2020 Presidential Campaign - It’s on

Post Reply New Topic

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Friday she will run for president in 2020.

"I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week," the Hawaii Democrat told CNN's Van Jones during an interview slated to air at 7 p.m. Saturday on CNN's "The Van Jones Show."
Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, currently serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She is the first American Samoan and the first Hindu member of Congress.

"There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I'm concerned about and that I want to help solve," she said, listing health care access, criminal justice reform and climate change as key platform issues.

In 2015, Gabbard, then a vice-chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, was sharply critical of its then-chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz for scheduling just six presidential debates during the 2016 primary election cycle. She later resigned her post as DNC vice chair to become one of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' highest-profile supporters, aligning herself with his populist economic message.

Gabbard has staked out anti-interventionist foreign policy positions in Congress. Her 2017 meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad drew widespread criticism. "Initially, I hadn't planned on meeting him," Gabbard told CNN's Jake Tapper in January of 2017. "When the opportunity arose to meet with him, I did so because I felt it's important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we've got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we could achieve peace, and that's exactly what we talked about."

Julian Castro launched his campaign on Saturday, and Tulsi Gabbard has said she will make a formal announcement within a week.

Mr Castro is expected to be the only Latino in the race, and Ms Gabbard is the first Hindu member of Congress.

Mr Castro made his announcement in his home town of San Antonio, Texas, where he was mayor from 2009 to 2014.

Aged 44 and long seen as a rising star in the party, he served as housing secretary under President Barack Obama and was on the list of Hillary Clinton's potential running mates for the 2016 election.
Having a Mexican grandmother, he has used his background to criticise Mr Trump's calls to build a wall to keep out migrants from Latin America.

Launching his bid under the slogan "One nation, one destiny", he said: "We say no to the construction of the wall and yes to the construction of communities."

His launch comes a day after news emerged that Hawaii Congresswoman Ms Gabbard would also announce a bid.

In an interview due to air on CNN on Saturday evening, she says: "There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I'm concerned about and that I want to help solve."

A native of American Samoa and an Iraq veteran, Ms Gabbard, 37, is seen as an outspoken figure on the left of the party.

In 2017 she caused controversy by announcing that she had met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a trip to the country.

At the time she said she was ready to meet anyone to help end the conflict in Syria, but opponents described the meeting as shameful

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced she is forming an exploratory committee to run for president, throwing her hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination in an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" airing Tuesday night.

"Yes. I'm filing an exploratory committee for president of the United States — tonight," she said.

"I'm going to run for president of the United States, because as a young mom, I'm going to fight for other people's kids as hard as I would fight for my own," Gillibrand said. She mentioned her support for universal health care, public school and job training programs.

"But you are never going to accomplish any of these things if you don't take on the systems of power which make all of that impossible," she continued. "Which means taking on institutional racism, it's taking on the corruption and greed in Washington, and taking on the special interests that write legislation in the dead of night, and I know that I have the compassion, courage, and fearless determination to get that done."

When asked how she would address a government shutdown, Gillibrand reiterated she would try to find common ground between differing parties. She gave examples of her own bipartisanship, such as working on sexual harassment legislation with a Republican unpopular with Democrats.

"Ted Cruz and I agreed on how to end sexual harassment in Congress, which ultimately passed. Me and Ted Cruz!" Gillibrand said. Colbert quipped she cared about something so much she would talk to Ted Cruz.

Colbert also asked more joking questions, asking her what swear word she would miss the most if she tried not to swear on the campaign trail.

"Rhymes with 'duck,'" Gillibrand joked.

Senator Kamala Harris is the latest Democrat to declare a 2020 presidential bid, joining an increasingly crowded field.

Harris, the second Black woman ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate and a former California attorney general, made her announcement Monday on Good Morning America, in which she pledged to be a “fighter” for the American people. She also addressed the historic nature of her candidacy and decision to announce her bid on Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “I’m honored to be able to make my announcement on the day that we commemorate [King].” Per the New York Times, her announcement comes 47 years after New York congresswoman Shirley Chisholm became the the first black woman to seek the presidential nomination.

Howard Schultz: I am seriously thinking of running for president. I will run as a centrist independent, outside of the two-party system we're living at a most-fragile time not only the fact that this president is not qualified to be the president, but the fact that both parties are consistently not doing what's necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged, every single day, in revenge politics.

Scott Pelley: Why run as an Independent? Your views have always aligned with the Democratic Party.

Howard Schultz: That's true. I've, you know, I've been a lifelong Democrat. I look at both parties-- we see extremes on both sides well, we are sitting, today, with approximately $21.5 trillion of debt, which is a reckless example, not only of Republicans, but of Democrats, as well, as a reckless failure of their constitutional responsibility.

Scott Pelley: Do you worry that you're going to siphon votes away from the Democrats and, thereby, ensure that President Trump has a second term?

Howard Schultz: I wanna see the American people win. I wanna see America win. I don't care if you're a Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Republican. Bring me your ideas. And I will be an independent person, who will embrace those ideas. Because I am not, in any way, in bed with a party.

And last year, a store manager set off a furor when she called police on African-American men who were just hanging out at a table. Schultz closed all the U.S. stores for hours of racial bias training. Race had been an issue even before, when Schultz asked employees to talk to customers about racial justice.

Howard Schultz: We had a moral obligation as a company to discuss this.

Scott Pelley: And, then, you were excoriated for having a coffee shop tell people what it thinks about humanity.

Howard Schultz: The execution was flawed. And who owns that execution? I do because I was the one who was pushing us to not play it safe.

But from the beginning his 350,000 employees caught a break with Schultz's social agenda.

They enjoy health insurance, tuition aid and stock.

Howard Schultz: When I read statistics that says that over 40 percent of the American people don't have $400 in the bank and only a crisis away from bankruptcy, or that five and a half million kids in America, many of whom are African American and Latino, are not in school and not in work and don't have a chance, and one out of six people in America are food insecure, this is what I think about.

Those grim numbers describe his own childhood.

Howard Schultz: This place has never left me. I think it has defined my character, my vulnerability

Schultz took us back in time to his boyhood home,

Scott Pelley: And this is the way up to the seventh floor.

A Brooklyn, New York, public housing project. His family was already poor when his father was injured on the job. With no insurance, they were destitute. And bitterness led to violence.

Scott Pelley: Your father beat you-- with his fists.

Howard Schultz: There were moments where there was physical abuse, yes.

Scott Pelley: He beat you up, when you were taking a shower. And you ended up crumpled on the floor of the shower, watching your blood go down the drain.

Scott Pelley: Well, let me see if I can find out where you are on some of the issues that are pressing in the country. Immigration.

Howard Schultz: The country first and foremost is based on humanity, fairness, goodness, we have been for 200-plus years a country of immigrants. And for the 11 million people here unauthorized, there should be a fair and equitable way for them to get in line, pay the taxes, pay a fee, and become citizens of the United States.

Scott Pelley: Climate change.

Howard Schultz: Tremendous mistake, again, by President Trump, to leave the Paris Climate Accord.

Scott Pelley: Health care.

Scott Pelley: Every American deserves the right to have access to quality health care. But what the Democrats are proposing is something that is as false as the wall. And that is free health care for all, which the country cannot afford.

Scott Pelley: The 2018 tax cut.

Howard Schultz: I would not have given a free ride to business, from 35 percent or 37 percent to 21 percent. It would've been more modest. But I would've significantly addressed the people who need tax relief the most, which is the people I talked about earlier, who don't have $400 in the bank.

Scott Pelley: Many people are going to ask what does the coffee entrepreneur know about being commander in chief?

Howard Schultz: I have a long history of recognizing, I'm not the smartest person in the room, that in order to make great decisions about complex problems, I have to recruit and attract people who are smarter than me and more experienced, more skilled, and we've got to create an understanding that we need a creative debate in the room to make these kind of decisions.

His world view is shaped by his experience as a global CEO.

Howard Schultz: Is it in our national interest to have a fight with Mexico, Canada, the EU, China, NATO? Is it in our interest? Give me a break. No, it's not in our interest. These are our friends. These are our allies. We are much better, as a country, being part of the world order.

Scott Pelley: This is a long, rocky road, running for president. Is this something you wanna do?

Sheri Schultz: Well, it, it wasn't in my plan, my long-term life plan for sure.

Scott Pelley: Did he tell you or did he ask you?

Sheri Schultz: No, he asked. He came to the family. We knew it was serious--

Howard Schultz: I'm still-- I'm still asking.

Sheri Schultz: He's still asking and many family meetings.

He's still asking himself whether to run. But he has assembled a campaign team and he's done the homework.

Scott Pelley: Can you get on the ballot in all 50 states?

Howard Schultz: If I decide to run for president, not only will I be on the ballot of every state, all 50 states, but we'll be on the ballot in every county, in every district, that we have done that work.

Scott Pelley: Would the stores be part of this? Is there going to be a Schultz 2020 button on every green apron across the country?

Howard Schultz: Uh, no there would be a complete separation between me and the company.

Scott Pelley: What we know is that no independent has ever come close to winning.

Howard Schultz: What we know, factually, is that over 40 percent of the electorate is either a registered Independent or currently affiliates themselves as an Independent. Because the American people are exhausted. Their trust has been broken. And they are looking for a better choice.

Scott Pelley: What effect do you think being Jewish would have on your campaign?

Howard Schultz: I have great faith in the goodness and kindness of the American people. We elected an African-American president. I'm old enough to remember in 1960 when John F. Kennedy was running and there was an outcry of hate that no one Catholic should be president. I am Jewish, I have faith in God. I am not running as a Jew if I decide to run for president I'm running as an American who happens to be Jewish.

Scott Pelley: Would you release your tax returns?

Howard Schultz: 100 percent. Yes.

Scott Pelley: You know it's 'on' after this interview. President Trump is gonna be tweeting by about 8:00 Eastern Time.

Howard Schultz: You know, I'm –

Scott Pelley: Gonna say terrible things about you.

Howard Schultz: I think, like most people, I'm, I've become bored with President Trump and his tweets.

Some of the most influential forces in Democratic politics revolted Monday against former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s prospective presidential bid, insisting that an independent run would unintentionally help President Donald Trump win another four years in office.

The critics included the Democratic chairman of Schultz’s home state, another billionaire businessman who long flirted with an independent run of his own, former President Barack Obama’s chief strategist, and the most powerful super PAC in Democratic politics.

“If Schultz entered the race as an independent, we would consider him a target... We would do everything we can to ensure that his candidacy is unsuccessful,” said Patrick McHugh, executive director of Priorities USA, which spent nearly $200 million in the 2016 presidential contest.

Specifically, he seized on Schultz’s apparent willingness to cut entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security to narrow the federal deficit.

“The bottom line,” McHugh said, “is that I don’t think Americans are looking for another selfish billionaire to enter the race.”

The pushback in the early days of the 2020 campaign reflects the intensity Democrats are bringing to the race. The party is singularly focused on retaking the White House and anxious about any hurdle that would prevent them from seizing on Trump’s unpopularity.

While no independent has won the presidency since George Washington, Democrats fear that Schultz would almost certainly split their vote and give Trump an easier path to re-election. Yet Democrats concede that they had few tools to dissuade Schultz from launching an independent campaign — as he told CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday he was considering — though many were skeptical that he would actually follow through.

Schultz is being advised by a team with experience in both parties, including Steve Schmidt, who worked on Republican John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and Bill Burton, a Democrat who worked for President Barack Obama. Schultz’s team also includes Republican pollster Greg Strimple, GOP strategist Brooks Kochvar, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, a former journalist who has worked closely with Schultz since 2015.

The angry voices were far and wide, and they included Obama’s former chief strategist, David Axelrod, along with Democrats from Schultz’s home state.

“If Schultz decides to run as an independent,” Axelrod tweeted, Trump “should give Starbucks their Trump Tower space rent free! It would be a gift.”

Tina Podlodowski, the Democratic chairwoman in Washington state, where Schultz has lived for decades, discouraged him from running as an independent.

“A billionaire buying his way out of the entire primary process does not strengthen democracy,” she said. “It only makes it more likely that our democracy will be further strained under another four years of President Donald Trump.”

Perhaps trying to elevate Schultz, who is not well known among Democratic primary voters, Trump himself weighed in on Monday, tweeting that Schultz “doesn’t have the ‘guts’ to run for President.

On paper, Schultz offers a number of qualities that might appeal to voters. He grew up in public housing in New York City’s Brooklyn borough and became the first person in his family to graduate from college.

He’s also been a longtime Democratic donor, contributing to the campaigns of Obama, Hillary Clinton, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, among others. He has also criticized Trump, telling employees that the president was creating “chaos” and hurting business; calling Trump’s tax cuts for corporations unnecessary and reckless; and vowing to hire 10,000 refugees after Trump issued an executive order banning travel from seven mostly Muslim nations.

But some of his views might clash with a Democratic Party gearing up to unseat Trump.

Schultz has criticized proposals for single-payer health care and free tuition at public colleges as unrealistic and instead emphasized expanding the economy and curbing entitlements to get the national debt under control.

Dem primary is going to be a brawl, especially with Bernie's coup pitting standards for the whole

Top 3 hopefulls for me; Sherrod Brown, Warren, and Bernie(Although I'm still annoyed)

Would love to see Gillum throw his hat in the fire despite coming off a loss

Na Zdorovye and welcome to another round of Attempted Smear of Political Candidate Via Videos Of Their Youth Only Serves To Make Candidate More Appealing.

Forget dancing queen AOC or bangin’ Beto or even that unsettling video of teenage Ted Cruz plotting world domination — this grainy footage of a topless, hammered Bernie Sanders singing “This Land Is Your Land” in the Soviet Union blows them all out of the political shark-filled water.

Travis Justin, a Navy veteran and leader of “Draft Beto 2020,” a group that is urging Texas representative Beto O’Rourke to seek presidential election, apparently first posted the video to Twitter. “Recently discovered footage from 1988 reveals a shirtless Bernie Sanders with his wife, Jane, on their honeymoon in the USSR, drunkenly singing ‘This Land Is Your Land’ with a group of presumed Soviets,” Justin captioned the clip, which was surfaced by another Sanders detractor on Twitter.

It’s true that in 1988 Bernie and Jane Sanders spent time in the Soviet Union immediately after their wedding, but Sanders was the mayor of Burlington at the time, and the trip, to Burlington’s Soviet sister city, Yaroslavl, was a part of his official duties. Sanders wrote openly about it in his memoir, jokingly referring to it as a “honeymoon.”

The video, which somewhat hilariously features a shirtless Sanders belting out the lyrics to the Woody Guthrie classic with a table of apparent locals, does look like a good time. But, as Leonid Bershidsky wrote in Bloomberg of the alleged “honeymoon,” which was brought up during the 2016 primary debates to suggest that Sanders has Communist affiliations, the Soviet Union in 1988 was “hardly a place for an admirer of Communism to find comfort.”

Kamala Harris is getting tons of press and drew 20,000 recently. Would she be on your list of top 5?

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., offered a full-throated endorsement of a "Medicare for all" healthcare plan and called for the elimination of all private health insurance in the U.S.

“We need to have Medicare for all,” Harris, a 2020 Democratic presidential contender, said in response to a question on whether she would cut private insurers out of the American healthcare system at a CNN town hall in Iowa Monday night.

When pressed by CNN's Jake Tapper on if those people who enjoy their insurance could keep it, Harris said that it was time to "eliminate" all private health insurance

The idea is that everyone gets access to medical care and you don't have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through all the paperwork, all of the delay that may require," Harris said. "Who of all us have not had that situation where you have to wait for approval and the doctor says, 'I don't know if your insurance company is going to cover this.'"

“Let’s eliminate all of that,” she added. “Let’s move on.”

Harris is a co-signer of the Medicare for All Act authored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is likely to jump in the presidential race in the coming weeks or months.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz took a shot at the health care plan proposed by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) that would abolish private health insurance.

“That’s not correct, that’s not American. What’s next? What industry are we going to abolish next? The coffee industry?” asked Schultz on Tuesday during an appearance on “CBS This Morning.”

Schultz went on to say that he doesn’t agree with the desire from many Republicans who want to get rid of Affordable Care Act.

“I don’t agree with that. The Affordable Care Act should stay and it should be refined. But the thing we should get rid of is the insurance industry? Again, this is exactly the situation ― it’s far too extreme on both sides and the silent majority of America does not have a voice,” he said.

Outside of his response to Harris, Schultz has been very vocal about his feelings toward American health care in the last week, telling “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley: “Every American deserves the right to have access to quality health care but what the Democrats are proposing is something that is as false as the wall ― and that is free health care for all, which the country cannot afford.”

Trump was elected for many reasons the most important being Hillary was the worst candidate at the worst possible time.