The Hill 2020s: on Principles & Values


Don Bolduc: Forts named for Confederates a "symbol of hope"

[On Confederate heritage]: "Military forts were named for a reason and that is the history that we must accept, not change," Bolduc continued. "And when people ask me, 'well, it's just a symbol of racism.' No, it's not. It's a symbol of hope. It's a symbol of inspiration. It's a symbol of moving forward. It's a recognition of our history that we're not proud of, but we need to grow through and become stronger. That's what America is about. That's why we're the greatest country in the world."
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 New Hampshire Senate race Jul 17, 2020

John Kerry: OpEd: Supports "Great Reset" for social & economic issues

Kerry argued that the Great Reset is necessary to slow the "climate crisis" and that "I know Joe Biden believes it's not enough just to rejoin Paris [the Paris Climate Accords]. It's not enough for us to just do the minimum of what Paris requires."

Kerry also said that because of the Great Reset movement, he believes "we're at the dawn of an extremely exciting time" and that "the greatest opportunity we have" to address social and economic problems is "dealing with the climate crisis."

According to the Great Reset's supporters, the plan would fundamentally transform much of society. As the World Economic Forum (WEF) head wrote, "the world must act jointly and swiftly to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions. Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed. In short, we need a 'Great Reset' of capitalism."

Source: The Hill e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet Dec 3, 2020

Marianne Williamson: Requested that her donors support Mike Gravel

Author and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson's campaign used a fundraising email to help one of her primary opponents garner enough donors to qualify for the next round of debates. Williamson's campaign email asked recipients to support former Sen. Mike Gravel, who is roughly 10,000 individual donors short of the threshold to qualify for the next round of Democratic debates.

"You may not have heard of him because he hasn't yet qualified for any debates," the email reads, referring to Gravel. "But his voice is important."

The email, signed by Williamson, touts Gravel's body of work in Congress and "diverse and provocative" voice as reasons he should be on the debate stage next to her. "Thanks to you, I'm on the debate stage. I'm using this platform, granted to me by you, to ask for your help," and asks donors to consider giving Gravel a dollar to increase his individual donor count.

[Gravel made the donor count but did not make the cut for the 20 slots in the July debate].

Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 Democratic primary Jul 7, 2019

Michael Steele: Trump turned GOP from honorable party to personality cult

In a life spent advancing Republican principles, I had the privilege to do so when it was not particularly easy. But I saw an opportunity to grow those Republican principles in a new way, to go a bit against the grain, to push back on the "establishment" mindset. More and more of the men and women who once stood on the front lines of moving the party into the future were forced to retreat and watch Trump turn the Republican Party from an honorable political movement into a cult of personality.

We believe our system of government is one of the greatest achievements in history, especially building a society that respects the rights to life and liberty. We believe America is a force for good in the world, even as we acknowledge that our history is hardly perfect. We believe that the rights of the individual should be treated with the utmost respect. We believe that our nation matters to a living God. We believe that freedom is worth fighting for. Our president does not.

Source: The Hill on 2022 Maryland Governor race Aug 31, 2020

Mike Gravel: Made debate donor count with help from opponent Williamson

Author and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson's campaign used a fundraising email to help one of her primary opponents garner enough donors to qualify for the next round of debates. Williamson's campaign email asked recipients to support former Sen. Mike Gravel, who is roughly 10,000 individual donors short of the threshold to qualify for the next round of Democratic debates.

"You may not have heard of him because he hasn't yet qualified for any debates," the email reads, referring to Gravel. "But his voice is important."

The email, signed by Williamson, touts Gravel's body of work in Congress and "diverse and provocative" voice as reasons he should be on the debate stage next to her. "Thanks to you, I'm on the debate stage. I'm using this platform, granted to me by you, to ask for your help," and asks donors to consider giving Gravel a dollar to increase his individual donor count.

[Gravel made the donor count but did not make the cut for the 20 slots in the July debate].

Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 Democratic primary Jul 7, 2019

Pete Buttigieg: Can't keep letting infrastructure week be a punch line

[On transportation funding]: "We can't keep letting infrastructure week be a Washington punch line," Buttigieg told CNN's Jake Tapper. "Americans shouldn't settle for less when it comes to our roads and our bridges, our highways, our trains -- all of the infrastructure that really powers our economy and creates so many livelihoods," he said.
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2021 Biden Administration Dec 22, 2020

Republican Party: Democrats outvoted GOP in mail-in ballots

[On 2021 CA Recall]: Republicans are starting to fear that Trump's ridiculous allegations are actually hurting their performance in elections. They are especially worried about the damage Trump is doing to mail-in ballot habits of base Republican voters, habits that GOP strategists have spent years building up. Registered Democrats made up a disproportionately high share of ballots returned by mail, while many Republicans appear to have waited for Election Day to vote--if they voted at all.
Source: The Hill on 2021 CA recall race Sep 15, 2021

Sarah Huckabee Sanders: I took on media, radical left and cancel culture

On her role in the Trump administration: "I took on the media, the radical left and their cancel culture, and I won," the former press secretary said. "As governor, I will be your voice and never let them silence you."
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial race Jan 26, 2021

Mitch Landrieu: Called for removal of Confederate monuments in Louisiana

The former New Orleans mayor in 2017 called for the longest standing Confederate monuments to be taken down in Louisiana. "??In the second decade of the 21st century, asking African Americans--or anyone else--to drive by property that they own occupied by reverential statues of men who fought to destroy the country and deny that person's humanity seems perverse and absurd," he said.
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2023 Louisiana Gubernatorial race Jun 27, 2022

Jim Banks: Uncover Jesus painting at Merchant Marine Academy

Banks is urging Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to take action regarding the reported covering of a piece of artwork depicting Jesus that is displayed at the Merchant Marine Academy. "The piece, titled 'Christ on the Water,' was designated a heritage asset by the Maritime Administration and has significant historical value," Banks said in the letter. "The painting depicts an image of Jesus and merchant seamen adrift in a lifeboat during World War II."
Source: The Hill on 2024 Indiana Senate race Feb 13, 2023

Spencer Cox: American Exceptionalism means disagreeing better

Cox said he saw "American Exceptionalism at work" at the National Governors' Association winter meeting earlier this month. "We didn't agree on everything, but we disagreed better. And we found ideas to bring us together. I still believe this is what Americans want. I don't just mean civility and kindness (although we definitely need more of that too). I mean passionate disagreement that doesn't destroy our souls and our country," Cox said.
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2024 Utah Gubernatorial race Feb 20, 2023

Kari Lake: Promises to be most pro-American senator in the country

[Campaign announcement]: "I'm really tired of watching our politicians retreat from every single important battle. They're cowards," she told supporters, vowing to be the most "pro-America senator in the entire country."

"That's how we got into the mess we're in right now, because they have surrendered far too many hills. We are on--we're on the final hill right now, and I'm not surrendering this hill," she said.

Source: The Hill e-zine on 2024 Arizona Gubernatorial race Oct 10, 2023

Donald Trump: Questions Nikki Haley's eligibility for presidency

Former President Trump promoted a false conspiracy theory questioning 2024 rival Nikki Haley's eligibility to serve as president in a social media post. Trump reposted a report from the right-wing website The Gateway Pundit that suggested Haley was not a U.S. citizen because her parents, who immigrated from India, were not citizens at the time of her birth. But Haley was born in the U.S. in 1972, and as a result is a U.S. citizen who is eligible to run for president. Haley's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

While Trump did not add any commentary to the post, it is not the first time he has tried to sow doubt about the legitimacy of a political opponent's right to serve in the White House. Trump rose to political prominence in part by pushing the false and racist claim that then-President Obama was not born in the U.S. During the 2016 GOP primary, he claimed Sen. Ted Cruz, one of his rivals at the time, was ineligible for the White House because he was born in Canada.

Source: The Hill analysis of 2024 pre-Iowa caucus Jul 19, 2022

Mike Pence: Will reflect and pray whether he's called to run in 2024

Former Vice President Mike Pence's visit to New Hampshire last week and stops in other high-profile early primary states are fueling speculation about a potential 2024 presidential run--and questions about whether he can win over the GOP voters he angered on Jan. 6.

In his most direct comments to date, Pence did not rule out a potential 2024 bid, even if Trump also entered the race, as the former president is increasingly hinting he'll do. "I can honestly tell you in 2023, my family and I will do what we have always done. We'll reflect, we'll pray and determine where we might best serve, and we'll go where we're called," Pence told a CNN reporter in Manchester NH.

A 2024 run will likely require Pence to figure out a way to address his time in the Trump administration, first as a loyalist and then as the target of extreme anger by the former president and his backers. [Trump has] put out multiple statements chastising Pence for overseeing the certification of electoral votes on Jan. 6.

Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 Election Denialism Dec 12, 2021

JD Vance: 2016: Trump reprehensible; 2020: evolved to support Trump

Vance was once a stern critic of former President Trump. Now, as a candidate for the Republican Senate nomination in Ohio, he is a big Trump fan. How and why Vance moved from one position to the other is a topic of red-hot debate [and] a window into the current state of the Republican Party, riven by tensions over the 45th president & the long shadow he casts.

CNN uncovered old tweets in which Vance had called Trump "reprehensible" in relation to his policies on "immigrants, Muslims etc." In another tweet from 2016, Vance said he would vote for an independent candidate, Evan McMullin, rather than Trump or Hillary Clinton. In early 2016, Vance wrote in USA Today that "Trump's actual policy proposals, such as they are, range from immoral to absurd."

Vance gave a penitent interview [this week]: "I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I've been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy," Vance said.

Source: The Hill e-zine on 2022 Ohio Senate race May 6, 2021

Donald Trump: Christians do not vote in large numbers; but vote for me

Fox News host Laura Ingraham repeatedly prodded President Trump over his comments at a conservative Christian summit, where he told attendees they won't have to vote anymore after November.

Some Democrats have suggested the former president was saying there would be no more elections if he won. Instead, Trump repeatedly argued his comments were because Christians do not vote in large numbers.

"That statement is very simple. I said, 'Vote for me; you're not going to have to do it ever again.' It's true, because we have to get the vote out. Christians are not known as a big voting group," Trump said. "This time, vote. I'll straighten out the country, you won't have to vote anymore. I won't need your vote. You can go back to not voting," he added.

"You meant you won't have to vote for you because you have four years in office. Is that what you meant?" Ingraham asked. Trump repeated his argument that Christians tend not to vote in large numbers.

Source: The Hill e-zine on 2024 Presidential hopefuls Jul 29, 2024

  • The above quotations are from The Hill e-magazine coverage and analysis of 2020s campaigns.
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2016 Presidential contenders on Principles & Values:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI)
Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Aug 04, 2024