Excerpted from the Backbone Campaign.
Democracy & Election Integrity
Civil Rights – The President has passed legislation where he can spy on all our calls and emails, lets him put anyone he wants in jail with no recourse, and allows him complete control over the National Guard—essentially giving the President dictatorial powers. Would you sponsor a law to eliminate these clear infringements of our constitutional rights?
Public Financing of Elections – To remove corporate and lobbying influence in elections, do you support requiring full public funding for all federal, state, and local elections?
Election Integrity – Since the 2000 election there has been clear ballot box vote corruption. Would you support legislation that ensured voting machines have open source code, were publicly owned and managed, and had a voter-verified paper ballot?
Dismantle Oppression, Separation of Church & State
Removing Corporate Tax Breaks – Do you support removing tax breaks and loopholes for wealthy corporations and people, since the top one percent owns 25% of the wealth in the US and the top 200 corporations have 25% of the world’s money, yet employ fewer than one percent of the people?
Same Sex Marriage Equality – Long-term same sex partners are currently denied visitation rights in hospitals, the ability to include their spouse on their insurance, and aren’t eligible for their partner’s Social Security benefits. Would you support marriage equality so that same sex couples who share their deep love for each other can receive the same marriage benefits as different sex couples?
Abortion Rights – If you had a daughter who got pregnant but wasn’t prepared to raise a child, would you force her to go through with the pregnancy, or would you allow her to have an abortion?
HIV/AIDS – Around 40 million people worldwide are infected with HIV/AIDS, 90% of whom are in developing countries. Would you support canceling the debt of countries where more than 5% of their populations are infected with HIV and using that money for stopping or slowing the spread of this disease.
Community Investment, Health & Security
Health Care – We spend about twice what other countries do for health care yet we have 47 million people with no health insurance and huge medical bankruptcy rates unheard of in other developed countries. Would you put American’s health ahead of enriching insurance compa-nies by supporting a national single payer health system to ensure that everyone has the health care they need and deserve?
Prison, Drug Legalization – If the prison population was a city, it would be the fourth largest city in the US. At 2.2 million prisoners, the US has 25% of the world’s prisoners. One quarter of all US prisoners are in for non-violent minor drug offenses. Would you support legalizing marijuana so that it’s regulated and taxed?
Social Security – Privatizing Social Security would mean billions of dollars for investment bankers at the expense of everyday Americans. Will you take an active role in ensuring that Social Security is not privatized?
Climate Change, Ecological Well Being
Reduce Greenhouse Gases – Specifically would you support a legislative package requiring a 10% reduction in U.S. greenhouse gases within three years, and a 90% reduction by 2050?
Increase Gas Mileage – Would you support a law requiring cars to get at least 50 miles per gallon by 2020?
No New Nukes Do you support a moratorium on all new coal and nuclear plants?
Sustainable Energy, Food & Commerce
Energy Independence – The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 passed last year, but important green power tax incentives and a new national standard to promote renewable power were cut from that legislation. Would you support re-adding these so we could create more environmentally sound energy, employ millions of Americans, and make us less dependent on foreign oil?
Renewable Energy – Would you support a requirement that 50% of all industrial, farm, and home energy be generated from renewable sources by 2040?
Sustainabilty – Do you support a U.S. Energy Sustainability pro-gram that would withdraw $80 billion in annual subsidies from fossil fuels and establish equivalent subsidies for clean energy sources; and rapidly convert U.S. food and farming, transportation, industry, and utilities production to renewable energy so that sustainable practices become the norm in all sectors of the economy?
Worker Dignity in a Global Economy
Full Employment – In 1946 Congress proposed a Full Employment Act, but it was gutted by business. Would you support a Full Employ-ment Act so that every American has a job at livable wages and could support themselves and their families?
Remove Outsourcing Subsidies – The US is losing its manufacturing base because our policies give tax breaks and subsidies to businesses that send jobs overseas. Will you remove these policies and allow only subsidies which actively create more jobs in the US?
Repeal NAFTA – Would you support a repeal, or at least a renegotiation, of NAFTA and GATT, so that Fair Trade, environmental sustainability, and food sovereignty, become the foundation of our trade policies, rather than increasing the profits of multinational corporations?
Just Security & Global Justice
Getting Out of Iraq – 80% of the people in Iraq and 70% of Americans want the US to leave their country. Would you support withdrawal of all US troops and military bases within 120 days to honor Iraqi wishes and use the money saved for real reconstruction in Iraq and needs of our people here at home?
Military Budget – The United States spends more money on military costs than all other countries combined, yet geographically we are also the country that is the most protected. Will you push to reduce the mili-tary budget in half so we can use the savings for REAL security by build-ing schools, better transportation and infrastructure, affordable house loans, etc.
Government Transparency, Truth & Accountability
Finding the Truth About 9/11 – The Jersey Girls and other family members of those killed on 9/11 have called for a comprehensive and truly independent investigation to address the many inconsistencies in the official 9/11 story. This is especially important to honor those who died that day and because it was the excuse for invading Iraq and Afghanistan, to take away our rights, and to make the government more secretive. Will you support the 9/11 families by initiating a 9/11 Commission with independent journalists and researchers?
Government Secrecy – The federal Committee on Oversight & Government Reform found that the Bush administration has undermined the Freedom of Information Act, has limited access to Presidential records, and committed various other actions that keep Americans from finding information about our own country. Will you ensure that members of this administration are held accountable and prosecuted for what they have done to America?
Surveillance – Will you disclose the full scope of Bush Administration domestic surveillance activities affecting American citizens, including all surveillance actions that were undertaken outside of the framework of law, as well as the legal opinions that were generated to justify them?
