Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2020-2024: on Homeland Security


Bernie Sanders: Cuba is in US sphere of influence; Ukraine is in Russia's

Putin may be a liar and a demagogue, but it is hypocritical for the US to insist that we do not accept the principle of "spheres of influence". For the last 200 years our country has operated under the Monroe Doctrine. Under this doctrine we have undermined and overthrown at least a dozen governments. In 1962 we came to the brink of nuclear war with the Soviet Union in response to the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba, 90 miles from our shore, which the Kennedy administration saw as an unacceptable threat to our national security.

To put it simply, even if Russia was not ruled by a corrupt authoritarian leader like Vladimir Putin, Russia, like the United States, would still have an interest in the security policies of its neighbors. Does anyone really believe that the United States would not have something to say if, for example, Mexico was to form a military alliance with a US adversary?

Source: The Guardian on 2024 Presidential Hopefuls Feb 8, 2022

Kamala Harris: Target Russian finances to oppose Ukraine invasion

Vice President Kamala Harris told the Munich Security Conference that the Western alliance faced a "defining moment" in the Ukraine crisis and warned Russia's leaders that if they invaded Ukraine, the US and its allies would target not only financial institutions and technology exports to Russia, but also "those who are complicit and those who aid and direct this unprovoked invasion."

"This playbook is all too familiar to us all," she said of the events unfolding near Ukraine's borders. "Russia will plead ignorance and innocence. It will create false pretexts for invasion, and it will amass troop and firepower in plain sight."

Ms. Harris argued in her speech that the crisis had driven NATO allies together. "As President Biden has said, our forces will not be deployed to fight inside Ukraine," she said, touching on--but not exploring--the decision to leave the fighting to Ukraine's own military. "But they will defend every inch of NATO territory."

Source: New York Times on 2024 Presidential Hopefuls Feb 19, 2022

Josh Shapiro: Pro-Hamas college protests threaten student safety

In April, Shapiro's office baselessly claimed that a peaceful pro-Palestine encampment on the Penn campus threatened student safety. "If the universities in accordance with their policies can't guarantee the safety and security and well-being of the students, then I think it is incumbent upon a local mayor or local town councilor to step in and enforce the law," Shapiro told Politico at the time. In May, he urged Penn to shut down the encampment completely. The university complied; Shapiro's office said Penn "made the right decision."

The New York Times profiled Shapiro with the headline "A Rising Democrat Leans Into the Campus Fight Over Antisemitism." In that piece, Shapiro made clear the low regard in which he holds pro-Palestine campus activists. "If you had a group of white supremacists camped out and yelling racial slurs every day, that would be met with a different response than antisemites camped out, yelling antisemitic tropes," he said.

Source: The New Republic on 2024 Vice Presidential hopefuls Jul 24, 2024

Tim Walz: Retired after 24 years in National Guard,to run for Congress

[GOP VP nominee JD] Vance let off an even crueler jibe--that Walz's retiring from the National Guard after 24 years, soon before his unit was scheduled to be deployed in Iraq, represented "stolen valor." Walz left the guard to run for Congress. If Vance says that to Walz's face when they debate--which will reportedly happen on CBS in September--let's hope Walz reminds Vance that Trump obtained a medical exemption to service in Vietnam because of his bone spurs.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2024 Vice Presidential hopefuls Aug 6, 2024

  • The above quotations are from Interviews and analysis of presidential hopefuls for 2024.
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2024 Presidential contenders on Homeland Security:
  Candidates for President & Vice-President:
V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA)
Chase Oliver(L-GA)
Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA)
Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL)
Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH)
Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN)
Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ)

2024 presidential primary contenders:
Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE)
N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R)
N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R)
Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R)
S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R)
Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R)
Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN)
Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH)
S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R)
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Page last updated: Nov 03, 2024