Questions for Republican Candidates

Some questions I'd like to hear asked of the Republican presidential candidates--or any candidates [Congress, President Obama, e.g.]--in debates:

1. Do you have any close friends who live at, below, or near the poverty-line?


2. What manual-labor jobs have you held--what kind, when, and for how long?


3. Would you explain why the trickling in a "trickle-down" economy is a good thing for those being trickled upon?

4. According to generally accepted economic theory, what is the greater source of economic growth, consumer-demand (from, for example, the middle class) or very rich people?


5. Who is your favorite American poet, and why?



6. Do you have any close friends who are gay or lesbian?


7. What is a favorite novel of yours not published by an American?


8. Why do you think the budget deficit increased during the Reagan years?


9. Who is or was one of your favorite blues performers, and why?


10. In your view, does humanity face an environmental crisis?  If not, please say why.  If so, please provide a few details about that crisis.


11. What is one of your favorite comic feature-films, and why?


12. What is one of your favorite foreign feature-films, and why?