Tulsi Gabbard in Interviews during 2018-2020
On Foreign Policy:
Met with Syrian president; for "extreme vetting" of Syrians
Key criticisms of Gabbard:- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meeting: In what her office called a "fact-finding" mission, Gabbard made a secret trip to Syria in Jan.2017 and met with Assad. There are questions about the Arab American organization
that funded the trip. She has also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
- "Extreme vetting" vote: She voted with congressional Republicans on an Obama-era bill that would place "extreme vetting" measures on Iraqi and Syrian refugees.
Source: Axios.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Apr 22, 2019
On Principles & Values:
To understand socialism, look at Venezuela
Perhaps the most interesting moment in Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's town hall was when she was asked whether she is a capitalist. It's the kind of question every Democratic candidate has faced in the past few days, with varying degrees of success. "So many of
these labels are misused, misunderstood to the point where people don't have any idea what they mean anymore," Ms Gabbard said.The audience applauded. Perhaps they sympathised. Just a day earlier, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a
South by Southwest audience that capitalism was "irredeemable", while elsewhere possible independent candidate Howard Schultz praised capitalism and said to understand socialism you should "look at Venezuela".
When the terms of the debate can't even be agreed upon, what's the chance of a useful answer? Democrats might want to follow the Hawaiian's lead and avoid trying to answer.
Source: BBC.com on 2020 Democratic primary contenders at 2019 SXSW
Mar 12, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Labels like "capitalist" and "socialist" are misused
Perhaps the most interesting moment in Ms Gabbard's town hall was when she was asked whether she is a capitalist. It's the kind of question every Democratic candidate has faced in the past few days, with varying degrees of success. "So many of these
labels are misused, misunderstood to the point where people don't have any idea what they mean anymore," Ms Gabbard said.The audience applauded. Perhaps they sympathised. Just a day earlier, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a
South by Southwest audience that capitalism was "irredeemable", while elsewhere possible independent candidate Howard Schultz praised capitalism and said to understand socialism you should "look at Venezuela".
When the terms of the debate can't even be agreed upon, what's the chance of a useful answer? Democrats might want to follow the Hawaiian's lead and avoid trying to answer.
Source: BBC.com on 2020 Democratic primary contenders at 2019 SXSW
Mar 12, 2019
On War & Peace:
No more wars for regime change, like Syria and Afghanistan
Her big idea: A central part of Ms Gabbard's campaign has been her call for an end to US-led "regime change wars"--in Syria and Afghanistan. She also condemns runaway military spending as a "new arms race". As a major in the US Army reserve and a
veteran of the Iraq War, Ms Gabbard has a unique perch from which to launch her critique.Her biggest obstacle: Her foreign policy has also been a source of controversy. In 2017 she met President Bashar Assad in
Syria and has questioned the international consensus that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own citizens.
"I served in a war in Iraq, a war that was based on lies," she said. "I think that the evidence needs to be gathered."
She refused to label Mr Assad as a "war criminal"--a position that sets her well apart from the majority of US politicians and the American people.
Source: BBC.com on 2020 Democratic primary contenders at 2019 SXSW
Mar 12, 2019
On Drugs:
Let states legalize marijuana; non-user supports free choice
Gabbard on marijuana legalization: "The fact that marijuana's still a Schedule I drug is unacceptable in the harm that it is causing to the people of our country and to taxpayers as well. The impact this has on individuals, potentially leading to
criminal records that impact them, their families, their ability to get a job, housing, financial aid for college--the impacts of this are great. That's not to speak of the impact on states, small businesses and banks in those states that have legalized
some level of marijuana."She said that "freedom of choice" is a key reason she has focused so much on cannabis during her time on Capitol Hill. "I don't smoke marijuana. I never have," she said. "But I believe firmly in every person's freedom to make
their own choices, and that people should not be thrown in jail and incarcerated or made into criminals for choosing to smoke marijuana whether it be for medicinal and non-medicinal purposes."
Source: Forbes Magazine "Marijuana Nexus" on 2020 Democratic primary
Mar 7, 2019
On Civil Rights:
Early 2000s: supported father's antigay rights group
Gabbard in the early 2000s touted working for her father's anti-gay organization, which mobilized to pass a measure against same-sex marriage in Hawaii and promoted controversial conversion therapy. During her run for state legislature in 2002,
Gabbard told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "Working with my father, Mike Gabbard, and others to pass a constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage, I learned that real leaders are willing to make personal sacrifices for the common good.
I will bring that attitude of public service to the legislature." Gabbard's father ran The Alliance for Traditional Marriage, a political action committee aimed at opposing pro-gay lawmakers and legislation that organized and spent more than
$100,000 to pass an amendment in 1998 that gave the Hawaii state legislature power to "reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples." The amendment to the state's constitution passed.
Source: CNN KFile, "Conversion Therapy," on 2020 Democratic primary
Jan 17, 2019
On Civil Rights:
Actively supports equal rights on LGBTQ+ issues
[In response to her work in the early 2000s touted for her father's anti-gay organization, which mobilized to pass a measure against same-sex marriage in Hawaii and promoted controversial conversion therapy]: "Over the past six years in Congress,
I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to help work toward passing legislation that ensures equal rights and protections on
LGBTQ+ issues, such as the Equality Act, the repeal of DOMA, Restore Honor to Service members Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act,
the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Equality for All Resolution. Much work remains to ensure equality and civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and if elected President, I will continue to fight for equal rights for all."
Source: CNN KFile, "Conversion Therapy," on 2020 Democratic primary
Jan 17, 2019
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2021