As a soldier who was twice deployed to the Middle East, Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has seen first-hand the cost of war.
The 37-year-old Hawaiian Congresswoman came to Peterborough’s Post and Beam Brewing on Friday afternoon for a town hall-style event. Flanked by around 60 people on stools and chairs throughout the brewery, Gabbard spoke about stopping “wasteful wars” and standing up against “self-serving politicians” so that the needs of the people can come first.
“Until we end these wasteful wars and bring those trillions of dollars back to serve the needs of our people, we will continue to see the status quo continue,” Gabbard said. “… The trillions of dollars that are being spent to wage their wasteful wars is coming out of our pockets. And these are dollars we desperately need to provide these basic things.”
Gabbard said the current political structure in the United States is one in which many politicians put their own interests above those of the American people.
Funding for education and healthcare are always cut while spending on nuclear weapons and wars is still on the rise, Gabbard said.
“People in this country are continuing to be left behind by leaders in Washington that are so disconnected from the reality of the lives that we live in our communities every day. It is this corruption of spirit that is at the heart of these challenges we face,” Gabbard said.
Gabbard, who serves as a major in the Army National Guard, said there is plenty of bloat in the Department of Defense budget, but admitted there needs to be a balance between budget cuts and having a “ready-trained military at the size we need to keep our country safe.”
When asked by a member of the audience about how much could be cut from the budget, Gabbard said she didn’t want to throw out an arbitrary number.
In an ever-divided nation, Gabbard said the American people need to focus on standing up for what they believe in but do so in a way that respects others’ points of view.
“There are folks who cast that vote or frankly stayed home for different reasons that were not based on a racist, bigoted ideology,” Gabbard said, referring to those who voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
Gabbard spoke in support of legislation she has cosponsored that would help to end federal marijuana prohibition and provide Medicare to all.
“We’ve got a long way to go in this country to make this kind of shift because there are a lot of people that are afraid of the unknown. We’ve had this system of healthcare for a long time.,” Gabbard said.
Work also needs to be done to reform the criminal justice system, Gabbard said, so that drug addiction is no longer treated as a crime.
“When we look at these issues within the context of putting people and our planet ahead of politics and ahead of profits, we aren’t talking about partisan politics, we are talking about taking care of each other and protecting our future,” Gabbard said.
Eliza Dery of Peterborough and Meredith Stensaas of Jaffrey said they enjoyed Gabbard’s speech.
“We felt her presence was very calming and the tone of her voice was very methodical. We liked how she approached answering the questions,” Dery said.
Both said they are undecided about who they would vote for next year, but felt that Gabbard said enough to warrant at least a consideration.
“I appreciate how she could command the crowd well… and also the genuine nature of the things she was saying, caring for the individual people as opposed to the companies and large organization,” Stensaas said.
Lucius Sorrentino, chair of the Democratic Committee in Lyndeborough, said he came to Gabbard’s event because he has an interest in learning more about the “back-tier” candidates.
“I thought all her answers were good. General, but good,” Sorrentino said. “I like to look for specifics. How are you going to implement this? How are you going to make that program happen? Her answers were very good and proper, but I’m looking for more specifics.”
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com.