there are too many hungry and homeless is a myth. I told him that in order to make that a fair comparison, the US would need to have socialized medicine. Clearly the need is greater here because of how poorly we the people are treated.

[DainBramaged]

16. All of the above, and we can do it easily

End the wars in the Middle East, reduce our military presence around the world, cut out military budget and eliminate dollar bleeding programs like the F35, and make the South an island unto itself.

[TBF]

18. Cut military, increase taxes on wealthy. After that we wouldn't have to pick just one. nt

[demodonkey]

21. PROTECTING OUR ELECTIONS: Voter-Verified Paper Ballots and meaningful audits

Without fair, accurate elections, EVERY OTHER ISSUE ON THIS POLL is at grave risk.

[csziggy]

33. Seconded! Without elections we can trust, nothing else will get better

Right after that, election funding reform so the corporations can no longer buy the candidates a clear path to office.

[OhioChick]

29. Above all...People need JOBS n/t

[LWolf]

32. Other: All but that 2nd to last.

All the issues are "most" important; I don't rank any as "less" important. Issues will ALWAYS trump party with me, though.

[earth mom]

35. If the planet is unlivable, what do any of the things on the list matter? nt

[old mark]

36. Universal healthcare-for real- is No1 for me...K&R...nt

[Toucano]

38. None of the above. The #1 issue is The Motion To Amend.

http://movetoamend.org/

We can win every other important issue if we restore Democracy to the United States. We need to amend the constitution to provide for public funding of all federal elections.

Every other victory will be one step forward, two steps back.

And yes, we can have it all. The people have absolutely no voice in government now. Give the people representation, and everything - absolutely everything - will follow the people's interests.

[PurityOfEssence]

39. Health Care; not having it is an affront to the concept of civilization

We banded together many centuries ago to make some rules so we could coexist and flourish as a species. This brought us safety from the immoral among us so the rest of us could specialize and advance ourselves on all fronts. The basic, fundamental expression of civilization is guaranteeing a few certain rights, and the expectation of having access to health care is good for us all as a group; it's important that those walking among us can know the level of reliability of their physical beings and act accordingly. It's simply an essential building block of a proper social contract.

The cost should not be a factor, but we have to live in a practical world, so having one's physical survival be dependent on one's finances is a danger and impediment to us all. Thus, the concept of health care only being available depending on one's needs is, above all else, impractical.

Without this, we are in a brutish crisis-mode world of just scraping by, sneering at the infirm in the few moments when we can't simply ignore them outright.

[Mudoria]

40. Jobs