Voices Question

If you say that you listen to all Americans, why do you dismiss the role of unions in the political process of our country when they represent the voice of the working and middle classes?

I would ask the question put to John F. Kennedy over and over again in 1960: "If elected president, what will guide your actions--the Constitution of the United States or your religious beliefs?"

How are you going to pay back the $2.6 trillion that the gov't. borrowed from the Soc. Sec. fund? If that happens, how long will Soc. Sec. be solvent?

I don't want you to work for the re-election of Obama! You take my dues. I want my opinion heard and the will of the AFT directed according to the majority of its members. You haven't asked us!!! P.S. How's the President's progress in stimulating the economy, lowering the debt and getting Americans (including union members) back to work? Not so good! Bet there are a lot of union members that would sure like to have the Keystone pipeline decision by the President reversed so they could get one of the 20,000 jobs it would bring the the US. William Wallace braveheartwilliam@hotmail.com

You say that you want government out of everything, and yet you want to take away a persons right to vote unless they have government issue identification. Explain why? Explain why school identification is not okay? I also would like to know why you feel it is your right to take control of womens bodies? To say to hold an aspirin between the knees only creates more problems. Domestic violence would rise, it wouldn't stop hemorrhaging, problems with cysts and endometriousis, etc. The picture is much bigger than just preventing pregnancies. Why don't you understand that? Whether health and/or psychological reasons, it's a womans choice. Not man

If you REALLY want to lessen or do away with the need for abortions, why on earth would you try so hard to eliminate or limit easily accessible birth control?? Even the teenagers of my acquaintance know that condoms aren't 100% effective....

As a part of the religious right will you force your beliefs and idea of morals on me? Will you force women to have babies till they drop even tough you as candidates have never had a baby or tried to raise one. Average working people are completely out of your scope. You are so far up in your ivory tower you can't even see us down here.

How is it that you are the very BEST the Republican party has to offer? Don't we have ANY Republican presidential candidates who can stand a fighting chance in this race? We had (originally) a man who used his power to womanize, a Mormon, an evangelical, and, what else?

How many hours/days have you spent in various classrooms in various schools in various states? And how else can you seriously judge the efficacy of teachers, or know the uncontrollable circumstances that children bring into the classroom? Are YOU a miracle worker? Will you continue to throw the first stones? I'm changing my party affiliation to Democrat.

Is it your policy to require government to take some of the legally earned income from people have much and distribute it to people who have little for the purpose of sharing the wealth?

When will any candidate stop dancing around the issues and come up with a plan to save the Americian Working Middle Class? Our students are learning to depend on the Goverment instead of themselves because we cut jobs, drive out industry and try to break down unions. Each elected official in Washington has made sure that they will have a secure retirement along with their family members. Why can't the Working Middle Class have the same?

How would you make college education more affordable?

Why do you want to increase the size of Government and have it get in the way of women's freedom of choice, minorities' right to vote, and foreign countries' right to govern themselves?

Do you want YOUR CHILDREN to go to schools where there is no art or music program; no talented and gifted program; no budget for supplies and books to provide them with a complete learning experience? How can you claim to be concerned about equal education for all when you refuse to shoulder your proportionally fair part of the tax burden in this distressed economy?! How are teachers supposed to teach when we have kids coming who haven't even had a decent meal or are dealing with the other stresses from this economy on hard pressed working and middle class folks?A CHILD IS MORE THAN A TEST GRADE. YOU WOULDN'T WANT THIS FOR YOUR OWN CHILDREN.

President Obama helped pass a rather extensive healthcare package that serves the majority of Americans. If the Republicans succeed in cutting out part or all of the current healthcare package, what do they propose in its place? I have as yet to hear anything that is specific. Obviously, the old system was not cost effective and was not working. James Brandenburg

What do you know about foreign policy? Are you aware that we live in a global economy, and that you have to know more than what America is doing if you want to govern intelligently?

Will you put our Christian faith back in the country? Will you return our rights to express our faith freely? The First Amendment was made to protect the church not the state.

How does making people work longer hours for more years with lower pay and fewer benefits bring them prosperity?

What do the Republicans have against the working class. Our ancestors and us have worked hard for Social Security, Medicare, and all our other benefits. Why do they want to take them away, is it because they have raided these funds and don't want to pay them back? Why can't the government stay out of the rights of a woman to choose, it's HER body.This was settled back in 1973 with Roe vs Wade why are they rehashing this? Isn't there more important things to be doing. I'm sick of the Ryan's and Cantor's, let their colleagues expose them for who and what they really are. Maybe once that happens people will wake up and vote them out of office.

We have not heard what the Republicans plan to do except to get President Obama out of office, and balance the budget by cutting back on medicare and cut social security for older people. Older people need help with these two items. We know how wealthy republicans do things. We have a rich governor who will not help the retired teachers who have not had a raise for 10 years. Why do we want to vote for people like that?

When an entire staff of teachers got fired in Rhode Island for poor test scores, President Obama said he thought that was fine because of the small percentage of students who passed the test. Those same teachers were all re-hired after agreeing to teach at a lower salary. President Obama had nothing to say. What is your response to that kind of manipulation of your fellow human beings?

Will you devote your energies to rebuilding the nation - jobs, infrastructure; and dismantling the war machine that has been in place since 1945, with its criminal intervention into the affairs of other nations (Viet Nam, Iran, Iraq, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, Chile - to name just a few); or will you continue to slaver to the ignorant of the nation by gratifying them with outdated and divisive attention to social and religious agenda that make our country angry and distrustful?

Why do you want to turn the clock back to a century when people had no health care, no chance of getting out of the mire of poverty, and the Robber Barons ruled supreme?

What can be done to provide workers (in 27 states) who refuse to pay their unions for non-representational activities (politics) with a secret ballot vote within their unions? Currently they are excluded from voting for reps within their unions, serving on union committees, etc.

What would you do to undo all the damage that has been done in the past years in the dumbing down of America? What will you do to restore back the respectability in the teaching profession? What will you do to get the government out of education and worry about governing the nation and not getting into what they know little of or nothing at all? What will you do to restore true education where learning was important and not just learn to pass a test?