#1 Issue You Care About + #1 Issue that made Your vote

[heydude]

What is the number 1 issue, facing our time today, that you care about in terms of an elected officials response or priority for it?

What is the number 1 issue that caused you to vote for who you voted for.

Just name the two things!

For me.

My number one issue is GLOBAL WARMING.

My number one issue that made me vote for who I voted for: how candidate seemed to care about the little guy / gay people.

[Tammy]

Healthcare

Insurance for all

[gimmethesimplelife]

Healthcare

Insurance for allYep, same here.....Rob

[early morning]

environment (both candidates were poor on this, but one was worse)

healthcare

[ApatheticNoMore]

The environment is the number one issue. The number one issue that made me unable to vote major party (on anything frankly, I didn't vote major party for anything - and yes this refusal was based on research of the individual candidate at every levels positions not on any broad brush dismissal) is civil liberties. I can't vote for someone who believes in much less fights for NDAA. I can't vote for a guy who goes around with an unaccountable assasination program (even ocassionally used on Americans). I can't vote for someone who believes in torture (Romney came out for torture).

Gah I use such calm terms like "the environment" and "civil liberties" when I mean possible human extinction and a president who murders people and locks them away for life based on nothing!

The reality of the environment seems to be the U.S. is on route to be a petro state, or perhaps that overstates the role of fossil fuel extraction in the economy, I don't know what percentage of the economy will come from that, I do know there are predictions that we will surpass Saudi Arabia in overall production. Yea I know they are probably (who can tell OPEC, Saudi Arabia secrecy etc.) on the decline, but still how shocking is that? Plenty. Everyone's local community is going to be poisoned for this (fracking, coal extraction, deep sea drilling including places like the arctic etc.). That is really what will happen to America. I'm not sure there are quite so many such resources here on the west coast, but I didn't vote purely for what would happen to the west coast! Basically all this has increased vastly under Obama, he choose to make fracking, deep sea drilling, arctic drilling, policies given the full green light. But it would have happened anyway? Yes, so long as we have bad leadership! We need better leadership! Also the Keystone Pipeline XL continues, it is being built right now, the northern part is on halt (maybe they'll give it the go ahead on new years eve or something!) but the southern part continues, it would take something massive (I know Bill Mckibben (the 350.org) hopes to create such a protest) not to approve the whole thing. Of course Obama will approve it, the only hope is that such massive pressure is brought to bear on him, that he can't. The rest of the world probably hates the U.S. for how they have been on global climate treaties (among other things haha, they may not love our making war on dozens of countries for no reason either), the U.S. sabotages every single fricken climate treaty! And this has continued under Obama.

[The Storyteller]

My number one issue: humane, sustainable agriculture.

How I voted: he's a Democrat

[bunnys]

Global Warming. Everything else is moot.

[peggy]

Actually for me the number one issue is whether the candidate lives in the reality based world or not. Does he/she believe in science, global warming, evolution, whether women can 'shut that whole thing down' or not, and other real world truths. If they refuse to believe, or acknowledge, the simple truths and facts of life, then I don't have any use for them at all. Ignorance, whether real or pretended, is the exact dead last thing I look for in a world leader. Everything else is negotiable.

Why I voted for Obama? See above.

[iris lily]

How are you all who put global warming at top of you list liking the US's current stance on Kyoto agreement?

I remember on this board when Kyoto was brought up weekly and the GW Bush devil blamed. Now that someone else has been in the White House for years--not a peep from the pro-Kyoto crowd yet U.S has same position and O'Bama is praised.

What's up with that?

[catherine]

How are you all who put global warming at top of you list liking the US's current stance on Kyoto agreement?

I remember on this board when Kyoto was brought up weekly and the GW Bush devil blamed. Now that someone else has been in the White House for years--not a peep from the pro-Kyoto crowd yet U.S has same position and O'Bama is praised.

What's up with that?

I don't know if Obama is praise-worthy on the environmental front. I voted for him as simply the lesser of two evils on the environment. I think any president has a real uphill battle in making the environment a political issue, especially in these economic times and with whole big factions and power brokers with interests in fossil fuels. I think Obama is simply putting his energy in other things, like Obamacare and the economy.

I agree that my #1 issue is also the environment. We are the frogs in the proverbial pot that is heating up literally and figuratively. Watching the Dust Bowl on TV reminded me how short-sighted we continue to be with regard to respect for natural resources vs. our own greed--and if we paid more attention to the ecosystem we live in, some of these other ills would take care of themselves.

[Alan]

What's up with that?
The dichotomy of emotion? From hate to love...

[bunnys]

I hate what hasn't happened w/ Kyoto.

Global warming is my #1 issue.

I'm a bleeding heart liberal.

There were a few things GWB did that I agreed with.

I voted for Obama.

On the balance I think thus far Obama has been an ok president.

Clearly I am irrational and driven exclusively by emotion and I along with my opinions should be dismissed.

Or maybe I understand the concept of nuance and ranking and I can see gray areas...

[Florence]

For the past decade my primary issue was ending the wars in Afghanistan-Iraq-Afghanistan and not starting any more.
Now, climate change is moving to the top. (But I still don't trust our leaders not to get involved in a war almost anywhere.)

[Lainey]

#1 meta-issue is campaign finance reform. Unlimited amounts of money in political campaigns is weakening our democracy.

[Spartana]

Voted for Obama mainly on health insurance. Not for me as I have it already covered, but for those others who, due to low income or pre-exiting conditions, don't have coverage and can't get it at all or can't get affordable healthcar coverage.

However, I'm less then happy with my choice now (but still would vote that way based on the other candidates and issues - although some of those conservative issues I strongly agreed with). Since I recently discovered that the ACA (Obamacare) planned to subsidize relatively high earners (too high by my standards to be qualifing for governemnt/taxpayer aid) without any type of means testing to determine the amount of other assets someone has, I am less inclined to be supportive of the ACA - although I like many other aspects of the plan as well as disliked many too. But, since I believe that healthcare should be something for everyone and not just those who can afford it - just like public education - affordable and available to all (and no, medicaid - at least in Calif - doesn't cover single, non-immigrant, non-pregnent, non-disabled adults no matter how poor or low income you are) I voted deocrat. Would I do it again....ummm....ask me in a few months but probably yes..

[Zoebird]

I would put environment as my number one; and then civil issues (rights, liberties, welfare, etc) on how I voted -- though perhaps this was military interventionism.

[ApatheticNoMore]

How are you all who put global warming at top of you list liking the US's current stance on Kyoto agreement?

screaming about it

Anyone who thinks the environment is going to be fine .... because because Obama who has not been good on it (yea I'd like him to have an ephiphany on this matter too, but that doesn't mean I think it likely), is collectively blindly walking the path of catastrophe. Screaming ....

That's why I say Bill Mckibben: at least has a good sized protest movement, at least has had *some* impact (postponing the Keystone XL), so that's something there .... sure we may waste all our energy on dead end protest movements, hey a few of them may even be astroturfed or setups for all I know, but it's better than wasting it all on politicians whose records we KNOW FOR A FACT are pretty aweful on these matters.

Lesser evils, a little bit pregnant, partly dead, kinda destroying the life support system of the planet (but not as fast as the Republicans might) none are actually meaningful disctinctions in the end.

[bae]

Civil rights and sustainability.

So really, nobody I can vote for.

[Zoebird]

I'm upset about the US not participating in a lot of international environmental law stuff. Same time, i also look at local (us) stuff. So, yeah. Big mess all around.

[ApatheticNoMore]

It's possible some of this exploiting of our own country for destructive fossil fuels (eg fracking) could be fought locally at least some places. That and decently organized national protest movements about things like keystone xl, and well ... I wish there was more but they seem at least somewhat decent avenues. Because I don't think the powers that be have good intents for most of us (and the environment and planet we live in/on) at all. Deliberately presiding over a policy of increasing destructive fossil fuel extraction from our own country is proof enough for me.

[Laser_Cat]

Number one issue for me is the environment and climate change (much like the rest of you folks). I wish Obama would do a lot more concerning this issue. The world's governments really need to step up and take charge of the situation. I for one do everything I can but even in some places there isn't even an option to be greener, the infrastructure just isn't there. I think it just hasn't hit home for most folks and it won't until something bad environmentally happens to them personally. (not saying I want that to happen to anyone.)

[LDAHL]

I'm a deficit hawk. I think we may have reached the limits of Keynesian economics once the market comes to believe that the pendulum may never swing back to surplus, and all we have left is 70s-style stagflation to look forward to. We can't tax our way out of the problem to any meaningful extent, so if we lack the will to control our spending nothing else much matters. Whether you think the solution to our problems requires solar energy tax credits, cowboy poetry subsidies or Death Star research and development, the means won't be there.

[Gardenarian]

Peace.

Doesn't seem to be an issue that folks are interested in, though.

[Rogar]

It's interesting that when the majority of people had the economy as the top issue, the environment is so popular here. It is my choice, too, but goes beyond just global warming to include resource conservation and protection.

I there were a second, it would be some sort of divorce between big money and politics. This doesn't seem to be on the list of the any of the foxes who are guarding the chickens.