National Public Radio: on Principles & Values


Dennis Kucinich: I’ve been right all along on Iraq, Iran, & healthcare

Q: What do you think the toughest choice you have left to make is? What haven’t you made up your mind on yet? And why haven’t you?

A: I wrestle with the question as to whether or not the president and the vice president should be held liable for crimes for taking us into a war based on lies. I mean, I’m ready to be president. I’ve been right all along on Iraq, on Iran, on not-for-profit health care and giving our children a chance for an education from age 3 all the way through to a degree.

Source: 2007 Democratic radio debate on NPR Dec 4, 2007

Don Blankenship: I'm Trumpier than Trump, despite Trump opposition

President Trump took to Twitter to tell West Virginia Republicans not to support Blankenship. Trump tweeted, "To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can't win the General Election in your State...No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey!"

Blankenship reacted to Trump's Twitter criticism by issuing a written statement of response. "West he doesn't know me and he doesn't know how flawed my two main opponents are in this primary. The establishment is misinforming him because they do not want me to be in the U.S. Senate and promote the President's agenda."

Source: NPR on 2018 West Virginia Senate race May 8, 2018

Geoff Diehl: 2020 election not stolen, supports investigation of riot

Diehl said that, had he been elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018, he would have voted for the bi-partisan commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection. The 2020 election, he said, was not stolen from former President Donald Trump. "I don't think it was a stolen election," Diehl said. "I just think that, again, at this point, we need to move forward, stop crying over spilled milk as a Republican Party and look towards the future."
Source: WGBH NPR-Boston on Jan. 6 2021 Insurrection Jul 7, 2021

Harry Reid: Son of a miner; mother took in wash from brothels

Angle's rap on Reid is that he's a creature of big-government Washington, out of touch with average Nevadans.

"Senator Reid has been a politician for over 30 years," Angle began. "I live in a middle-class neighborhood in Reno, Nevada. Senator Reid live in the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C."

That might particularly rankle Nevadans who now suffer with the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country.

But Reid, the son of a miner, tried to show he knew what it was like to suffer through tough times--like when he was growing up in the tiny town of Searchlight. Lean times sound different in Nevada than they do in other parts of the country, though.

"Times were tough. The mines weren't doing well at all. My mom took in wash from the brothels in Searchlight so I have some idea of what it's like to struggle," Reid said.

If you'd decided to play a drinking game and take a swig every time Reid called his opponent extreme, you'd have quite the hangover this morning.

Source: NPR Morning Edition coverage of 2010 Nevada Senate debate Oct 15, 2010

Howard Dean: Taking votes away from Kerry doesn't change the Party

DEAN [to Nader]: The Oregon Family Council, which is virulently anti-gay, right-wing group, called up all their folks to sign your petition. I don't think that's the way to change the party. I agree with much of what you say, but the way to change the country is not to do it with any means to the end, the way to change the country is not to get in bed with right-wing, anti-gay groups to get you on the ballot. That can't work. I think there's a big difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. I'll grant you that there's significant corporate influence that we don't like. I'm not running for president right now, not just because I lost in Iowa, but because I made the calculation that if I did, I would take away votes which that otherwise would go to John Kerry and the result was going to be the re-election of George Bush.

NADER: What you said about that group was a legitimate smear. It's a smear premeditated and knowing. We don't even know this group. Don't try to tar us with this.

Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate Jul 9, 2004

Jerry Nadler: 1998: We're lowering the standard of impeachment

And the current House Judiciary Committee chairman, Democrat Jerry Nadler of New York, who favors impeaching Trump, argued against impeaching Clinton. He said then, "We're lowering the standard of impeachment. What the president has done is not a great and dangerous offense to the safety of the republic in the words of George Mason. It is not an impeachable offense under the meaning of the Constitution."
Source: Brian Naylor, NPR, on impeaching Trump Dec 6, 2019

John Hickenlooper: Socialist policies will not appeal to Americans

I don't think we're going to address climate change by guaranteeing every American a federal job, which is what part of the Green New Deal was. I don't think we're going to address the spiraling inflation in health care by forcibly telling 150 million people that we're going to take away their private insurance. These are what a lot of Americans look at as facets or aspects of socialism.
Source: NPR Morning Edition, "Election 2020: Opening Arguments" May 27, 2019

Lindsey Graham: 1998: High crimes don't even have to be a crime

Republican Lindsey Graham is one of President Trump's most vocal defenders. He was one of the House managers who argued for convicting Clinton in his Senate trial, saying that "high crimes doesn't even have to be a crime. It's just when you start using your office and you're acting in a way that hurts people."
Source: Brian Naylor, NPR, on impeaching Trump Dec 6, 2019

Lloyd Austin: Orders stand-down to address extremism within armed forces

Austin has signed a memo directing commanding officers and supervisors to institute a one-day stand-down to address extremism within the nation's armed forces. "We will not tolerate actions that go against the fundamental principles of the oath we share, including actions associated with extremist or dissident ideologies," the memo reads. "Service members, DoD civilian employees, and all those who support our mission, deserve an environment free of discrimination, hate, and harassment."
Source: NPR on Biden Administration: Defense Secretary memo Feb 6, 2021

Maura Healey: A proud progressive but not interested in labels

Healey told WBUR she is a proud progressive, but added the race is not about labels. "I understand that there are those who want to ascribe labels to me," she said. "Frankly, I don't know that voters or ordinary people care much about labels. They care about who you are and what you're going to do. For me, I'm not trying to do anything other than speak to what I see as the real issues and the real concerns that voters have, and they are looking to our next governor to do something about."
Source: WBUR (NPR Radio) on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race Feb 3, 2022

Maura Healey: Briefly played pro basketball, went on to law school

I ended up--after a brief stint playing pro basketball overseas after college--going to law school, because I wanted to fight to make life better for people, to pursue justice and fairness and help out those who are vulnerable. That's what led me to law school. It's what led me to the Civil Rights Division in the attorney general's office. It's what led me to run as an unlikely and an unknown candidate ... seven years ago. And it's the way I've tried to lead this office as the people's lawyer.
Source: WBUR (NPR Radio) on 2022 Massachusetts Gubernatorial race Feb 3, 2022

Ralph Nader: Don't know right-wing groups helping in my campaign

DEAN [to Nader]: The Oregon Family Council, which is virulently anti-gay, right-wing group, called up all their folks to sign your petition. I don't think that's the way to change the party. I agree with much of what you say, but the way to change the country is not to do it with any means to the end, the way to change the country is not to get in bed with right-wing, anti-gay groups to get you on the ballot. That can't work. I think there's a big difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.

NADER: What you said about that group was a legitimate smear. Do you know what a legitimate smear is, Howard? It's a smear premeditated and knowing. We don't even know this group. Don't try to tar us with this.

Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate Jul 9, 2004

Ralph Nader: Polls can be wrong; we're building beyond this election

The polls were wrong about Howard Dean. They all said he was going to win in a landslide against his Democratic primary opponents. We're building beyond November. An oak tree always starts with an acorn. And we are determined to give this younger generation of Americans a horizon for a better country and a better world and show them how to do it. Because the older generations have conceded two-party monopolies and narrow choices and low expectations and least- worst mentality far too long.
Source: NPR, "Justice Talking" Dean-Nader Debate Jul 9, 2004

Sharron Angle: I live in middle-class Reno; Reid lives in DC's Ritz-Carlton

Angle's rap on Reid is that he's a creature of big-government Washington, out of touch with average Nevadans.

"Senator Reid has been a politician for over 30 years," Angle began. "I live in a middle-class neighborhood in Reno, Nevada. Senator Reid live in the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C."

That might particularly rankle Nevadans who now suffer with the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country.

But Reid, the son of a miner, tried to show he knew what it was like to suffer through tough times--like when he was growing up in the tiny town of Searchlight. Lean times sound different in Nevada than they do in other parts of the country, though.

"Times were tough. The mines weren't doing well at all. My mom took in wash from the brothels in Searchlight so I have some idea of what it's like to struggle," Reid said.

If you'd decided to play a drinking game and take a swig every time Reid called his opponent extreme, you'd have quite the hangover this morning.

Source: NPR Morning Edition coverage of 2010 Nevada Senate debate Oct 15, 2010

Susan Rice: Against divisiveness; Americans sink or swim together

"One of the critical reasons why we are in such a difficult spot, whether with respect to the pandemic or economy, national cohesion, racial justice issues is because we are now burdened with leadership in the White House that thrives on dividing us and pitting Americans against each other," she said. "We absolutely have to move past that to a point of a recognition that we are all in this boat together, we sink or swim together."
Source: NPR news website on 2020 Veepstakes Aug 4, 2020

Spencer Cox: I don't like to rank sins; I just do the best I can

Q: Mormon leaders recently clarified that same-sex marriage is a "grievous sin." How do you feel about that?

COX: Whether you see that as a sin or not I think is unimportant. I don't like to rank sins. I clearly have many, many, many faults and many sins myself. I've just determined that none of that matters to me personally. I just have to do the best I can with what I have. Part of that is the commandment - and my church teaches this as well - that we are to love everyone as Jesus taught us.

Source: NPR on 2024 Utah Gubernatorial race Jul 19, 2023

Matt Meyer: Lifts order blocking Muslim burial for humanitarian reasons

Meyer is temporarily lifting a cease-and-desist order for the first Islamic cemetery in Delaware. The move clears the way for burying an infant. "There is no Muslim cemetery in the state of Delaware right now," Meyer said. "It has been a valid concern of the Muslim community for an extended period of time." Meyer said he's lifting the cease-and-desist order for "humanitarian reasons," on condition the traffic concerns will be addressed.
Source: WHYY (NPR) on 2024 Delaware Gubernatorial race Mar 4, 2020

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