ReviewJournal.com - Opinion - EDITORIAL: Onstage at UNLV

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Nov. 15, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: Onstage at UNLV

But will the voters really learn anything?

Seven Democratic presidential hopefuls are scheduled to gather at UNLV's Cox Pavilion this evening for another debate. The event is sponsored by the Democratic National Committee and will be aired live on CNN and KLAS-TV, Channel 8.

Despite the appearance of spontaneity, it will be a highly scripted affair in terms of who is allowed to ask what of the candidates. That's unfortunate. (See our lead letter to the editor, at right.) Voters, regardless of their political affiliation, deserve honest answers to pressing issues, not rehearsed responses to pre-determined queries.

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For instance, it would be instructive to watch the Democratic candidates address questions such as:

-- How much can Americans expect taxes to be increased if you are elected? And if you will raise taxes only on "the rich," how do you define "rich"? Does a two-income couple each working full time and earning $70,000 per year -- a household income of $140,000 -- qualify as "middle class"? Or are they rich? Will they pay more in federal taxes during your administration than they do today?

-- What are the long-term economic ramifications of nationalizing one-seventh of the U.S. economy? Every Democratic candidate has embraced some sort of universal health care proposal. Is there any danger that plans to socialize all health care costs will eventually increase calls for even more government restraints on individual behavior -- eating, drinking, leisure activities?

-- If your plans to reduce global warming are put into place, what will happen to the average American's power bill? What are the consequences for the economy and American competitiveness if we are forced to drastically cut back on our energy consumption in the immediate future? Is it possible that there are more productive social uses for the money it would take to implement your anti-global warming agenda?

-- Washington politicians have for decades been terrified to confront entitlement reform, even though virtually everybody agrees Medicare and Social Security, in their current forms, are unsustainable in the long run. What can we expect from your administration on this issue?

-- The confirmation of Attorney General Michael Mukasey was nearly torpedoed by Senate Democrats because the nominee refused to say whether he felt an interrogation technique known as waterboarding was also a form of torture. If president, would you authorize the use of waterboarding on a terror suspect that intelligence officials said harbored information that could save the lives of hundreds of Americans?

-- Senate Democrats have essentially demanded that they be allowed to vet judicial nominees and Cabinet appointments put forth by the Bush White House. If elected president, to what extent will you seek advice from GOP senators on your nominees?

-- Is the current public education establishment doing a satisfactory job? If you advocate more spending, what can Americans expect to get in return and when will they get it? Do you favor any education reforms outside the agenda of the National Education Association?

-- Should Americans be required to show identification at the polls? Should illegal immigrants be issued driver's licenses? (Perhaps Sen. Hillary Clinton has come up with an answer by now.) Should illegal immigrants be allowed to avail themselves of taxpayer-funded services, such as health care, education and welfare?

-- Does the Second Amendment give individual Americans the right to own guns?

And since they're in Las Vegas:

-- Should adults be free to play poker online or place a sports wager with an off-shore bookmaker?

-- Will you kill the Yucca Mountain Project if elected? Would you veto any appropriations bill that funds work at the nuclear repository?

-- What is the federal government's role, if any, in local growth issues such as water or urban sprawl?

-- How much land should the federal government control in Nevada? Currently, Washington bureaucrats manage close to 90 percent of Nevada's real estate. Could that number be reduced?

-- What future do you see for the mining industry in the United States?

Real answers to these questions would help voters dig beneath the polished facades in their efforts to assess the men and woman seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Tim wrote on November 17, 2007 05:03 AM: Sorry to disagree with you, Ken. The government has been responsible for a host of great and wonderful things: the interstate highway system, GI Bill, labor laws, Marshall Plan, environmental laws, food safety laws, workplace safety laws, the space program, the Center for Disease Control, etc. It is the Republicans who are lost in space, defying reality and gravity. Look at the mess Team Bush and Co. have created for the country: the weakest dollar in history, record budget deficits, collapsed housing market, a deflating stock market, record price for gasoline, etc. When the 1993 attacks against the WTC took place, the terrorists were captured and convicted. The Republicans were asleep at the wheel and allowed the 9/11 attacks to take place and have not captured bin Laden going on seven years. Let’s not even discuss Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina (or as Laura Bush so elegantly stated, “Hurricane Katerina”) or the fiasco in Iraq. A fundamental constitutional position is the separation of church and state. Don't go to school to pray and don't go to church to learn...... ;-) Ken wrote on November 15, 2007 02:16 PM: Sorry to disagree Ed. The RJ's questions should be answered by all Presidental canidates, along with a lot more. It also sounds like you would fall off the earth if the goverment doesnt regulate gravity soon. As for the religious psychopaths invading the schools. Mentioning the word God will get you kicked out of most schools already, if not sued by someone who was offended by that horrible word. I dont think you have anything to fear about the concept that humans and worms share the same ancestors. Ed R. wrote on November 15, 2007 10:51 AM: "Will the voters really learn anything?" Not from the RJ's questions. Try these instead: How much can Americans expect crucial services like education, police, environmental protection, product safety controls, and emergency services to deteriorate more if no one pays for them? What are the long-term economic ramifications of leaving large portions of our citizenry exposed to bankruptcy or illness and death by not providing health insurance for all of us? If plans to reduce global warming are not put into place, what will happen to the average American's quality of life, their grandchildrens' quality of life? What will you do to stop the destruction of Social Security programs that help support elderly people who've worked all their lives and shouldn't have to eat cat food? How will you make sure that weak-minded bureacratics like Mukasey aren't hired to cover up the use by America's right wing sickos of Nazi torture techniques? How are you going to prevent the invasion of our education system by religious psychopaths with anti-evolution, anti-science agendas? Does the constitution give an American president the right to rule like a King based on his talks with God? Those might be interesting questions. John F wrote on November 15, 2007 09:59 AM: So far as I can tell, there are only two candidates on either side that won't obfuscate, wheedle, or outright lie when talking about specific policy issues: Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul. Can't we see a debate between these two guys? Talk about two opposing viewpoints. Now that would be fun. Ken wrote on November 15, 2007 08:56 AM: Absolutley these questions should be asked of the GOP. John raised some good questions that both parties should answer. What plan does the Democrat president have for the war. Hopefully something more than just more whining. Tom in Summerlin wrote on November 15, 2007 08:13 AM: Why doesn't the Republican slanted RJ ask the same questions of Bush? Why can't the RJ ask how the Democratic candidates would stop the gross misuse of the US Military in Iraq? Why can't the RJ right wingers ask about the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bush administration who borrow and spend the US into massive debt? Ask Bush and ask private enterprises what are the long term consequences of ignoring the medical system crisis in the USA? Send everyone to the ER for hours or days long waits? The RJ editorial board is so two faced that if you got the same answers from bubble headed Gibbons or Cheney the RJ would be cheering wildly. And gun ownership is not the most important issue to the US voters contrary to some on the RJ board. Tim wrote on November 15, 2007 07:31 AM: Why doesn't the LVRJ ask such tough questions to the sitting Republican President? They endorsed George W. Bush TWICE. Keep that in mind when you measure the credibility of the LVRJ. What do you expect from the LVRJ? Remember when one of their editorial board members overdosed on heroin? You didn't see much ink devoted to that one from the "fair and balanced" LVRJ. John wrote on November 15, 2007 05:40 AM: I agree that the candidates should answer these questions. No surprise the RJ led out with taxes and universal health care. Interestingly we have not seen a list of pointed questions for the Republicans. I cannot believe that geographic considerations limits (debate being in Vegas) the RJ's curiousity when it comes to knowing the candidates' positions. Let me help with a few. Under the Bush Administration, tax cuts and reckless spending have produced records deficits with the total national debt surpassing $9 trillion. That's trillion with a T. How do you propose to reverse that trend? Do you believe it is a "conservative position" to straddle future generations with mountains of debt to fund current consumption? The Iraq war. Does anyone have a plan? Does anyone have a clue as to what constitutes an acceptable outcome? Remember hope and a prayer do not constitute a plan. Iran. Anyone on the podium smart enough to learn from the Iraq mistakes? Plus did you ever consider Iran was playing us like fools to just get the price of oil higher. Same for Russia's involvement in Iran's nuclear buildup. Lastly, does anyone have the guts to stand up to the lunatic fringe of the religous right that blocks stem cell research? Or are you too beholden to the self proclaims voices of God on earth to do so. I won't hold my breath for that editorial. J wrote on November 15, 2007 04:57 AM: Should illegal immigrants be issued driver's licenses? (Perhaps Sen. Hillary Clinton has come up with an answer by now.) Yes, she has. After whats his name in NY killed the plan, Hillary does not support it. Just what we need, another President that runs the country by the polls, kind of like Presidency by numbers.