Tulsi Gabbard

“Unfortunately, sometimes our leaders, for their own political purposes, want us to think in terms of categories and groupings. Our group vs. this group vs. another group. This must end.”

“The best way to honor our troops, the less than 1% of our country's population who voluntarily put their lives on the line in service to our country, is by making sure that when they are sent into combat, it is the last option, not the first, and that the mission is worthy of their great sacrifice.”

“If we want to preserve the foundation of our democracy, it's vital that we find common ground that allows us to work for the greater good of this nation. This does not mean giving up our values. This does not mean swallowing a bitter compromise.”

“As was true in Iraq and Libya, the United States has no credible government or leader able to bring order, security, and freedom to the people of Syria if Assad is overthrown.”

“I am proud to be the first Hindu American to have been elected to Congress and now the first Hindu American to run for president.”

“As a combat veteran, I know the cost of war.”

“The Taliban didn't attack us on 9/11 - Al-Qaeda did. That's why I and other people joined the military - to go after Al Qaeda. Not the Taliban.”

“These days, it's often women in uniform - moms, wives, even grandmothers - who deploy and leave their families behind.”

“I am a military police officer and I have served on two deployments; my first was to Iraq, in a medical unit, and my second deployment was to Kuwait, as a military police platoon leader.”

“No matter where you're from, no matter what religion you practice, your ethnicity, race, or anything else - what is it that can bring us together as people? It is, what we call in Hawaii, aloha... sincere, deep love and respect for other people as children of God.”

“I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita because its teachings have inspired me to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country.”

“Hawaii is a special place because we have a very diverse population there, who are very respectful and tolerant of those who have differing opinions and different views.”

“I am a very firm believer in the Aloha spirit - respect and love for everyone, irrespective of their religion, race, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”

“There is no denying that the interventionist wars in Iraq and Libya that were propagated as necessary to relieve human suffering actually increased human suffering in those countries - many times over.”

“Hoping to garner the support of the American people, proponents of regime-change wars routinely cite humanitarian concerns to justify military intervention in foreign countries. But here is the reality: As a direct result of our intervention in Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, human suffering increased dramatically.”

“Every person has the freedom to choose to give their heart and give their life to God or not. You can't force someone to love God - or to love anyone.”

“We need to end our country's counterproductive regime change war policies that have undermined our national security, destroyed so many countries, and taken so many lives. We must instead focus on investing in and rebuilding our communities right here at home.”

“When I deployed to Iraq with my fellow soldiers, putting our lives on the line for our country, no one in the media questioned our patriotism because of our religion.”

“We must remember that this nation was founded by people fleeing religious persecution, risking everything to find a place to be free to worship as they chose or not to worship at all.”

“As progressives, we care about the well-being of others. We are soft-hearted and have aloha, respect, compassion for others, and we don't like to see anyone suffering.”