Questions for candidates

If you are attending any candidate forums, either as a panelist or a citizen, you might want to borrow one of these questions to ask to determine whether the person running has: (1) common sense, and (2) the courage to express a sane, yet unpopular, opinion.

(1) What action, if any, would you take to make a public option available to any American who wants health insurance but not from the private sector? Put another way, are you in favor of Medicare for all- that is, allowing any American to sign up for Medicare, regardless of age, so long as they pay the additional annual cost to the government for their coverage , and if not, why not?

(2) Would you favor legislation to remove medical malpractice suits from the tort system, converting all claims for damages or injuries from medical providers (doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, etc.) to a no fault system that would provide compensation to all victims, regardless of fault, and which would eliminate all medical malpractice insurance premiums for physicians, hospitals, and drug companies?

(3) Are you for or against requiring mandatory electronic locks on all firearms so that they can only be used by the legal owner of them?

(4) Are you for or against mandatory background checks for all firearm purchases to keep them out of the hands of persons convicted of violent crimes and out of the hands of the mentally ill?

(5) Are you in favor of ending the legalized bribery of public officials by prohibiting all offers of money to political candidates and by substituting mandatory public financing of electoral campaigns?

(6) Would you support a law that would allow any political candidate attacked in a radio or television ad to be able to preview the ad before it airs, then have free air time to respond that would run immediately after the attack ad?

(7) Would you support a law that would end the immunity of all governments whose employees cause injury- either deliberately or through negligence- to American citizens?

(8) Would you support a law that would prevent the deliberate government killing of human beings without charges being brought and a fair trial, except in self defense or on the battlefield against uniformed combatants after Congress has declared War?

(9) Would you support a law that would prohibit the warrantless interception of any and all communications by or to American citizens?

(10) Would you support a law which would end a secret court in the depths of the Justice Department and which would require public hearings or trials in all case involving American citizens?

(11) Do you support a rules change in the United States Senate to end all filibusters and all holds on nominations?

(12) Would you support federal legislation, call it the "Dave" law (for the movie of that name starring Kevin Kline), that would make the government the employer of last resort, so that any American who wants to work would have a job available to him or her, thus ending all involuntary unemployment?

(13) Would you support a fiscally neutral (the Federal budget would not increase or decrease) revision to the Federal tax code that would substitute direct payments for all credits and deductions?

(14) Would you support revising the tax code to treat all income the same- that is, capital gains, interest income, rental income, and so forth, would all be taxed at the same rates and would all be subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes?

(15) Would you support making both Social Security and Medicare more financially stable by removing the cap on income subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes and, for all persons under 65, means testing both Social Security and Medicare?

(16) Are you for or against permitting persons of the same gender to marry? Why?

(17) Are you for or against decriminalizing marijuana? Why?

(18) Would you support a Constitutional amendment to make all judicial appointments, from the Supreme Court on down, for 10 years instead of for life?