2016 Vice Presidential prospects: on Homeland Security


Tim Kaine: Inspired to follow current events during the Vietnam war

Q: Have you always had a passion for politics?

A: My family was very non-political as I grew up, but it was a tumultuous time in the era of civil rights advocacy and the Vietnam War. We read morning and evening newspapers every day and cared deeply about what was happening in our country and world.

Source: Rockhurst High School, PNonline.org, Q&A on 2016 Veepstakes Jul 31, 2016

Tom Vilsack: Sees parallel skills between soldiers and farmers

[Soldiers and farmers] are linked by a number of similarities. Both require problem solvers; someone who is observant, quickly able to spot an enemy whether it's another soldier or a weed or pest before it's too late. Each requires an individual who can go seamlessly from doing paperwork one minute to fixing a broken piece of vital equipment the next."They are very good at dealing with crisis and circumstances because that is what they are trained to do. Veterans have the capacity to respond and fix the problem, which is an important characteristic of someone who is successful in the farming business." Vilsack said the USDA, which counts about 10% of its 100,000 employees as having served in the military, has worked closely with the Defense and Veterans departments to ensure that people leaving the military know farming is an option. He acknowledges, however, more could be done to tout it as a possibility.
Source: 2016 Veepstakes: Military Times, "Vets look to farming" Jul 14, 2016

Jeff Sessions: Terrorists since 9/11 are mostly Islamic; confront them

Q: Your reaction to news of a mass shooting in the "Pulse" nightclub in Florida?

SESSIONS: Well, it certainly looks like another one of the extremist attacks, Islamic extremism. My subcommittee this week concluded that we've had over 570 individuals either convicted or charged or connected to terrorism since 9/11.

Q: This is the Senate Judiciary Committee report, that 570 convicted or indicted since 9/11?

SESSIONS: Since 9/11. And it's not stopping. We see apparently today more of these attacks are coming. It's a real part of the threat that we face, and if we can't say directly that there is an extremist element within Islam that's dangerous to the world and has to be confronted, we need to slow down and be careful about those we admit into the country. About 2/3 of those people that were charged were foreign born, almost all Islamic individuals. So, it's a serious matter. I wish it weren't so. I wish there were some easy solution, but there's not. We have to be more vigilant.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2016: interviews for 2016 Veepstakes Jun 12, 2016

Tim Kaine: Help "Blue Water" veterans harmed by Agent Orange

Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to ensure thousands of Navy veterans from the Vietnam War, known as "Blue Water" veterans for their service in waters off the coast, who were exposed to the powerful toxin Agent Orange will be eligible to receive disability and health care benefits they have earned for diseases linked to Agent Orange exposure. The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act would clarify existing law so that Blue Water veterans would be fully covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) if they served within the "territorial seas," or approximately 12 miles offshore, of Vietnam. The bill would make it easier for the VA to process Vietnam War veterans' claims for service-connected conditions and alleviate a portion of the VA's backlog by reinstating presumptive coverage of Agent Orange benefits to these veterans.
Source: Kaine's Senate office website, during 2016 Veepstakes Sep 16, 2015

Tim Kaine: Repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell": let gays serve in military

Kaine said, "People like to ding the president on that word 'evolving' but the answer is, it's exactly what's happening in society." Kaine did support repealing the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" law prohibiting openly gay people from serving in the military. And he noted that public attitudes on the overall topic were shifting, so much so that if the gay marriage amendment were on the Virginia ballot again, the vote would most likely be a lot closer. (It passed 57 to 43 in 2006.)
Source: Washington Post on 2016 Veepstakes May 8, 2012

Tom Vilsack: Spending in Iraq is wrong priority; spend at home instead

Tom Vilsack praised a New Hampshire group for building new homes for people with disabilities, but he said the rebuilding of Iraq will leave little money for such efforts on a national scale. "We are embarking on a program in which we are spending literally billions of dollars to reconstruct a country halfway around the world, which means we don't have sufficient resources for some of the programs that are so important to keeping the American dream alive," he said to the group. "It may be hard to see the connection between an effort to escalate troops in Iraq and the opportunity to create more housing for people with disabilities, but there is a direct connection because resources are limited and we have to make choices," said Vilsack.

Given President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq, Congress is sure to reject requests for more money for worthy projects like New Hampshire's housing program, Vilsack said. "We just don't have the priorities right."

Source: 2016 Veepstakes: Portsmouth-Herald (NH) SeacoastOnline.com Jan 20, 2007

  • The above quotations are from Vice Presidential possibilities for 2016.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Homeland Security.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Julian Castro on Homeland Security.
  • Click here for more quotes by Thomas Perez on Homeland Security.
2020 Presidential contenders on Homeland Security:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Nov 30, 2021