Krist Novoselic Wants Politicians to Focus on Three Issues
Since the end of Nirvana, former bassist Krist Novoselic has become quite active in politics in his home state of Washington. And now, he’s joined forces with two former Congressmen — one Democrat and one Republican — to try to put the focus less on personalities and more on what they say are the three most important issues of the day.
Novoselic, Brian Baird (D-Wash.) and Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) have created 3 American Questions, a non-partisan group that seeks to ask all elected officials and candidates where they stand on climate change, the debt and the lack of confidence in the American political system. As Novoselic told the Huffington Post, “We’re calling on candidates to be responsible, and we’re calling on voters to hold the candidates responsible.”
For the three men, it has nothing to do with having politicians who agree with their particular stances — the Who We Are section of their website says that they don’t “have or endorse a specific solution” — but rather that they want to know that the candidates have detailed and thoughtful positions so that voters can make up their own minds. If the candidates can only respond with sound bites, they say, then don’t vote for them.
Novoselic believes that the media has spent too much time covering other aspects of the election. “It’s the horse-race politics, and it’s not the policy,” he said. “It’s politics and personality.”
The three questions are: “What specific actions will you take, and what will you ask the American people to do, to reverse global climate change and ocean acidification?” “What specific actions will you take, and what will you ask the American people to do, to fix the growing debt of the United States?” and “What specific actions will you take during your campaign and your time in office, and what will you ask the American people to do, to help restore the respect and confidence of the American people in their elected government?”
They want citizens to take a pledge on their website that reads, “In the coming election and going forward, I will only support, contribute to, or vote for candidates and political parties who take seriously and offer real, honest and practical answers to the 3 American Questions. Together, we must solve climate change, the Federal Debt, and restore public confidence in our government. The time is now for all of us to take action - it is our future, our legacy, and our responsibility.”
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