What would your perfect candidate have as a platform?
I originally wrote this as a response to Scott's comment to my last post, but I'll put it here cuz it's really long, and I think people should add their own ideas.
Good question. I'll write the first few ideas that come to my head. Of course I realize that most Americans totally disagree with me though. These ideas are just in a random order. I might ask Chris to help me think of some too if he comes back into the room:
- Universal health care (yes, it would mean raising taxes.)
- Decriminalization of marijuana and emphasis on treatment rather than imprisonment for other drug use. Work to reduce prison populations (The US has the largest prison population in the world, I believe.)
- End of death penalty.
- Gay rights--allow gays every right that heterosexuals have, including marriage, and the issue will be OVER, as far as I am concerned.
- Withdrawal from NAFTA and WTO, maybe creation of a new trade organization with emphasis on fair trade and without the current system's bias in favor of rich nations like the US.
- Repudiation of pre-emptive war. Reduction in military size and spending. Seek to maintain security through internationalism, cooperation with other nations etc.
- In cases like Sudan (and Saddam Hussein's Iraq, perhaps), peace-keeping/intervention action by international organizations (work to make UN resolutions enforceable).
- More control on corporations--environmental, workers' rights laws. More taxes on corporations, less on individuals.
- Respect of civil liberties. Freedom of speech, religion, etc. As far as guns go, definitely an assault weapons ban, but I think others (especially hunting weapons) would be fine. Tighter restrictions on handguns probably though.
I'm gonna stop for now. I am sure I could think of other things. I realize that a lot of this would be really tough, and all these ideas could be criticized (and should be) and maybe some aren't as good of ideas as they seemed to me right as I wrote them down. Being a president/running a country would be really fucking difficult, obviously. A lot of other countries actually do some of these things though, so it must be possible.
I realize what Scott is pointing out here though. It's not enough just to be negative and criticize what we don't like in our government. It is better to actually have a positive plan. I think that that is the best thing we can all try to keep in mind over the next four years (and forever).
Also, I totally agree with what Scott said in his journal about how you have to totally prostitute yourself and suck every dick on the way up if you are going to be president. I don't think that that has to be so, though. I dunno.
What do other people think the ideal candidate would do?
Good question. I'll write the first few ideas that come to my head. Of course I realize that most Americans totally disagree with me though. These ideas are just in a random order. I might ask Chris to help me think of some too if he comes back into the room:
- Universal health care (yes, it would mean raising taxes.)
- Decriminalization of marijuana and emphasis on treatment rather than imprisonment for other drug use. Work to reduce prison populations (The US has the largest prison population in the world, I believe.)
- End of death penalty.
- Gay rights--allow gays every right that heterosexuals have, including marriage, and the issue will be OVER, as far as I am concerned.
- Withdrawal from NAFTA and WTO, maybe creation of a new trade organization with emphasis on fair trade and without the current system's bias in favor of rich nations like the US.
- Repudiation of pre-emptive war. Reduction in military size and spending. Seek to maintain security through internationalism, cooperation with other nations etc.
- In cases like Sudan (and Saddam Hussein's Iraq, perhaps), peace-keeping/intervention action by international organizations (work to make UN resolutions enforceable).
- More control on corporations--environmental, workers' rights laws. More taxes on corporations, less on individuals.
- Respect of civil liberties. Freedom of speech, religion, etc. As far as guns go, definitely an assault weapons ban, but I think others (especially hunting weapons) would be fine. Tighter restrictions on handguns probably though.
I'm gonna stop for now. I am sure I could think of other things. I realize that a lot of this would be really tough, and all these ideas could be criticized (and should be) and maybe some aren't as good of ideas as they seemed to me right as I wrote them down. Being a president/running a country would be really fucking difficult, obviously. A lot of other countries actually do some of these things though, so it must be possible.
I realize what Scott is pointing out here though. It's not enough just to be negative and criticize what we don't like in our government. It is better to actually have a positive plan. I think that that is the best thing we can all try to keep in mind over the next four years (and forever).
Also, I totally agree with what Scott said in his journal about how you have to totally prostitute yourself and suck every dick on the way up if you are going to be president. I don't think that that has to be so, though. I dunno.
What do other people think the ideal candidate would do?