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

Adityanath hits out at Congress for ‘strangling’ Constitution

Two leopards captured in village near Bengaluru after fatal attack on woman

Ensure safety of minorities: India on arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Das in Bangladesh

Sad to see you go, hope we can reunite: Delhi Capitals’ co-owner to Rishabh Pant

SC grants bail to 2 convicts in two-decade-old murder case of Chhattisgarh NCP leader

Those against Constitution are speaking about changing it, says Karnataka CM

Constitution provided roadmap for progress: Delhi HC Chief Justice Manmohan

Related Articles More

Will impose 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada, Mexico: Trump

Internal divisions leave open question whether Gandhi’s vision will ever be fully realised in India: Bill Clinton

COP29: India rejects new USD 300 billion climate finance deal

Royal tour of India in offing for King Charles, Queen Camilla: Report

Indian-American leaders applaud PM Modi for inclusive growth in India

MUST WATCH

Coconut Flower

Prakash Belawadi

Naxal Leader Vikram Gowda

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar


Latest Additions

Adityanath hits out at Congress for ‘strangling’ Constitution

Mumbai Indians focussed on getting bowling combination right in IPL mega auction: Ambani

Two leopards captured in village near Bengaluru after fatal attack on woman

Ensure safety of minorities: India on arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Das in Bangladesh

Rituals being conducted at temples for Shinde’s continuation as Maharashtra CM

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

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