Tulsi Gabbard officially launches 2020 US presidential campaign


Team Udayavani, Feb 4, 2019, 6:07 AM IST

Washington: Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, officially launched her presidential campaign from her home state Hawaii on Sunday, promising to bend “the arc of history away from war and toward peace”.

Taking a dig at America’s foreign policy establishment in her campaign announcement, the four-time Democratic lawmaker in the US House of Representatives from Hawaii blamed politicians in “ivory towers” for US’ involvement in costly armed conflicts abroad.

“We must stand against powerful politicians from both parties who sit in ivory towers thinking up new wars to wage and new places for people to die. Wasting trillions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives, undermining our economy and security, and destroying our middle class,” Gabbard said.

“These powerful politicians dishonor the sacrifices made by every one of our service members, and their families – they are the ones who pay the price for these wars,” she said.

Asserting that the foreign policy is depleting US’ resources and exhausting its military, the Hawaii lawmaker said she will work towards “bending the arc of history away from war and toward peace” and to achieve this it “will require every one of us to stand up against the military industrial complex and powerful, self-serving politicians who have a vested interest in perpetual war”.

Gabbard she will work towards building partnerships with other nations based on shared interests, leading with a foreign policy based not on conflict but on cooperation.

Other policy positions that the White House hopeful discussed included Medicare for all, criminal justice reform, environmental advocacy and the need to combat privacy infringement by big tech companies.

A former Iraq war veteran, 37-year-old Gabbard is a former Co-Chair of the powerful India Caucus in the House of Representatives. She is the youngest Democratic leader to enter the 2020 presidential race.

The first ever Hindu lawmaker to be elected to the House of Representatives, Gabbard during her tenure in the Congress has established herself as an authority on national security and foreign policy issues.

She is among the four women who have thrown their hat into the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race.

The other three are Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris from California and Senators Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand from New York.

Gabbard, who converted to Hinduism early in her life, is highly popular among Indian-Americans. If elected, she would be the youngest ever and first woman president of the US. She would also be the first non-Christian and first Hindu to occupy the top post. However, at this point of time, political pundits do not give her much chance.

Hindus constitute less than one per cent of the American population, an overwhelming majority of whom are either from India or are people of Indian-origin.

The lawmaker pointed to her service in the state’s Army National Guard as a reason for her desire to seek public office.

“It is this principle of service above self, that is at the heart of every soldier…it is in this spirit, that today I announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America,” Gabbard told a cheering crowd.

Attacking incumbent President Donald Trump, she said, “Instead of draining the swamp, our president has turned it into a cesspool of corruption.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Salman Khan gets another threat; message sent to Mumbai traffic police helpline

SC overrules 1967 verdict holding AMU can’t be minority institution

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, editors of Kannada news portals booked for allegedly spreading fake news

Egg distribution scheme for school children under scrutiny over alleged mismanagement

India Post M’luru division to offer doorstep service to pensioners for Jeevan Praman certificate

Cong asks PM Modi why Gujarat’s white onion farmers given preferential treatment

Kharge slams Fadnavis, says people of Maharashtra will give a befitting reply to BJP

Related Articles More

‘America of your dreams calling’: Biden to Democratic supporters

Indian consulate in Canada cancels consular camps due over security issues

Hindu temple in Brampton suspends priest for spreading ‘violent rhetoric’

President Xi congratulates Trump; says China, US should find ‘right way’ to manage differences

Harris, Trump agree on importance of unifying country as they speak over phone

MUST WATCH

Gho Pooja in Deepavali Festival

Melukote Deepavali

Ganapathi Co-operative Society Ltd

Udayavani Chinnara Banna 2024

Annapoorna Aahar | Food Places In Mysore


Latest Additions

Salman Khan gets another threat; message sent to Mumbai traffic police helpline

SC overrules 1967 verdict holding AMU can’t be minority institution

DK Child Protection Unit to conduct campaign to raise awareness of child trafficking

Kambala: Tradition and modernity in coastal Karnataka

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, editors of Kannada news portals booked for allegedly spreading fake news

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.