Tulsi Gabbard in Jacobin Magazine
On Civil Rights:
Against gay marriage but no government morality
Her state Democratic Party LGBT caucus openly distrusts her and backed her primary opponent in 2016. When questioned why, the chairman cited two things. One was her less-than-stellar answers to a questionnaire they had sent. The other was a
2015 interview with Ozy, in which she confirmed that her personal views on gay marriage and abortion hadn't changed, just her view on whether the government should enforce its vision of morality.
In 2013, the caucus asked Gabbard to send someone to testify at the legislative special session on same-sex marriage, only to be told that Gabbard "doesn't get involved in state politics." Gabbard's Hawaiian colleagues in Congress all sent a
representative to testify in support. Gabbard does not actively work against gay rights. She's cosponsored and supported numerous bills favoring the LGBT community, from the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
Source: Jacobin Mag., "Not your friend": 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 27, 2017
On Foreign Policy:
Skeptical of Iran nuclear deal
Gabbard told Fox News she was "cynical" toward the pact and agreed with host Greta van Susteren that it was akin to Neville Chamberlain's infamous Munich agreement with Hitler in 1938. On the day the agreement was finalized, she issued a statement
saying, "We cannot afford to make the same mistake with Iran that was made with North Korea," citing North Korea's abrogation of the Agreed Framework agreement it had signed in 1994.
Source: Jacobin Mag., "Not your friend": 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 27, 2017
On Foreign Policy:
Supports Egyptian dictator in fight against terrorism
In November 2015, she traveled to Egypt as part of a congressional delegation and met Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. "President el-Sisi has shown great courage and leadership in taking on this extreme Islamist ideology, while also fighting
against ISIS militarily to keep them from gaining a foothold in Egypt," Gabbard said, urging US political leaders to "recognize President el-Sisi and his leadership" and "stand with him in this fight against Islamic extremists."
Source: Jacobin Mag., "Not your friend": 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 27, 2017
On Foreign Policy:
Against criticizing India's treatment of Muslims
Gabbard voted against HR 417, which criticized India's record on religious violence and called for specific measures to guarantee religious freedom in the country, explaining that its passage wouldn't help US-India relations. Yet two years later,
Gabbard introduced a similar resolution that covered neighboring Muslim-majority Bangladesh, saying she was "particularly concerned over issues of religious freedom, and specifically, attacks against minority Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and others."
Source: Jacobin Mag., "Not your friend": 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 27, 2017
On Immigration:
2015: Favor Christian over Islamic refugees
She was one of 47 Democrats to join the GOP in passing the SAFE Act in 2015, which would have added extra requirements to the refugee vetting process [affecting] the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the country. She introduced a resolution
calling for the United States to prioritize religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East -- namely, Christians and Yezidis -- when granting refugee status. "These persecuted religious minority groups must be our first priority," she said.
She seems to have somewhat softened her stances recently. She came out against Trump's refugee and travel bans, for example. Around the same time, Gabbard spoke at an event held by the group Muslims for Peace, in which she uncharacteristically
spoke of "so-called religious terrorism" and affirmed that "the perpetrators of these horrific actions have no connection with the spiritual love that lies at the heart of all religions."
Source: Jacobin Mag., "Not your friend": 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 27, 2017
On War & Peace:
Use military to fight terrorists, not for regime change
She told Fox in 2014 that she would direct "the great military that we have" to conduct "unconventional strategic precise operations to take out these terrorists wherever they are."
"In short, when it comes to the war against terrorists, I'm a hawk," she told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald last year. "When it comes to counterproductive wars of regime change, I'm a dove."
Gabbard lambasted the Obama administration for avoiding the phrase. In one interview, she told the host that "the vast majority of terrorist attacks conducted around the world for over the last decade have been conducted by groups who are fueled by
this radical Islamic ideology."
Gabbard complained that by "not using this term 'Islamic extremism' and clearly identifying our enemies," the administration couldn't "come up with a very effective strategy to defeat that enemy."
Source: Jacobin Mag., "Not your friend": 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 27, 2017
On War & Peace:
Opposes fighting in Afghanistan & Syria; end arms to Saudis
She has called for pulling out of Afghanistan, the longest war in US history, suggesting that the government invest the money instead into "rebuilding our own nation through long-term infrastructure projects." She's opposed US intervention in
Syria since 2013, air strikes in Iraq, and arms sales to Saudi Arabia. She backed Sanders in the Democratic primary because of Clinton's record of supporting "interventionist regime change wars."
Source: Jacobin Mag., "Not your friend": 2020 presidential hopefuls
May 27, 2017
Page last updated: Aug 15, 2024