15 Questions That Should Be Asked of Every Presidential Candidate
July 13, 2015

 
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Exactly three weeks from today, Fox will be hosting the first of nine GOP Presidential debates (Democrats have yet to settle on a debate schedule). While everyone is busy questioning Fox’s right to choose which of the 16 declared GOP candidates makes the cut (debate performances should decide the polls, not the other way around), no one seems to be discussing the TOPICS they should be asked about. Should we build on the Obama Administration’s efforts to undo the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration or return to them? Now that the GOP has alienated every non-white demographic there is, what positions do they think will lead to their recapturing the White House? Every election season, Republicans only ask the questions they think matter to Republicans (“Elvis or Johnny Cash?”), and Democrats only ask the questions they think matter to Democrats (“Obama & Flag-pin gate“). So while Republicans this year are asked about “BenghaziTM” and “repealing ObamaCare”, Democrats are asked questions about their support for the removal of the Confederate flag from Public grounds. Then, once the two (three?) candidates face off in the cross-Party debates, the subjects that matter most to most Americans haven’t even been brought up yet. They’ll dance around the issues, do their best to avoid giving straight answers, and in the end, the need to “move on before the next debate” will ensure those questions are never answered.

Below is a short list of the 10 12 15 questions I believe should be asked of every presidential candidate this cycle (no dumb questions like: “Name your favorite Supreme Court justice?”):

  1. The War in Afghanistan, which is about to begin its 15th year… almost as long as World War II and Vietnam put together… how will we know when the war there is over? How do you see that result being brought about?

    2.  

  2. Do you believe in Man-Made Climate Change? If so, do you believe Man is the leading contributor, and what… if anything… should be done about it?

    3.  

  3. Do you support the right of gay couples to marry? If not, do you support a Constitutional Amendment to ban it?

    4.  

  4. Do you believe “in-person” voter fraud (the kind “Voter ID” laws are intended to thwart) is a problem in this country? And if so, do you believe the risk of disenfranchising tens of thousands of eligible voters is offset by the number of “ineligible” voters who are stopped?

    5.  

  5. Do you believe if we shut down every abortion clinic in the country, women would simply stop having abortions?

    6.  

  6. Describe in detail your plan for Immigration Reform.

    7.  

  7. How do you account for the widening gap in “income inequality” over the past 30 years?

    8.  

  8. During the 2004 presidential race, the nominees Bush & Kerry agreed that “a nuclear armed Iran” was the most serious threat facing our nation. During the 2008 race, Senator McCain joked how he’d “Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” if they didn’t halt their nuclear ambitions. How do you explain the apparent disconnect between the looming “immediate” threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and the fact that such fears are now in their 12th year?

    9.  

  9. Do you support a path to “legal status” for the over 10 million undocumented immigrants already in the country illegally? If not, what is your solution?

    10.  

  10. What lessons have you learned from the decision to invade Iraq in 2003? Do you believe the chaos currently inhabiting that region can be traced back to that decision?

    11.  

  11. Do you believe we need to repeal The Affordable Care Act, ie: “ObamaCare”, and if so, what is your solution to providing care to the 50 million people who now have insurance as a direct result of the law?

    12.  

  12. Do you support or oppose a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Aurora, CO theater shooting, the Giffords campaign shooting in Tuscon, AZ and the massacre of twenty 1st graders and six adults in Newtown, CT?

    13.  

  13. Which do you believe costs the American Taxpayer more each year: Food Stamps or subsidies to major corporations?

    14.  

  14. JUST FOUR of the largest banks in the U.S. (thanks to mergers & acquisitions following the 2008 crash) control more than a third… nearly $7.5-TRILLION… of the U.S. economy. Propose a solution to prevent another $700 Billion dollar bailout of Wall Street.

    15.  

  15. Should corporations that move their operations overseas to avoid paying income taxes be allowed to import their goods back into the United States tax free?

That’s just off the top of my head. I’m sure you can think of some more. Add your own questions for the candidates in the Comments.
 

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July 13, 2015 · Admin Mugsy · No Comments - Add
Posted in: Election, Politics

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