Omar’s the victim

The Daily Wire

Omar Suggests She Was A Victim Of 9/11, 

Refuses To Acknowledge Her Remarks Were Offensive

Ryan SaavedraSeptember 15, 2019

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images 

Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) refused to acknowledge on Sunday that her remarks trivializing the September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorist attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans were offensive and went so far as to suggest that she, herself, was a victim of the attack.

Omar, appearing on CBS News' "Face The Nation" with host Margaret Brennan, was asked by Brennan about her description of the terrorist attacks as "some people did something."

"Do you understand why people found that offensive?" Brennan asked.

Omar danced around the question, refusing to answer it while suggesting that she was a victim of 9/11: "I mean so, 9/11 was an attack on all Americans. It was an attack on all of us. And I certainly could not understand the weight of the pain that the victims of the- the families of 9/11 must feel."

"But I think it is really important for us to make sure that we are not forgetting, right, the aftermath of what happened after 9/11," Omar continued. "Many Americans found themselves now having their civil rights stripped from them. And so what I was speaking to was the fact that as a Muslim, not only was I suffering as an American who was attacked on that day, but the next day I woke up as my fellow Americans were now treating me a suspect."

WATCH:

Full transcript provided via CBS News:

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congresswoman, it's good to have you here.

REPRESENTATIVE ILHAN OMAR: Thank you so much for having me, MARGARET.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You heard what Chairman Schiff said. We know more than half of the Democratic caucus supports impeachment, now. You're among them. Do you think Speaker Pelosi is being too hesitant?

REP. OMAR: Well what I've always said was that it wasn't if we were going to impeach, it's when we were going to impeach, and I think it is okay for some people to have hesitations, for other people to catch up to where some of us have been for a really long time. And I think with Chairman Nadler, he understands that, you know, we have a constitutional duty and we must exercise that constitutional duty.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you think, though, because of the sheer numbers, now- I think there are one hundred and thirty six Democrats who support an impeachment inquiry at least- are we at a tipping point where those decisions need to be made?

REP. OMAR: Yes, and the decisions are being made. This is why they took the vote to begin the investigation and I really feel confident that they are in the process of getting everybody else who is still lagging to come along.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Now, we said in the introduction you're controversial. The Republican National Committee has released a video of you and it- I want to read you just some of it. You're comparing migrant shelters to dungeons used about 400 years ago in Ghana that you recently visited. And you toured those caves in Ghana recently. It's getting a lot of attention. Did you mean, when you were talking there, to compare U.S. border agents to slave traders?

REP. OMAR: So, I'm only controversial because people seem to want to- controversy. What I talked about at our panel that was the plight of black immigrants was about the experience I was having as I went through the dungeons. There were stories that were being told, and I talked about how at that moment I had an image of what's happening in Libya as- as people as- are being sold. We've- we've all seen that video, that auction of somebody being sold for 400 dollars. And then I talked about the separation stories that he told about how families were being torn apart, how children were being separated from their parents, how husband and wife would be forcibly separated. And I said that kind of reminded me of what was happening at our border here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But you didn't mean it as an attack on U.S. border agents?

REP. OMAR: Absolutely not. I think this is- this is always the point, right? There is always a- an implied intent to every conversation I have and if you listen to the video, one comparison of what the dungeons looked like and people being sold was to what's happening in North Africa and the other one was a family separations. And of course we obviously have a- a crisis here with our family separation policies.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You feel very passionately about immigration. You came to this country as a refugee.

REP. OMAR: I did.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The Trump administration had a victory in the courts this week because, at least temporarily, they're upholding the ability of the administration to put into place new restrictions on the ability to claim asylum here.

REP. OMAR: I- I believe that decision is morally and legally wrong. Seeking asylum is a legal right that people have and we know that the Supreme Court has been wrong before. They've been wrong in the equal but separation doctrine decision, they've been wrong in the Dred Scott decision, and so what we now have an opportunity to do as legislators is make sure that we are creating immigration policy that is humane and just.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well the Trump administration say they have to go and implement these regulations, that their hands are being tied because Congress just isn't doing its job.

REP. OMAR: Alright. We certainly in the House have been doing our job since the first day we got there. And--

MARGARET BRENNAN: So do asylum rights, as you argue, need to be more specifically laid out? Are you working on something like that?

REP. OMAR: Yeah, we are trying to make sure that we fix our broken immigration system. I mean, people have to understand that the immigration crisis that we have is one that we could avoid. And many of the policies that we've been advocating for, many that are currently sitting at the doorsteps of Mitch McConnell, will create a positive impact on how our immigration system is carried out.

MARGARET BRENNAN: This was the anniversary this week, the 18th, of the 9/11 attacks on our country. And at a Ground Zero- well- remembrance ceremony- I'll call it- the son of one of the victims stood up and specifically called out language you had used in the past that he characterized as not respectful when referring to the three thousand people who were killed by Al-Qaeda. You said, "some people did something," and he put it right there on his t-shirt. Do- do you understand why people found that offensive?

REP. OMAR: I mean so, 9/11 was an attack on all Americans. It was an attack on all of us. And I certainly could not understand the weight of the pain that the victims of the- the families of 9/11 must feel. But I think it is really important for us to make sure that we are not forgetting, right, the aftermath of what happened after 9/11. Many Americans found themselves now having their civil rights stripped from them. And so what I was speaking to was the fact that as a Muslim, not only was I suffering as an American who was attacked on that day, but the next day I woke up as my fellow Americans were now treating me a suspect.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you- do you feel like it's been tough for you, here in Washington, to change your rhetoric, to- to be less of an activist and try to be a legislator? That- that sometimes the language you use has gotten in your own way?

REP. OMAR: I certainly don't think that. You know, when we were celebrating few nights ago, I talked about how some people would say, "Ilhan, you should speak a certain way. Ilhan, you should do something a certain way," and I think that's contradictory, really, to the purpose of- of my existence in this space. I believe that my constituents sent me to make sure that I was bringing in a conversation that others weren't having, that I was speaking for people who felt voiceless for a long time. And I think it's really important for us to recognize that it's a new Congress. It's a diverse Congress and we're not only diverse in our race or ethnicity or religion, but we are also diverse in our perspective, in our pain and our struggles, and in the hopes and dreams that we have, and the kind of America that we want to shape for all of us.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You were specifically banned by the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu from visiting that country. He faces a very tough election in the next few days. If he doesn't win, are you going to try to go back and do you stand by your call for a boycott of Israel?

REP. OMAR: I certainly hope that the people of Israel make a different decision. And my hope is that they recognize that his existence, his policies, his rhetoric really is contradictory to the peace that we are all hoping that that region receives and receives soon. Just right now if you look at the annexation that's taking place, for many of us in Congress there has been long standing support for its two state solution and this annexation now is going to make sure that that peace process does not happen. And we will not get to a two state solution. I think what is really important is for people to understand that you have to give people the opportunity to seek the kind of justice they want in a peaceful way. And I think the opportunity to boycott divest sanction is the kind of pressure that leads to that peaceful process.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congresswoman, thank you for coming here to FACE THE NATION.

REP. OMAR: Thank you so much for having me.

Julián Castro On The Issues

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Where Does Julián Castro Stand On The Issues? Here's Everything You Need To Know.

Josh HammerSeptember 15, 2019

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images 

Julian Castro served as the U.S. secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from 2014 to 2017. He was the youngest member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet. A member of the Democratic Party, Castro previously served as mayor of his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, from 2009 to 2014 and as a member of the San Antonio City Council from 2001 to 2005. Castro's twin brother Joaquin, a fellow Democrat, has been the U.S. congressman for Texas' 20th congressional district since 2013. Castro is now seeking the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination, and he has recently polled in the low single digits.

Castro, who is of Mexican-American heritage, has a bachelor degree from Stanford University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. As a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Castro presents himself as a full-spectrum leftist/progressive. Perhaps above all else, Castro is particularly aggressive in his leftist advocacy on the issue of immigration.

Electoral History: 

Castro first successfully sought a seat on the San Antonio City Council in 2001; at the age of 26, he became the youngest city councilman in San Antonio's history. Castro then unsuccessfully sought the San Antonio mayorship in 2005, losing a run-off to Phil Hardberger. Castro successfully sought the San Antonio mayorship four years later, winning the May 2009 election with over 56% of the vote. At the time, he became the youngest mayor of one of America's 50 largest cities. Castro was easily re-elected to the San Antonio mayorship in 2011 and 2013. In 2012, he delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, thus foreshadowing his leap into the national political arena. He subsequently served as President Obama's HUD secretary from July 2014 through the end of Obama's presidency.

On The Issues: 

Although Castro has never held federal elected office or any state office, he presents himself as a full-spectrum progressive leftist. His 2020 presidential campaign is focused more heavily on immigration than it is on anything else. Castro also emphasizes criminal justice issues, and his campaign website laments "the frightening rate at which unarmed black and brown folks [are] killed by law enforcement officers across America."

Constitution: 

Although a lawyer by training, Castro does not have an extensive history of comments or espoused policies by which his views on the Constitution and rule of law can be assessed. Nonetheless, based on the sample size that is public, Castro seems to support a more robust federal regulatory role that is consistent with legal leftism's preference for more expansive federal power at the expense of state power. He was an aggressive enforcer of the Fair Housing Act, a key piece of federal government-empowering regulatory legislation, during his tenure as HUD secretary. Castro also supports eradicating the Electoral College. Furthermore, Castro supports repealing 8 U.SC. § 1325, which would make illegal entry into the United States a civil, rather than a criminal, offense. Finally, Castro emphatically supports Roe v. Wade.

Economy: 

Castro vocally supported NAFTA as the mayor of San Antonio, although he has called for increased progressive protections to assuage labor and environmental concerns. As San Antonio mayor, Castro also supported a tax hike to create a city-wide pre-kindergarten program. He supports raising taxes on the wealthy to try to finance his socialized medicine/"universal health care" proposal.

Health Care: 

Castro previously supported Obamacare but now supports a single-payer/"Medicare-for-All" health insurance system that would amount to a governmental takeover and imposition of socialized health care in America.

Immigration: 

Castro has taken a hard line in support of amnesty legislative initiatives that would undermine America's sovereignty and empower brutal Mexican cartels and human trafficking rings. Castro supports a full pathway to citizenship for most of America's illegal alien populace, including so-called "DREAM-ers." He has been a consistently harsh critic of the Trump administration's attempts to secure our border amidst a hitherto unprecedented influx of Central American migrants. Castro opposes a border wall with Mexico and supports decriminalizing illegal entry into the United States. He supports increasing refugee admissions and efforts to "strengthen family reunification" for illegal aliens. According to his campaign website, he supports "effectively end[ing] the use of detention in conducting immigration enforcement."

Foreign Policy: 

Castro has a thin record of public comments and proposed policies in the realm of foreign affairs, but he supports a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. He has also voiced support for the strong U.S. relationship with South Korea.

Abortion: 

Castro is emphatically pro-abortion and has not identified a single abortion restriction he would support. He strongly opposed a Texas law to ban abortions after 20 weeks' gestation. Castro has called for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which has historically proscribed taxpayer funding of abortion.

Guns: 

Castro has frequently espoused support for gun control policies that would infringe upon Americans' Second American rights. He supports expanded background checks and limitations or bans on certain weapons and magazines that are currently in wide distribution. Castro supports a ban on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called "assault weapons" — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America.

Kamala Harris On The Issues

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Where Does Kamala Harris Stand On The Issues? 

Here’s Everything You Need To Know.

Josh HammerSeptember 15, 2019

Ethan Miller/Getty Images 

Kamala Devi Harris has served since 2017 as the junior U.S. senator from California, serving alongside Dianne Feinstein. A member of the Democratic Party, Harris previously served as attorney general of California from 2011 – 2017 and as the district attorney of San Francisco from 2004 – 2011. Harris positions herself as a far-left progressive with appeal to both the "class warfare"/"economic justice" and the intersectionality/identity politics wings of the modern Democratic Party coalition. Nonetheless, Harris's professional past as a prosecutor has potential to prove problematic in a Democratic Party that is staunchly anti-prosecution, pro-criminal defendant, and anti-"mass incarceration."

Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, is married to fellow California attorney Douglas Emhoff. Her sister Maya Harris is an MNSBC political analyst, and her father Donald Harris is a Stanford University economics professor. Donald Harris entered the limelight earlier this year when he publicly criticized Kamala Harris' invocation of her Jamaican heritage in the context of explaining her prior marijuana usage. Harris has a bachelor degree from Howard University and attended law school at the University of California-Hastings.

Harris is now running for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination and has recently polled in third, fourth, or fifth place, behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and in close polling competition with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Electoral History: 

Harris, who had previously been a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, first sought elected political office by running for San Francisco district attorney in 2003. As San Francisco's district attorney, Harris established a special "Hate Crimes Unit" that focused on hate crimes against LGBT children and teenagers. She was re-elected in 2007, running unopposed. In 2010, Harris was elected as California attorney general, narrowly defeating Republican Steve Cooley. In 2014, she was re-elected as attorney general by a wider margin. Her tenure as attorney general included the prosecution of many financial and white-collar crimes. In 2016, Harris ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). She easily won the general election, securing 62% of California's state-wide vote.

On The Issues: 

Harris is a full-spectrum progressive who supports a far-left economic, social, and national security agenda. She is fiercely defensive of abortion rights, supports curtailing Second Amendment rights, supports single-payer/"Medicare for All" health insurance, supports marijuana legalization, and favors sanctuary cities and other sovereignty-undermining, pro-amnesty immigration policies.

Constitution: 

Harris was sometimes floated as a possible U.S. Supreme Court nominee while serving as California attorney general during the Obama administration. She is a legal progressive, notably assisting on a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief in 2008 that argued that Washington, D.C.'s highly restrictive anti-handgun law — later invalidated in the landmark decision of D.C. v. Heller — did not violate the Second Amendment. Harris also refused to defend California's erstwhile conjugal marriage law as attorney general. Her proposed "Reproductive Rights Act," which is modeled after the 1965 Voting Rights Act, would subjugate many states to the whims of the federal government and would radically invert the original Madisonian conception of federalism. As a member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee during President Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Harris came out in full support of accuser Christine Blasey Ford and opposed Kavanaugh's nomination.

Economy: 

Harris supports tax hikes on wealthier Americans and subscribes to much of the "zero-sum"/"class warfare"-inspired rhetoric that imbues contemporary leftist economic thinking. She supports expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, which many conservative economic policy wonks would prefer to see phased out and replaced with a low-income wage subsidy. She supports a robust governmental role for regulation of the financial services industry.

Health Care: 

Harris supports single-payer/"Medicare for All," which effectively amounts to a governmental takeover of medicine in America. She has called for the total elimination of private health insurance, although she has recently equivocated on total elimination. She has supported legislation that would increase Obamacare subsidies.

Immigration: 

Harris has vocally supported the criminal alien-harboring sanctuary city policies of her home state of California, and has taken a hard line in support of the DREAM Act and other amnesty legislative initiatives that would undermine America's sovereignty and empower brutal Mexican cartels and human trafficking rings. She has been a consistently harsh critic of the Trump administration's attempts to secure our border amidst a hitherto unprecedented influx of Central American migrants.

Foreign Policy: 

Harris has been relatively supportive of Israel, within the broader context of the increasingly anti-Israel Democratic Party, but she still personally boycotted AIPAC's 2019 national policy conference. Harris opposed President Donald Trump's removal of the U.S. from President Barack Obama's Iran nuclear deal and has consistently voiced opposition to continued military aid for Saudi Arabia, Iran's chief regional nemesis. She supports a more robust congressional role, and a decreased role for the presidency, in the sphere of foreign relations and military action abroad.

Abortion: 

Harris is emphatically pro-abortion and supports ending the Hyde Amendment, which has historically banned taxpayer funding of abortion. Harris strongly supports Roe v. Wade and has proposed a dubiously constitutional "Reproductive Rights Act" that would attempt to secure abortion rights via a similar legal mechanism that the 1965 Voting Rights Act utilized to advance voting rights.

Guns: 

Harris is a consistent supporter of anti-gun policies that would restrict American's free exercise of their Second Amendment rights. She has promised to unilaterally advance amorphous "executive actions" on guns if she were elected to the presidency. With the exception of Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), it is possible that no other current 2020 Democratic presidential candidate has made anti-gun policies such a focal point of his/her public political profile. Harris supports a ban on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called "assault weapons" — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America. Harris has also endorsed 2020 rival Beto O'Roure's gun confiscation plan.

Cory Booker On The Issues

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Where Does Cory Booker Stand On The Issues? 

Here’s Everything You Need To Know.

Josh HammerSeptember 15, 2019

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 

Cory Anthony Booker has served since 2013 as the junior U.S. senator from New Jersey, serving alongside Bob Menendez. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker previously served as the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, from 2006 – 2013. Although born in Washington, D.C., Booker was raised in the northern New Jersey suburbs outside New York City. Although Booker once positioned himself as somewhat of a moderate, he has voted in the U.S. Senate as — and now seeks the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination as — a hard-left, full-spectrum progressive leftist. In current 2020 Democratic presidential nomination polling, Booker currently gets national support in the low single digits. In current state-by-state Democratic presidential primary polling, he is very dependent upon black voters for support.

Booker, who is the first African-American U.S. senator from New Jersey, is unmarried and is an open vegetarian. For political purposes, he once fabricated an imaginary drug dealer "friend" named "T-Bone." Booker similarly showed his "creative" side when, as a senator on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee during President Donald Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, he infamously self-induced a "Spartacus moment."

Booker has a bachelor and master degree from Stanford University, attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and went to law school at Yale University.

Electoral History: 

Booker first sought political office in 1998, when he successfully ran for a seat on the Newark, New Jersey, municipal council. He served on the council until 2002, when he forfeited his councilman seat by deciding to run for the Newark mayorship. Booker lost his 2002 race to incumbent Sharpe James. Booker ran again for Newark mayor in 2006, when James decided to forfeit the mayorship to run for the New Jersey State Senate instead. Booker overwhelmingly won the 2006 mayor race and was also re-elected in 2010. Booker cultivated a moderate reputation as Newark mayor, supporting school choice policies, friendliness with the business community, and expressing sympathy with Israel.

In 2013, Booker announced that he would run in the special election for the U.S. Senate seat that had been held by Frank Lautenberg before he passed away. Booker easily won the special election over Republican Steve Lonegan and has served as a U.S. senator ever since.

On The Issues: 

Although Booker once positioned himself as a moderate, he is now seeking the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination as one of the most avowedly leftist members of the field. Booker is adamantly pro-criminal defendant and anti-incarceration, and has made prison population reduction and "criminal justice reform" a huge part of his policy platform. He is a full-spectrum economic, social, and national security progressive leftist. Indeed, on Israel-related issues, Booker has so greatly abandoned his erstwhile staunch Zionism that notable Orthodox rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a formerly close friend and mentor of Booker's, now refuses to even speak with him.

Constitution: 

Booker consistently supports a leftist/progressive view of the Constitution and rule of law. He supports Roe v. Wade and the constitutionality of affirmative action. He is defensive of Fourth Amendment-inspired civil liberties and has objected to aspects of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs. He supports gun control measures that would restrict Americans' Second Amendment rights. He supported the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Obergefell v. Hodges, which declared same-sex nuptials to be a Fourteenth Amendment right. Booker has suggested support for eradicating the Electoral College. As a member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee during President Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Booker — who infamously had his "Spartacus moment" during the hearing — came out in full support of accuser Christine Blasey Ford and opposed Kavanaugh's nomination.

Economy: 

As Newark mayor, Booker cultivated a reputation as a relatively centrist, pro-business Democrat — even going so far as to criticize President Barack Obama's criticism of Bain Capital during his 2012 presidential election campaign against former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. But Booker's economic views have generally shifted leftward since joining the U.S. Senate. He supports a robust role for antitrust enforcement in the economy, and also supports an expansive federal government role in the promoting and subsidization of affordable housing. On occasion, however, Booker has still spoken of excessive regulation as a hindrance to private economic innovation.

Health Care: 

Booker has criticized Obamacare for not going far enough and has supported a single-payer/"Medicare-for-All" health insurance system that would amount to a governmental takeover and imposition of socialized health care in America. In the interim, Booker has also supported expanding Obamacare subsidies. He has opposed efforts to reform or limit funding for bankrupting health care-related entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Immigration: 

Booker has taken a hard line in support of the DREAM Act and other amnesty legislative initiatives that would undermine America's sovereignty and empower brutal Mexican cartels and human trafficking rings. He has been a consistently harsh critic of the Trump administration's attempts to secure our border amidst a hitherto unprecedented influx there of Central American migrants. Booker has been harshly critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the Trump administration. He has been very skeptical of the utility of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Foreign Policy: 

Booker was once emphatically pro-Israel, due perhaps to his erstwhile deep exposure to Jewish learning and thought. But perhaps for political reasons, Booker has soured greatly on Israel — has supported Obama's Iran nuclear deal, opposed Trump's move of the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and even voted against Senate Republicans' anti-BDS legislation early in 2019. He generally takes a non-interventionist foreign policy posture and has supported efforts to limit U.S. military funding of Saudi Arabia, Iran's top regional foe. He supports a return to the Iran nuclear deal.

Abortion: 

Booker is emphatically pro-abortion and, like many of his 2020 Democratic presidential nomination challengers, has called for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which has historically proscribed taxpayer funding of abortion.

Guns: 

Booker supports "universal" background checks, which often serve as a rhetorical euphemism for the government serving as an intermediary in all private firearms transfers. He supports a national gun registry, which is a longtime foe of Second Amendment advocates. Booker supports a ban on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called "assault weapons" — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America. Booker has also endorsed 2020 rival Beto O'Roure's gun confiscation plan.

Elizabeth Warren On The Issues

The Daily Wire

Where Does Elizabeth Warren Stand On The Issues? 

Here’s Everything You Need To Know.

Josh HammerSeptember 15, 2019

Drew Angerer/Getty Images 

Elizabeth Ann Warren has served since 2013 as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Harvard Law School professor, Warren is a firm progressive who routinely takes far-left, populist-inspired political stances on policies pertaining to the economy and the regulatory state. Warren, who has a checkered and controversial past with respect to her alleged — but scientifically dubious — Cherokee ancestry, was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in Oklahoma. She attended George Washington University before attaining a bachelor's degree at the University of Houston. She went to law school at Rutgers University.

Warren's first marriage ended in divorce, and she is now married to Bruce Mann, who is also a Harvard Law School professor. Warren has two children.

Warren's debatable claim to partial Cherokee ancestry has been the source of much drama and partisan bickering. In late 2018, Warren released the results of a DNA test that showed she might be as little as 1/1024th Cherokee. She was subsequently criticized by the Cherokee Nation.

Warren's far-left economic and social stances, which were somewhat avant-garde at the time of her election to the U.S. Senate, are now mainstream for the Democratic Party. Prior to her election to the Senate, Warren was instrumental in the development and founding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which was created by the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Conservatives have routinely assailed the CFPB as being unnecessarily intrusive, unconstitutionally funded, and unconstitutionally structured.

She is now running for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination and has recently polled in third place, behind only former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Electoral History: 

Warren first sought political office in 2012. She defeated incumbent Senator Scott Brown (R-MA), who had previously won a special election in 2010 after the death of decades-long leftist icon Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). She was easily re-elected in 2018.

On The Issues: 

Warren is a hard-left progressive who often takes the most left-wing stance possible on any given legal or public policy issue. Similar to Bernie Sanders, Warren is well known for her populist "class warfare"-style rhetoric that rhetorically and substantively pits the working and middle classes against the wealthy. She has generally supported anti-capitalistic and anti-growth economic policies, heavy-handed government regulation over the private economy, robust labor unions, and the Nordic model of a sprawling welfare state. Along with Sanders, Warren's views on economics and the proper size and scope of government place her firmly on the leftward flank of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate field.

Constitution: 

Warren, a former law professor who specialized in bankruptcy law, is a legal progressive — in the mold of FDR-era "New Deal" jurists — who believes that the Constitution grants the federal government broad powers to regulate the economy. Like many leftists, she takes a hard line on antitrust enforcement. Warren has been heralded by the Left as the brainchild of the CFPB, which conservatives have consistently criticized on grounds of general regulatory heavy-handedness, its "independent" funding by the Federal Reserve instead of by congressional appropriation, and its only dubiously constitutional governing structure. She is strongly critical of the free speech-affirming 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. F.E.C. Warren has called for eradicating the Electoral College.

Economy: 

Warren's economic views likely place her to the left of every 2020 Democratic presidential candidate outside of Bernie Sanders himself. She is a Keynesian who supports higher spending, the purported "benefits" of deficit spending, higher taxation (especially on wealthier Americans), mass redistribution via expansive Nordic-style welfare state programs, and a broader governmental role in infrastructure spending. As part of her 2020 campaign, Warren has proposed a wealth tax (of only arguable constitutionality) that would impose a 2% annual tax on household net worths above $50 million and a 3% annual tax on net household worths above $1 billion. Warren has proposed an elaborate student loan forgiveness plan as part of her 2020 campaign, although critics allege that most of the benefits of the plan accrue to the wealthy.

Health Care: 

Warren, who has long been a supporter of Obamacare, now campaigns in support of a single-payer/"Medicare for All" health insurance system. She has described health care as a "basic human right." She routinely speaks in populist terms against the purported greed of health insurance companies.

Immigration: 

Warren supports the DREAM Act and routinely supports other amnesty/pro-illegal immigration policies that would magnetize America's southern border and incentivize dangerous cartels and human trafficking rings to transport Central American migrants up through Mexico. She has frequently been a fierce critic of the Trump administration's border security initiatives, although she was silent as the Obama administration pursued many similar detention facility-centric policies for prospective asylum seekers.

Foreign Policy: 

Throughout her Senate career, Warren has consistently advanced a leftist foreign policy that is relatively soft on America's major geopolitical foes and relatively harsh on America's major geopolitical allies. She supports a "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has often been critical of Israel's need to robustly defend itself amid a sea of existential enemies surrounding it. Warren has disingenuously implied that congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has merely engaged in criticism of Israel's present government, rather than also engaging in overt anti-Semitism. She has opposed anti-BDS legislation. She has supported arms control initiatives, especially with Russia. Warren supported President Obama's Iran nuclear deal and opposed President Trump's exiting the U.S. from the deal. She consistently supports a stronger congressional role in the conduct of foreign policy and militarism overseas.

Abortion: 

Warren is adamantly pro-abortion and believes strongly that Roe v. Wade was correctly decided.

Guns: 

Warren has frequently supported gun control policies that would infringe upon Americans' Second American rights. She supports expanded background checks, limitations or bans on certain weapons and magazines that are currently in wide distribution, and supports controversial "red flag" gun legislation. Warren supports a ban on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called "assault weapons" — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America.

Tulsi Gabbard On The Issues

The Daily Wire

Where Does Tulsi Gabbard Stand On The Issues? 

Here’s Everything You Need To Know.

Josh HammerSeptember 15, 2019

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images 

Tulsi Gabbard has served since 2013 as the U.S. congresswoman for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District — a sprawling district that covers large swaths of Oahu/Honolulu County and the entire state outside Oahu. A member of the Democratic Party, Gabbard served as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2013 to 2016. Prior to her service in Congress, Gabbard served in the Hawaii state legislature and as a member of the Honolulu City Council. At the time of her initial successful run for the state legislature, Gabbard was only 21 years old.

Gabbard was born in American Samoa and is of mixed ethnic/religious background. Her Samoan father is a Catholic, and her Hoosier State native mother is a practicing Hindu; Gabbard herself is a practicing Hindu. Gabbard, who has a bachelor degree from Hawaii Pacific University, is a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard. She was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005 as part of a medical field unit, and was subsequently deployed to Kuwait from 2008 to 2009.

Gabbard, a 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate, is known for being a full-spectrum, far-left progressive who embraces social leftism, far-left economic policies, and a staunchly non-interventionist foreign policy. Perhaps above all else, she is known for her longstanding and unusually collegial ties with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who is supported by the Iranian and Russian regimes.

Electoral History:

 Gabbard first sought elected office in 2002, when she won her first election to the Hawaii state legislature. Gabbard was only 21 years old at the time. She served in the Hawaii House of Representatives until 2004, and subsequently served as a member of the Honolulu City Council from 2011 to 2012. She spent part of her time between the two political stints deployed in the Middle East with the Hawaii Army National Guard. She attained the rank of major in the National Guard in 2015.

Gabbard first ran for Congress in November 2012, shortly after being featured as a speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. She was elected in a landslide in Hawaii's deep-blue 2nd Congressional District. The seat had been previously occupied by Mazie Hirono, who is now the state's junior U.S. senator. Gabbard was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2014, 2016, and 2018.

On The Issues: 

Gabbard is a full-spectrum progressive, although she was more conservative on some social issues earlier in her political activism and nascent political career. Above all else, she is known for her hardline non-interventionist foreign policy that mollycoddles the brutal dictator and primary overseer of the Syrian Civilian War, Bashar al-Assad. Due to her fondness for Assad, other staunchly anti-American enemy regimes, such as Russia and Iran, have also warmed up to and even promoted Gabbard over the course of her political career.

Constitution:

 Gabbard often supports a leftist/progressive view of the Constitution and rule of law, although she has resisted calls to eradicate the Electoral College and the U.S. Senate's legislative filibuster. She supports gun control measures that would restrict Americans' Second Amendment rights. Gabbard has opposed charges against infamous National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and international scofflaw Julian Assange, each of whom has been viewed positively by some in the Russia-cozy, hardline "civil libertarian" community.

Economy: 

Gabbard supports the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act financial services deregulation legislation — the Clinton-era repeal of which has been blamed by many leftists as a leading cause of the 2008 financial crisis. Like many of her fellow 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidates, Gabbard supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. She opposes President Donald Trump's tax cuts and has criticized the U.S. Department of Defense's spending priorities. Gabbard supports raising taxes on the wealthy to support her socialized medicine proposal.

Health Care: 

Gabbard supports a single-payer/"Medicare-for-All" health insurance system that would amount to a governmental takeover and imposition of socialized health care in America.

Immigration: 

Gabbard supports amnesty for so-called "DREAM-ers," and is generally supportive of other amnesty legislative initiatives that would undermine America's sovereignty and empower brutal Mexican cartels and human trafficking rings. She has been a consistently harsh critic of the Trump administration's attempts to secure our border amidst a hitherto unprecedented influx there of Central American migrants. Specifically, Gabbard has criticized "the Trump administration's use of children as pawns in the immigration debate."

Foreign Policy: 

Above all else, Gabbard is known for her hardline opposition to U.S. interventionism overseas. She consistently opposes U.S. military engagements in the Middle East and supports bringing home troops from far-flung locales such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Gabbard has been an unusually close ally of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad — consistently opposing U.S. interventions in Syria, clandestinely meeting Assad in Syria in the past, and refusing to call him a "war criminal." Gabbard supported President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran and has been a critic of the Trump administration's more hawkish approach to the terrorist mullocracy in Tehran. Gabbard has been critical of U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which is Iran's preeminent Sunni rival in the Middle East.

Abortion: 

Gabbard is emphatically pro-abortion and, like many of her 2020 Democratic presidential nomination challengers, has suggested that she would support repealing the Hyde Amendment, which has historically proscribed taxpayer funding of abortion. She has voted against a proposed 20-week abortion ban. However, in September 2019, Gabbard came out in favor of regulating abortion in the third trimester.

Guns: 

Gabbard supports a myriad of policies that would curtail Americans' Second Amendment rights. She supports "universal" background checks, which often serve as a rhetorical euphemism for the government functioning as an intermediary in all private firearms transfers. Gabbard supports a ban on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called "assault weapons" — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America. Nonetheless, she was one of the few House Democrats to support a 2017 measure that sought to further protect veterans' gun rights.

Joe Biden On The Issues

The daily wire

Where Does Joe Biden Stand On The Issues? 

Here’s Everything You Need To Know.

Josh HammerSeptember 16, 2019

Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg via Getty Images 

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. served as the 47th Vice President of the United States from 2009–2017 and is currently the polling leader for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination. Prior to that, he served as a U.S. senator from Delaware from 1973–2009. Biden, a Pennsylvania native and member of the Democratic Party, grew up in a Catholic family. He attained his bachelor's degree at the University of Delaware and attended law school at Syracuse University. After law school, he worked in Delaware, both as a public defender and in private legal practice.

Biden first married Neilia Biden (née Hunter), who tragically died — along with the couple's one-year-old daughter Naomi — in a car accident shortly after Biden's first U.S. Senate electoral victory in November 1972. Along with Naomi, Biden and Neilia also had two other children: Sons Beau and Hunter. Beau died at the age of 46, while Biden was serving as vice president, due to brain cancer. Biden eventually married Jill Biden (née Jacobs) in 1977 and the couple has had one child together, Ashley.

In 2008, Biden made history by being the running mate to the first black American to be elected to the office of president of the United States, Barack Obama.

Electoral History: 

Biden first successfully sought elected office in 1969, when he ran for New Castle County Council in suburban Delaware. Biden then ran for U.S. Senate in 1972, narrowly defeating incumbent Republican J. Caleb Boggs. Biden served in the Senate for seven terms, including a notable stretch as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987–1995. As Senate Judiciary Committee chairman during this period, Biden oversaw the committee's vetting of various U.S. Supreme Court nominations from Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Later, in the 2000s, Biden also served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The 2020 election marks the third time that Biden has sought the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. In 1988, Biden ran for president, although his campaign proved short-lived after allegations of perjury surfaced. In 2008, Biden ran a foreign policy-centric campaign that focused largely on his plan to divide Iraq into different religious/ethnic-based political units. He dropped out after the Iowa caucuses and was eventually named as the vice presidential running mate to 2008 Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama.

In 2008, Obama and Biden prevailed over U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin by an Electoral College margin of 365–173. In 2012, Obama and Biden successfully sought re-election, defeating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and running mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) by an Electoral College margin of 332–206.

Biden has long had a penchant for verbal gaffes. His political campaigning style, which some believe to be highly up-close and personal, has led some to nickname him "Uncle Joe."

On The Issues: 

Although Biden now presents himself as a moderate, centrist figure, the totality of his political career, overall, suggests that he is a firm leftist. Biden has dabbled at times in moderation, including previous support for tough-on-crime legislation and his longstanding stance that he is "personally pro-life" despite his support of legalized abortion. However, he has long been a progressive on legal issues, economic issues, and foreign policy issues, and even preempted President Obama's "evolution" when, in 2012, he confirmed that he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage.

Constitution: 

As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987–1995, Biden oversaw two of the most contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations in recent memory: Those of Reagan nominee Robert Bork and Bush nominee Clarence Thomas. Along with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Biden helped orchestrate and lead the personally nasty, full-frontal assault that ultimately resulted in the Bork nomination's failure. Biden's legislative posture has indicated an expansive view of congressional regulatory power: He helped lead the passing of the Violence Against Women Act, which was partially invalidated on constitutional grounds by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.

Economy: 

Biden is best described as a Keynesian who believes in the purported economic benefits of large-scale government investments and deficit spending. Along with then-President Obama, Biden shepherded through a massive fiscal stimulus package in the duo's first year in office, oversaw the passing of the regulation-heavy Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, dramatically expanded the national debt, and hiked income taxes on the wealthy. Biden has long been supportive of a greater federal role in infrastructure spending. On the issue of trade, Biden voted for NAFTA in 1993. Biden has opposed the privatization of Social Security.

Health Care: 

Along with Obama, Biden helped oversee the 2010 passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare. Obamacare radically reshaped the individual market for health insurance, infamously included a tax/mandate to purchase health insurance, and generally dramatically expanded the role of government in the regulation and provision of health care. There is likely no Obama/Biden agenda item that conservatives have more consistently opposed than Obamacare. Biden has never indicated any willingness to structurally reform fiscally ruinous health care-related entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. As part of his 2020 presidential nomination platform, Biden has claimed opposition to "Medicare for All."

Immigration: 

Biden voted for the George W. Bush-era Secure Fence Act of 2006, but has also consistently supported amnesty policies throughout his career — including the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 and the failed "Gang of Eight" immigration bill in 2013. Biden served as vice president when Obama issued two major unilateral executive amnesties, DACA in 2012 and DAPA in 2014 — each of which has been fiercely opposed by conservatives and has been challenged in high-profile lawsuits.

Foreign Policy: 

Biden has cultivated a largely dovish foreign policy profile, although he did vote in favor of authorizing the Iraq War in 2003. As vice president, Biden was a leading proponent for and cheerleader of President Obama's 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran — a deal which flushed the terror-supporting mullahs' coffers with cash and did not place any restrictions whatsoever on Iran's non-nuclear ballistic missile program. During his 2008 presidential campaign, Biden pushed hard for a solution to the Iraqi quagmire that divided the troubled nation into discrete Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish semi-autonomous sections. Although a self-described friend of Israel, Biden has often been harshly critical of Israel's treatment of the Palestinian-Arabs and allegedly once threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Israel. Along with Obama, Biden as vice president took steps to loosen the U.S.'s longstanding embargo on Cuba, although the U.S. received no tangible concessions from Cuba's communist dictatorship before doing so.

Abortion: 

Biden described himself as "personally pro-life" while nonetheless believing that Roe v. Wade was correctly decided and that women have a constitutional right to abortion. For decades, Biden supported the Hyde Amendment — which prohibits federal funding of abortion — but flipped his position in 2019 to appease the hard-left Democratic activists who now comprise the base of the party.

Guns: 

Biden was a leading proponent and sponsor of the federal "assault weapons" ban, a subset of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Throughout his career, he has generally been supportive of curtailing Second Amendment rights. Biden has also supported mandating five-day waiting periods for gun purchases, as well as closing the alleged "gun show loophole." Biden supports a ban on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called "assault weapons" — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America.