In 5 words or fewer, what is THE top issue influencing your vote in 2016?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

Last edited Mon Jun 15, 2015, 05:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Examples could include, but certainly would not be limited to:

"Wealth Inequality"
"Gun Violence"
"The Gender Pay Gap"
"Marriage Equality"
"Medical Marijuana"
"Global Warming"
"Keeping the ACA"
"Supreme Court Justices"
"The Middle East Wars"
"TPP"
"Black Lives Matter"


Edited the title to reflect a severe grammar rebuke

Some other examples (you are, of course, encouraged to use your own words)

"Immigration Reform"
"Path to Citizenship"
"Dream Act"
"Reduce Defense Spending"
"Abortion Rights"
"Honor the Treaties"
"Space"
"Bees"
"Citizens United"
"Student Loan Debt"
"Defeating Republicans"

[Go Vols]

1. Wealth Inequality

[we can do it]

2. ALL of above.

[jwirr]

126. <<<< THIS >>>>

[we can do it]

165. Can't be said enough. Not just one thing, it's everything.

[daleanime]

127. +1

[cantbeserious]

153. + 1,000

eom

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. abortion right, police abuse, jobs, equality on many fronts

Can't pick just one

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. Driverless cars.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

6. ...actually, that's a really good answer

Within 10 years, there is a potential huge economic and employment impact there. Also, it has major infrastructure investment implications.

[jberryhill]

112. Anerucabs!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

5. Social justice --

which encompasses many, if not most, of those issues you listed.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

8. Fair enough, but the list was just to serve as examples

Social Justice is a very reasonable answer, however.

[SaranchaIsWaiting]

7. Corruption in Government

sorry, I can't keep it to five words only! bah!

If the people who run this country are corrupt cheaters, nothing can be fixed. They will grub for more money and influence every waking moment of their lives. Send the lot to the justice system (it will be a packed house with plenty from all parties).

Get some honest people to run the country and amazing things can be done.

[haikugal]

9. Corruption!

It's killing us!!

[leftofcool]

10. "BLM" immigration and Women's/girls/LGBT rights

[Exilednight]

11. Environmental issues.

Everything else is secondary. If this planet can not support life, then there is no human race to worry about.

[OregonBlue]

17. Kick!! If we kill the planet the rest doesn't matter.

[StevieM]

121. Excellent point. I totally agree. (eom)

[Nye Bevan]

12. "It's about competence, not ideology" (nt)

[NightWatcher]

13. Republicans Are Assholes, Vote Accordingly

[irisblue]

33. Can I swipe this?

to the point

[NightWatcher]

48. Spread the word far and wide

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. A path to immigration, glbtq citizens added to civil rights laws, access to medical care regardless

A path to immigration, glbtq citizens added to civil rights laws, access to medical care regardless of ability to pay, a livable wage, criminal justice reform, paid leave...

[lunamagica]

63. +1 This is it for me too. I'll just add one more thing issue for me. Gun violence. nt

[Motown_Johnny]

15. ...liberty and justice for all.

How hard is that really?

[lostnfound]

107. Well stated! That should go down in the history books!

Oh yeah, it did.
Great reminder though, of what matters most.

[hamsterjill]

16. Keeping abortion safe and legal.

Women cannot have equality without having control over their own bodies. It's a basic concept.

There are MANY pressing issues in this country, but this one is the one that tears at my heart strings. I see this right being chipped away on a daily basis. I see a younger generation that does not understand what it's going to be like when this right is finally gone. I see an older generation (like me) that remembers blood and death and coat hangers, and remembers the fight to make choice legal.

I do not understand why so many young voters seem to care so little about this issue.

[Vattel]

18. It's a toss up between immigrant rights and avoiding dumb wars.

[lonestarnot]

19. Wealth Inequality.

[11 Bravo]

20. United States Supreme Court

[Sancho]

21. A path to citizenship

[stevenleser]

22. Keep Republicans from Destroying Country. Nt

[daredtowork]

23. Housing for All and Mincome

[blm]

24. Environment needs Supreme Court

Nothing else will matter when the world is struggling to survive from one catastrophic disaster to the next.

[hifiguy]

25. Economic ruin/Money in Politics. nt

[Runningdawg]

26. one subject, 5 words is only a start

Jobs added for fixing infrastructure.

[Johonny]

27. The stupid stops now!

[flamin lib]

28. First is a Democratic candidate. Second is gun control.

I will vote gun control in the primary (sorry Bernie) and for the the Democratic candidate in the general regardless of who it is.

[Man from Pickens]

29. Oligarchy vs. democracy

everything else is either a subset of this conflict or a sideshow

[underpants]

30. When will the FEMA camps be finished and fully stocked?

[polichick]

31. Climate change - a sustainable future.

[JDPriestly]

32. Someone said corruption.

I agree. Corruption is the mother of all the other problems, the cause of our inability to admit to and deal with all our other problems, and your list, Algernon Moncrieff is a pretty good start on the list of all the wrongs in our society that result from the corruption.

I would like to say that I am moved to back Bernie Sanders also because the issues of authenticity in our leaders, of having a leader who represents me and not a bunch of rich people, of trust, of infrastructure repair and improvement, of working together and investing as a nation in the technology of the future that will heal our planet and make our lives better is important to me.

For example, if the Romans could build aqueducts to carry water to Rome in ancient times, and we have rising seas, why can't we, with our scientific and technological expertise, build aqueducts not just in the US but in other areas of the world in which floods maybe in one country along with rising sea levels, and then in another persistent drought are problems. It sounds impossible, but traveling to the moon seemed impossible until we did it.

So I would say battling the corruption that presents us from thinking positively about the opportunities in the future is the biggest issue in 2016. Our corporate elite wants things its way. It wants to harness technology for its gain.

I say let's harness technology and build a future together that benefits all of us and not just the ever-corrupting 1%.

So that's my most important issue: fighting corruption that is holding us back as a nation.

Corruption and the gaining of prestige and power not based on ability and hard work but on social status is the cause of racism, of sexism, of all the social ills and slows our ability to deal with crises like climate change. Corruption pits one against the other. It is behind a lot of our police brutality. Scapegoating of African-American youths is the typical symptom of a society that is breaking down into opposing gangs, and that is how corruption works. It uses gangland techniques to scare all by visibly treating the scapegoats cruelly.

Corruption.

Sorry. Five words or less is not what a discussion forum is about as far as I am concerned.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

72. I just wanted a five word or fewer synopsis of the issue in the title

I appreciate your thoughtful answer, and I'm not objecting to detail in the meessage text.

My purpose is trying to see if I can see a central issue that emerges as a driving force. For example, the Monmouth University poll of Republicans (cited in LBN) states that "national security and gun control " are two of the top issues seen among Republican voters -- which strikes me as odd, given that the two candidates that consistently emerge in GOP polls are Scott Walker and Ben Carson -- not the people who leap to mind as being identified with gun rights and national security.

[JDPriestly]

91. Interesting!

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

156. Another reason Bernie can eat Republican's lunch.

Since we keep getting told he's horribly Republican on gun control, he can steal Republican voters in a general.

[haikugal]

73. Well put!! Thanks for putting my thoughts into words! I wish I could rec your post...

[zipplewrath]

34. Collapsing Middle Class.

[tblue37]

35. We need Truman's Fair Deal. nt

[Lisa D]

36. SCOTUS

The justices can make or break many of the issues listed in the OP.

[kentuck]

37. Freedom, Equality, and Justice

...in order.

[bemildred]

38. Corruption. nt

[1StrongBlackMan]

39. I have no one top issue ...

though my GE vote will be determined, pure and simply, based on partisan politics.

[irisblue]

40. Supreme Ct + Social Justice

I can't let pass the danger of letting the Rs' appoint any more Justices.

[sabrina 1]

41. #1 - Get money out of politics!

Nothing else can be achieved until we stop Wall St, the Koch Bros, Walmart et al from purchasing our government.

Everything I agree with, should have happened long ago, but didn't and won't so long our government is owned by special interests who are not interested in the needs of ordinary people.

[WillyT]

113. The Most Important 5 Words... Right There.

[valerief]

42. U.S. unemployment.

[KittyWampus]

43. Civil rights. For women, blacks, non-straight Americans.

Civil rights goes to reproductive freedom, not getting shot, not getting discriminated against and BEING ALLOWED TO VOTE.

[bettyellen]

143. THIS. It's mind blowing that we are still not there.

[olddots]

44. jobs for humans not robots

simple but scary thought .

[Brainstormy]

45. Grammar

Is the top issue. It's five words or fewer. Just kidding. I'd say the economy generally is the top issue.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

61. Grammar - the bane of all message board posting

I have edited the title.

[Hekate]

69. My Grammer was a schoolmarm-- she would have approved

[AuntPatsy]

46. Being able to trust candidate

[lpbk2713]

47. Do the right fuggen thing.

I won't be more specific as long as I'm restricted to five words.

[taught_me_patience]

49. Supreme Court

Replacing Ginsburg with a tool similar to Alito is almost unthinkable.

[tk2kewl]

50. Saving democracy

[KamaAina]

51. ALL THREE!!!11!!1!!11!!

[AngryOldDem]

52. The middle class collapse. n/t

[misterhighwasted]

53. Supreme Court.

[Marrah_G]

54. Money out of politics, without that nothing else can happen

[NCTraveler]

55. Civil Rights. Nt.

[bunnies]

56. End Corporate Control of Government. nt

[TheKentuckian]

110. +1, many of the other problems are symptoms of this one.

[Vinca]

57. Saving the country from Republicans.

Every time they're in the White House it all goes to hell.

[TheNutcracker]

58. Soc. Sec and Medicare, as Paul Ryan and Obama via TAA are trying to gut it right now!

[ileus]

59. ALWAYS: Supreme Court picks

[wyldwolf]

65. 1. Supreme Court picks, 2. Keeping Republicans out of the White House

[H2O Man]

60. Social justice.

[Prism]

62. Justice

Justice for the oppressed.
Justice for the banksters who broke our country.
Justice for the corrupt who rigged our system.
Justice for the sick and the vulnerable who were wrongfully denied help and care.

At the root of all our nation's problems, injustice lurks, the reality that people are not treated fairly. Some people live above justice, and too many live without it.

The politician who understands that and earnestly pursues it is the one who should be President.

[pansypoo53219]

64. the supreme court.

we have to turn left at the top too.

[Fawke Em]

66. Death of the Middle Class.

Or, said the other way around, "Revival of the Middle Class."

[Hekate]

67. 5 words? The Democratic Party Platform Versus....

Vs. the GOP platform.

Presidential nominees are pledged to support the platform of the party that nominated them at their respective national conventions, so if seriously in doubt, compare the two platforms.

You can have all the fun you want speculating in the primary season, but in the end there can be only one.

I know where I stand. How about you?

[bvar22]

68. Wealth Dispairity...no doubt.

The majority of our "Social Issues" are a subset of Wealth Disparity, (equal pay/equal opportunity for EVERYONE).
Most of the Social Issues would disappear under a more even distribution of wealth & opportunity.

[dbackjon]

70. Is this for the primary, or the general?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

74. Either/both

[BlueJazz]

71. Living wage for workers

[RebelOne]

75. Abortion rights and Medicare n/t

[cpwm17]

76. Peace n/t

[pangaia]

77. Bees,

[Gloria]

78. Beating damned Republican candidate

Stopping GOP abuse of women
Citizens United
Medicare and Social Security
Supreme Fart

[philosslayer]

79. Social Justice and Wealth Inequality

[orpupilofnature57]

80. 1%, Greed, Corruption, MIC, Democracy .

[KT2000]

81. stop corporate power grab

which includes the theft machine that is wall street

[Auggie]

101. ^^^ THIS: CORPORATOCRACY ^^^

[etherealtruth]

82. Beating the lunatic right wing

None of the things that are important to me will come to fruition and some pretty horrible things will.

This is not a cop out answer .... there are more dramatic differences than ever.

[femmocrat]

83. Keeping Democrats in power.

All the rest will follow if dems are in and repubs are out.

[lovemydog]

84. Wealth inequality and civil rights.

[Shrike47]

85. Winning.

We'll never get the other things if we don't.

Environment, abortion rights, economic disparity, SCOTUS, corruption.

[shraby]

86. Supreme Court. First and foremost.

[OilemFirchen]

87. Voting / electoral reform.

The foundation of everything.

[demwing]

88. 1.Populist 2.Reform 3.via 4.Bernie 5.Sanders

I'll take all five

[orpupilofnature57]

89. + 1000 Well Put !!!!!!

[demwing]

95. Carry the Flame

Feel the Bern!

[radical noodle]

90. Supreme Court

If we get any more conservative Supreme Court members, the country is doomed for decades.

[CharlotteVale]

92. Abortion rights.

[AC_Mem]

93. Defeating Republicans

That is what we need to help us get to everything else we need as a country. And I mean, beat them soundly - Washington down to the state/city level. Its the only way.

[MuseRider]

94. Civil rights

Balance in government

Jobs

Environment

Honesty

All in big, broad scope.

[Stellar]

96. Black lives matter...

Police killing unarmed citizens in my community.

[Chan790]

97. Ending corporate hegemony in DC.

There is no candidate who perfectly matches my position on economic issues...but Sanders is closest. O'Malley is my 2^nd choice. There is no 3^rd choice I'd support.

Hillary has no path to securing my vote.

[JoePhilly]

98. "Defeating Republicans" is the only way to get ANY of the other stuff.

If they win, you get the opposite across the board.

[Arugula Latte]

99. Supreme Court, Corporo-Fascist Government Takeover, War on Women

Okay that is more than five words

[99Forever]

100. Not possible for me, sorry.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

119. Don't be sorry

I'm just trying to see what issues are diving Democratic/Progressive voters in this election cycle. In 2008, I'd have gotten a lot of "Get our troops out of Iraq", "Prosecute Bush". and "National Health Care."

[99Forever]

123. My list is long and being addressed very well by Senator Sanders.

I want a progressive government. (Hey, thats 5 words.) In all ways and all things.

[angryvet]

102. THE SUPREME COURT

n/t

[YvonneCa]

142. Yes. And foreign policy. n/t

[bravenak]

103. I have a short list

1. Social Justice, Womens rights, human rights
2. Economic Justice
3. Education
4. Peace and War - don't like wars
5. Native American Rights - actually this applies to 1; I just think it needs to be mentioned on it's own
6. Immigration
7. The environment

[lostnfound]

104. Economic fairness.

Followed closely by human rights / justice issues.

[Ruby the Liberal]

105. Wealth Inequality, MMJ, SCOTUS, Wars

I put Citizens United in with wealth inequality - potentially, if you work to solve the latter, it will resolve (over time) the former.

Or one can dream, right?

[Panich52]

106. Social equality

[WinkyDink]

108. "Is the candidate a Democrat?" (See how that eliminates Jebbie, Ted, Huckster, et al.?)

[Voice for Peace]

109. honesty

[jberryhill]

111. Is the candidate of sound mind?

The candidate, if elected, will have sole launch authority over nuclear weapons.

That, and Supreme Court nominees, have pretty much been my top concerns since I was old enough to vote.

[yardwork]

114. The environment and the Supreme Court.

Six words, two topics, I cheated.

[LWolf]

115. I don't rank issues like that.

There is no "ONE." They are all interconnected.

Here are a few of my top issues, in no particular order:

1. Public Education 2. Labor 3. Abolishing the privatization of public services 4. Election and campaign finance reform

[Avalux]

116. I can't pick one. It's everything.

That's why I'm supporting Bernie.

[DCBob]

117. winning.

[pnwmom]

149. Bingo.

[NuclearDem]

118. Too complicated for five words.

[Bonobo]

120. Health, equality, not killing people. nt

[StevieM]

122. Global warming must be stopped. (eom)

[Autumn]

124. " Middle East Wars, Wealth Inequality"

I'm sick of war and I'm sick of the wealthy doing well while the poor get poorer. Therefore I support Bernie Sanders. That's where I stand.

[drray23]

125. unlike republicans

most democrats are not single issue voters. I believe all the reasons you listed are good ones and they all have to be addressed.

[Alittleliberal]

128. Oligarchy nt

[thelordofhell]

129. Never Voting For The republican

[MicaelS]

130. "Wealth Inequality" - period - N/T

[Stinky The Clown]

131. I Want A Real, No-Shit Liberal

Get that and all the rest will be taken care of.

[840high]

132. Economy, Social Security, greed in Washington.

[Gothmog]

133. Control of the SCOTUS is critical

[cherokeeprogressive]

134. Someone I can trust unquestionably.

[hay rick]

135. Five words is for peasants.

I'm rich, I get 5 million words- nobody, not even the guy standing next to you, is going to hear what you have to say.

Oops, I'm not that rich. I'll try
"progressive taxation" or
"money in politics"

[merrily]

136. Primary vote or General vote?

Let me guess--and I won't cheat by checking the edit: The OP originally said five words or less.

[3catwoman3]

137. The (1) Not (2) So (3)

Supreme (4) Court (5).

[Skittles]

138. which Democrat didn't vote 4IWR

there, keeping it at five

[Agnosticsherbet]

139. Executive override of congress

It is extremely unlikely that we retake the House, and even the Senate looks difficult. We need the President to control the worst Republican excesses.

[BainsBane]

140. Equal rights

[roody]

141. corporate rule

[ucrdem]

144. Democratic congress and White House.

That's about the shortest way of putting it . . .

[Rex]

145. You use a lot of words but The word is equity.

Equal rights, civil rights, economic justice, justice in the courtrooms. We all want to be treated fairly and not prejudged beforehand. It is a basic human trait.

[ellisonz]

146. SCOTUS

[calimary]

147. All of the above, but I'd move "The Right to Choose" up to Number ONE.

Maybe should be "Reproductive Rights". Because what's happening now is endangering every woman's right to access not only safe and legal abortion when/if needed but also access to contraceptives; access to family planning counseling; access to honest gynecologists advice - since politicians seem to want to practice medicine without a license these days; and access to a plain ol' Planned Parenthood clinic even just to get a mammogram or a Pap smear.

Second would be "Defeating republi-CONS."

Everything else follows thereafter, and all those issues are worthy.

[CoffeeCat]

148. A president not owned by corporations

We have absolutely NO DEMOCRACY if our president is bought and paid for by corporate interests.

This needs to end NOW!!!!

[JustAnotherGen]

150. Green Infrastructure Development Creates Jobs

[Rhiannon12866]

151. Climate, Equality, Infrastructure, Wars, Guns

[PeteSelman]

152. Labor issues are always my number one priority.

And of course that encompasses a number of those listed.

Bernie Sanders is the ONLY candidate who would finally address those issues in a meaningful way. No one has in nigh on fifty years.

[peacebird]

154. Honesty, Integrity, Authenticity, 99%

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

155. money out of politics

I think a lot of the rest on your list fall out naturally once you get democracy out of the hands of billionaires and back in the hands of regular people. Money has captured and corrupted our democracy, and our government serves money, not people. Start serving people again, and you'll address everything on your suggested lists, because those are the things people actually need addressed. But we can't get anywhere near any of those as long as money is 'speech' and the richest among us are allowed to flood the discussion with unlimited money.

[GeorgeGist]

157. Greed

[mainstreetonce]

158. Protect the homeland

...

[MohRokTah]

159. In a single word, "Winning" eom

[One_Life_To_Give]

160. Regulatory Capture

When your elected officials are Captured, Democracy is Dead.

[NaturalHigh]

161. Higher wages for workers.

[oberliner]

162. You did not need to change "less" to "fewer"

From Grammar Girl:

10 Items or Less
Finally, the simple and ubiquitous grocery store signs that read 10 Items or Less aren’t the clear-cut abomination that many people believe them to be.

Although Garner’s Modern American Usage says that 10 items or fewer is the correct choice, other reference books such as Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage and The Cambridge Guide to English Usage note that the admonition that writers should not use less for countable items is relatively new, beginning as the personal opinion of one usage writer from the 1700s, and the Oxford English Dictionary has examples of less being used with countable items going back to nearly the dawn of printed English and continuing to this day. I find it impressive that the first citation of less being used with a countable noun in the OED comes from King Alfred the Great himself. He was the great promoter of English over Latin, and in the year 888, wrote about less words.

Language researchers tend to believe that using less with some countable nouns is natural and that the restriction against doing so is constructed and forced. For example, Mark Liberman reported on the linguistics site Language Log that in real writing—both from Google News and the Web in general—instances of “N votes or less” far exceeded “N votes or fewer.”

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/less-versus-fewer?page=2#sthash.kffcs2rE.dpuf

[Algernon Moncrieff]

174. If I change it again, I'm a grammar flip-flopper

My opponents will pounce. Better to take a stand and stick with it.

[JNelson6563]

163. There are so many!

But if we get down to bedrock, as it were, there's SCOTUS.

Julie

[treestar]

164. Non Republican Supreme Court

[maxrandb]

166. "Keep America Sane...VOTE DEMOCRAT!"

[Bluenorthwest]

167. Unmitigatged equity.

nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

168. Wealth inequality. The results should inspire a poll. n/t

[Lizzie Poppet]

169. Combating plutocracy

[BKH70041]

170. My family and their happiness.

[Orsino]

171. "Far too numerous to mention."

America has slouched its way into many competing emergencies, all of which ned attention and solutions ASAP.

[LadyHawkAZ]

172. SCOTUS

[AngryAmish]

173. Pour Some Sugar on Me

[Algernon Moncrieff]

175. Um...OK

[Capt. Obvious]

176. Mean candidate supporters

[pinto]

177. Economic equality, voting rights, civil rights.

That's six, but the gist of it.

[immoderate]

178. Science.

If we favor science over ideology in all situations, the rest will fall into line. This does not preclude implementing humanistic solutions.

--imm

[Cheese Sandwich]

179. How to destroy capitalism quickest

[Proud Public Servant]

180. More good jobs, infrastructure, taxes

That's 5 words.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

181. "Getting Money Out Of Elections" - Everything else will follow

nt

[StevieM]

182. By and large I think you make a very good point. But there are still concerns beyond that.

I agree that if we can get rid of the election-buying that we could have a system geared towards helping all people, not just those on top.

But sometimes there is a core ideological problem. There are a lot people who are determined to make sure we are somehow achieving the wonderful word "conservative." That places certain limits on us.

Also, what happens when people just can't grasp certain realities, like the threat of climate change? Even when they believe it is real....they just can't fathom the necessity to make fundamental change.