TULSI NOW | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Campaign | 2020 United States presidential election (Democratic Party primaries) |
Candidate | Tulsi Gabbard U.S. Representative (2013–present) Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives (2002–2004) |
Affiliation | Democratic Party |
Status | Announced: January 11, 2019 Formal launch: February 2, 2019 |
Headquarters | Kapolei, Hawaii |
Key people | Rania Batrice (campaign manager)[1] Erika Tsuji (spokesperson)[1] |
Slogan | Lead with Love[2] |
Website | |
www |
| ||
---|---|---|
U.S. Representative
from Hawaii's 2nd district
![]() |
||
The 2020 presidential campaign of Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district, began on January 11, 2019.[3] Gabbard was the third office-holding Democrat to formally announce a campaign in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, following Maryland Rep. John Delaney and West Virginia State Sen. Richard Ojeda.[4]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Tulsi_Gabbard_-_46400895134_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Tulsi_Gabbard_-_46400895134_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Background
Gabbard had been a rising figure in the Democratic Party in the lead-up to the 2016 election cycle, when she served as Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She was outspoken in her critique of the committee's decision to only hold six primary debates for the primaries and specifically criticized DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She endorsed U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders in the primary.[5]
On October 19, 2018, Politico reported that Gabbard was "weighing a 2020 presidential bid" but would not make an announcement until after the 2018 midterm elections.[6] On December 12, 2018, Gabbard said on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews that she was "seriously considering" running for president in 2020.[7]
Campaign
Announcement
Gabbard confirmed her intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination on January 11, 2019, in an interview with CNN's Van Jones.[3] On January 24, she formally launched her campaign by releasing a video on her website.[8] She held a kickoff rally in Hawaii on February 2.[9]
Fundraising
In the first quarter of 2019, the campaign raised $4,495,770, with 56 percent coming from PACs and political committees.[10] The campaign has met both of the DNC's qualifying criteria for participating in debates.[11]
Reports of disruption
Shortly after the announcement of Gabbard's campaign, campaign manager Rania Batrice and the consulting firm Revolution Messaging departed from the campaign. Politico reporters Daniel Strauss and Alex Thompson described the campaign as "beset by turmoil" following the announcement, while sources close to Gabbard referred to her as "indecisive and impulsive".[1] The announcement allegedly impacted Gabbard's staff, with her team being forced to quickly prepare basic elements of a campaign, like a website.[12][13]
Allegations of Russian support
According to an NBC News article, Gabbard's campaign has received support from Russian interests. Internet experts found that websites connected with the Russian government, such as RT, Sputnik News and Russia Insider, had posted 20 or more stories with favorable coverage of Gabbard.[14] An article in The Daily Beast reported that the campaign had received contributions from individuals allegedly sympathetic to Russia and Vladimir Putin, including Stephen F. Cohen and a former RT employee.[15] Journalists Matt Taibbi and Glenn Greenwald were critical of the allegations, describing them as part of a smear campaign against Gabbard.[16][17] Gabbard dismissed the allegations as "fake news".[18][19]
Policies
Economics
Gabbard supports increasing the hourly minimum wage to $15.[20][21]
Crime
Gabbard supports the federal legalization of recreational cannabis. She introduced the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2019 bill in the U.S. House of Representative with Congressman Don Young. If passed, the bill would take marijuana off of the federal controlled substances list.[22][23][24] Gabbard also supports the decriminalization of sex work.[25]
Education
Gabbard supports making community college tuition-free for all Americans while making all four-year colleges tuition-free for students with an annual family income of $125,000 or less (funded by a new tax on financial transactions). She backed Senator Bernie Sanders's proposal to cut or eliminate higher education tuition for most Americans.[26]
Foreign policy
Gabbard is a frequent critic of American foreign policy, especially with regards to Iraq, Syria, and Libya.[27] Gabbard has generally advocated for a non-interventionist stance towards foreign affairs; for example, she opposes the removal of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, whom she met with in 2017, from power.[28] In 2017, Gabbard proposed the Stop Arming Terrorists Act to prohibit the use of United States government funds to provide assistance to al-Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, and ISIL and to groups affiliated or cooperating with those organizations.[29][30] She strongly opposes the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.[31]
Healthcare
Gabbard supports universal health care and believes "We have to fight to make sure that every single American gets the healthcare that they need"[32][21] She co-sponsored a bill that would create a "government-run system to provide health care for all residents of the United States", in part paid for by hiking taxes on the wealthy and taxing financial transactions.[26] She has also called for empowering the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices as part of her platform.[33]
Endorsements
References
- ^ a b c Strauss, Daniel; Thompson, Alex (January 29, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard campaign in disarray". Politico.
- ^ DeRensis, Hunter (January 14, 2019). "Are the Democrats ready for Tulsi Gabbard?". The National Interest. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ a b Kelly, Caroline. "Rep. Gabbard says she will run for president in 2020". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
- ^ Sommerfeldt, Chris (January 12, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard, first Hindu and American Samoan member of Congress, says she'll run for president in 2020". Boston Herald. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- ^ Alcindor, Yamiche (February 28, 2016). "Tulsi Gabbard, Rising Democratic Star, Endorses Bernie Sanders". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- ^ Thompson, Alex (October 19, 2018). "Tulsi Gabbard weighing 2020 presidential bid". POLITICO. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
- ^ MSNBC, Tulsi Gabbard: "I'm Seriously Considering" Running For President | Hardball | MSNBC, retrieved December 17, 2018
- ^ McAvoy, Audrey (January 24, 2019). "Hawaii's Gabbard formally launches campaign for president". Associated Press. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Bowden, John. "Tulsi Gabbard officially launches 2020 campaign". The Hill. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ McMinn, Sean; Hurt, Alyson (April 16, 2019). "Tracking The Money Race Behind The Presidential Campaign". NPR. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Strauss, Daniel; Montellaro, Zach (May 24, 2019). "Jay Inslee hits 65,000-donor threshold to make the Democratic debates". Politico. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Nguyen, Tina (January 30, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard's 2020 Campaign is Already in Trouble". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ Casiano, Louis (January 29, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard's presidential campaign in trouble just days after launch: report". Fox. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ Windrem, Robert; Popken, Ben (February 2, 2019). "Russia's propaganda machine discovers 2020 Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard". NBC News. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Markay, Lachlan; Stein, Sam (May 17, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard's Campaign Is Being Boosted by Putin Apologists". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ Matt Taibbi (May 21, 2019). "We've Hit a New Low in Campaign Hit Pieces". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Greenwald, Glenn (February 3, 2019). "NBC News, to Claim Russia Supports Tulsi Gabbard, Relies on Firm Just Caught Fabricating Russia Data for the Democratic Party". The Intercept. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ Beavers, David (May 19, 2019). "Gabbard calls unflattering report 'fake news'". Politico. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ Zilbermints, Regina (May 19, 2019). "Gabbard says claim her campaign is getting boost from Putin apologists is 'fake news'". The Hill. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ "Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Facebook: Raise the Wage Act". Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^ a b Tan, Anjelica (November 12, 2017). "Tulsi Gabbard is no snowflake". TheHill. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ^ Dickson, Ej (March 7, 2019). "House Bill Introduced to Remove Marijuana from List of Controlled Substances". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Bowden, John (April 20, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard fundraises off 4/20: 'Appalls me' that feds consider marijuana illegal". The Hill. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ Mills Rodrigo, Chris (March 7, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard, Don Young introduce marijuana reform bill". The Hill.
- ^ Holden, Dominic (March 7, 2019). "A Democratic Presidential Candidate Says Sex Work Should Be Legal". Buzzfeed News.
- ^ a b "What does Tulsi Gabbard believe? Where the candidate stands on 7 issues". PBS NewsHour. January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ^ "The 'war on terror'". votetulsi.com. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=
(help) - ^ Haltiwanger, John (February 6, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard doubles-down on opposition to US intervention in Syria, says Syrian president and accused war criminal Assad is not America's 'enemy'". Business Insider. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (November 6, 2017). "What Does Tulsi Gabbard Believe?". New Yorker. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ "Behind Tulsi Gabbard's 'Stop Arming Terrorists' bill". Fox News. January 13, 2017.
- ^ @TulsiGabbard (February 15, 2019). "I'm running for President to end our regime change wars, work to end new Cold War, & walk us back from the abyss of nuclear war. We face greater risk of nuclear catastrophe now more than ever. I'm introducing a bill to stop Trump from scrapping INF treaty & sparking new arms race" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "TULSI 2020: Tulsi Gabbard Presidential Campaign, The ALOHA Launch - FULL SPEECH". February 3, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Universal Healthcare | Tulsi Gabbard - Fighting for the people". www.votetulsi.com. Retrieved January 22, 2019.