What I want to hear ... [Politics]

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I find the current narrowness of the Democratic primary system depressing. I know that Elizabeth Warren has actually posted positions and policies for many of the issues I address below. I also know that much of what I have on my lists seems out of reach in our divided society. In many ways, just as in 2016, I blame the media. They have the resources to actually call out many of these issues, but they are just as much slaves-to-clicks as is Facebook.

I want a Presidential candidate to have a political identity like the below. Earlier, I referenced an Op Ed in the NYT.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/13/opin ... e=Homepage

This Op Ed is 1,453 words with a single idea.

And yet, in 1,000 words below, I have managed to include the majority of what I want a POTUS candidate to say as future leader of the United States. I am aware that many will object to listing military strength first. I did it because I think it is smart politics and also true. The order in which ideas are delivered has a lot to do with keeping people involved. And one of the major jobs any POTUS candidate is applying for is "Commander in Chief". Admit it up front.
[The 1,000 Words I Want To Hear From A Candidate]

We need a strong military and defense strategy in order to maintain our freedoms. If we are not safe as a Country, then little else we do will matter.

We need a strong economy and quality jobs for all Americans.

We need to promote the middle class and the workers - America is defined by these groups, not a small handful of billionaires or large corporations.

We need the infrastructure to support a modern market economy. That cannot be done with old roads, old bridges, old airports, and out-of-date healthcare models. We need healthcare that allows people to work and live without fear of medical costs or lack of care.

We need affordable education from pre-school to PhD programs. We cannot allow our leadership in sciences, medicine and industry be diluted downward; and we certainly cannot afford to saddle college graduates with 20+ years of debt.

We need to shore up our alliances to make a stronger, safer world. Yes there are many complex issues, but no Country really rules the world. We want to be the leaders of a block of practical, moral Countries that define a sane future world. Certainly this should focus on non aggressive solutions; but not by standing down when aggressors make threats or take hostile actions.

We need effective and efficient Government. The US taxpayers want a fair and equitable tax system that provides for the military, social services and infrastructure we need. But we also need to modernize Government in ways similar to how Corporations work differently than 20 years ago.

We need a sane and fair immigration policy. Some of this will require strong borders, but much of it will require that we help address the root cause of refuge immigration. American has always been a Nation of Immigrants, and the history of Immigration has always required active management, not passiveness and neglect, and certainly not the imprisonment of families and children just for crossing a border.

We need to look around and acknowledge that some small part of the population really cannot make it on their own - do we really want them living under bridges? The cost to fix the housing problem is rather modest; it is a lack of will that keeps the problem going, not a lack of resources.

And finally, perhaps most importantly, we are living through a time of rapid technological and global economic change. We need to feel proud that China has developed a modern economy. We need to accept that the total dominance the US had after WWII had to adjust a bit; but it need not be to our disadvantage. Many of the problems we face as a nation are self inflicted wounds, not hostile actions from afar.

The very nature of work is changing every day. Older skills need updating, and sometimes complete replacement. People want work with dignity that pays a decent, livable wage. We cannot accomplish this by rule of law - it requires the strong economic underpinnings and well trained workforce to marry up with productive output. We cannot pay better and better wages with a worser and worser economy.

We, as a Nation, have far too many people in prison. Too many are locked up in expensive cells for non-violent crimes. We need to examine our imprisonment rate compared to other Nations and fix the problems. Rehabilitating former criminals is real work; but it is better, and more cost effective than long term imprisonment. We cannot be “soft on crime” in any way, but other Countries seem to attain a lower crime rate without a high incarceration rate - we can do the same.

Too much power in our society has gravitated to a few hundred very large companies. This is not an anti-business point of view; it is a shift away from our own historic middle. Business, small and large, defines most of our greater economy. But business cannot thrive and continue to grow with under paid, under trained and under appreciated workers. We need to have both a flexible workforce and a return to true employment. We cannot be the leading Country in the world and have a growing gig-worker economy; sorry, it just isn’t how greatness happens. People cannot do their best work when living within economic insecurity and healthcare insecurity.

We tore down our post WWII retirement system with self funded pensions in the 1980s. The results are not pretty. Most families, people who have worked hard all their lives, face retirement with too few resources. We need to shore up Social Security to bridge the short term problems, and probably develop a more secure system for real retirement funding ongoing.

Social Security was never intended to carry the entire burden of paying for retirement, and the massive reduction in pension funding by corporations in the past 40 years has created a broken system. We need to combine the safety net of Social Security with a funded pension system that has universal membership. We sent American economists to Chile to develop one of the better systems in the world, but we cannot seem to take the advice we exported so effectively.

America was founded on some very simple and powerful ideas. But more so, America was founded by an energetic people who wanted to make and keep a great nation.

The future comes at us rapidly; we as a people need to be educated, agile, economic and hopeful. A population that is not excited about the future is not the basis for the greatest Country in the world.

Many of these needs, ideas and changes will require a new mind set for many, but we consider them frankly obvious. They are not ideas from a particular ideology; they are the ideas of common sense. This is the work of a generation, not a Presidential term-of-office. But this work needs to begin now, and we need to adopt these goals with energy and positivism.

We will not decline. We will Thrive.
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Re: What I want to hear ... [Politics

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There must be two dozen things I left off. And you are right, climate simply has to be on the list.

I deliberately wrote down things that I believe a vast majority can buy into.

My view of politics is a lot like LBJ’s social agenda. Find that which can be agreed upon and get elected. Then introduce much of the “medicine” society needs.

The problem with climate is the intensity with which it has been politicized. I don’t really understand how so much of the population can line up against the fact that climate change is real, urgent and man made.

I do think it has to be on the urgent list, and if I could advise a president, I would advise her or him to Always Wrap climate change In terms of harm to jobs and property. It is, in fact, closer to a moral imperative. But the issue needs a leader skilled enough to depolarize it as quickly as possible. We need charts showing how much each taxpayer is paying every year fromthe results of climate change.

Am I right? I have always admitted I am a disgusting pragmatist. And in many ways, some of what I personally look for in a leader is a sense of pragmatism. Note that I do not believe that pragmatism is the same as moral compromise.

And Marlene. Thanks for the constructive question. You are spot on that I have not hit every issue - My focus was on how I want a leader to present what is needed.

I just read a list of Warren’s policies. She has a fair number of items on my list. And as I said, I blame the media, not Warren for the message gap.
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Re: What I want to hear ... [Politics]

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In 2010, it became clear that the GOP was unable to govern. Most of the elected GOP were only able to tear things down. This hasn't changed. I don't see anything happening with an existing Freedom Caucus and the right-wing media regardless of what happens in 2020.

If the GOP could govern, they would have passed an infrastructure bill in 2017-2018 and paid off their cronies with it. Instead, they passed a tax cut, increased defense spending beyond what the DoD wanted, expanded ICE, and held multiple votes to destroy the ACA. With full control, they could do nothing valuable for the country.

How is anything really going to happen in the near future? Maybe Executive Orders that can be reversed in the future?
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Re: What I want to hear ... [Politics]

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It is truly inconceivable but true that when the Republicans had full control under Bush they actually got far more done than the first 2 years under Trump. They couldn't fix health care, they couldn't fix infrastructure, they couldn't fix immigration, they couldn't fix the environment, they couldn't give the economy more than a temporary "sugar high", they couldn't bring down gun violence, they couldn't get along with our friends and allies, they got hoodwinked and taken advantage of by our adversaries, they couldn't bring back manufacturing, they couldn't get businesses to invest in growth, they couldn't and wouldn't control an out-of-control, totally corrupt President.

And they had full control of government. They are like a football team that can't score a touchdown even when the other team is off the field.
Last edited by YankeeTarheel on Sat Sep 14, 2019 12:44 am, edited 2 times in total.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: What I want to hear ... [Politics]

9
As the debates go on I'm not hearing much that's new, just regurgitation of earlier statements by the candidates. The debates are run by the networks which are part of the media and they control the topics so they make sure gun control is front and center. The network questioners are their on air personalities, instead of crusty old reporters who used to ask serious questions of politicians. No one seems to ask foreign policy questions outside of the Trump tariffs - no questions about American troops and conflicts overseas. Questions on climate but nothing about our navy ships in the Persian Gulf protecting oil shipping or the Iran sanctions. I agree nothing really in depth on education or retirement outside of Social Security and Medicare. We should be subsidizing child care to help young families until children are in school instead of focusing on immigration. There is so much that they are not talking about. Bring back the crusty old reporters.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: What I want to hear ... [Politics]

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The Republicans have sought a one-party state since they elected Newt Gingrich as Speaker, who thought he could parlay that into himself sitting behind the Resolute Desk. The plans by Rove and Tom DeLay for a "Perpetual Majority" using techniques to cut out ANY lobbyist who gave a dime to Democrats (Pelosi is mimicking their technique to block primary challenges to DINO Representatives and Pelosi-hand-selected ones). All the talk about "Values" was bullshit to fertilize the scared ignorant "deplorables" because guys like Gingrich, Rove, and DeLay have no values. Trump is the direct outcome of their "ideals" and he WILL destroy our nation to protect and aggrandize himself. The one thing I know Trump believes is: "L'Etat est Moi!"
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

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