Director at here at the New Hampshire institute of politics. This is a special series we have and we continue on today. Just a quick note, we have a new president of sane and some college and we are very proud. He has just arrived here a month ago this is his first politics and eggs. So this is a wonderful occasion and of course we will probably have a little more activity between now and february. But i everyone can recognize dr. Joseph ozzie. Joe for bazi . [applause] here are theonsors people that allow us to have some breakfast, we have wonderful new sponsors, particularly fed cap is our newest sponsor and we have the president Christine Mcmahon here today. We also have their board chair odonoghue, mark and Carol Kellerman are here today. Just a side note that carl worked for senator kennedy in the 1980 campaign. She was telling me stories about that last night. It was great. Thats when other recognition that todd fahey is here from aarp, leading aarp through a interesting time. And our wonderful primary with all of the political act to be. Todd. [applause] on saturday New Hampshire theres going to be a few people running for president that are going to be in the state. That is because the Democratic Party has just a huge event taking place across the river. This is really good for our primary. It really is. Buckley is here. I want to recognize him. He is a big event tomorrow. [applause] no sleep tonight. Partner inour politics and eggs is the new england council, new englands chamber of commerce. It is an amazing organization. Many, many members. Addicts course a great leader, jim brett. Leader,f course a great jim brett. Thank you, neil. I want to thank neil for all the hard work he does and his great staff, New Hampshire institute of politics. I just spoke to the president and he told me, im going to stop all the interviews. Youre staying. Youre here. That is good news for all of us. I just want to congratulate the president for being selected to be the leader of this extraordinary college here. Im not surprised they had to go to commonwealth of massachusetts to get him. At stonehill college, another great college. We wish you much success here. A great legacy here, great reputation. I know you will do very well here. The politics and eggs series sponsors, all of them around the room, as neil alluded to have anyone today, the granite pathways. Just from ever all the other banners here, they are really good corporate citizens of New Hampshire. And really new england. If you see anyone who is affiliated with any of these companies, you should thank them for allowing us to have this wonderful, wonderful series here , politics and eggs. It would not be possible without their generous support. Tell you quickly account nerve events for the new and good counsel, a couple of events coming up you may be interested in attending. David cicilline of rhode island, the first Congressional District be speaking in providence in next week. Senator angus king of maine will be speaking to the newington council, congressman jim govern will be speaking to the newington council. Congressman joe courtney of connecticut will be speaking to the new england council, all this month. Some temer 17th we will host a speaker of the british house of commons, john broke out. And janelle i think it will be an interesting session in light of what is going on in and neil i think it will be an interesting session in light of what is going on in london and in harlem it. We will also host chris murphy of connecticut for the capital conversation series and washington, d. C. And finally next month, we announced our honorees for when he 19 annual dinner that will be held in boston with 1700 people from all six New England States coming together. One of the recipients will be your own senator maggie hassan. We are delighted. Today needless to say, we are delighted to welcome as we say a loja, to our good friend congresswoman Kelsey Gabbard as she campaigns for the 2020 president ial nomination here in the great granite state. If elected she would make history as the first female combat veteran to serve as president of the United States. Reading her bio, she has a knack for making history. She was elected to the Hawaii State Legislature urged it thousand two, she was just 21 years old becoming the youngest member ever elected in that wonderful state. Went she was elected to the house of representatives in washington 2012, she was the of along with being the second female combat veteran along with tammy duckworth. Experience in the middle east and Army National guard having served two tours of duty. Hasservice in the military been an incredible asset to her as a member of the first of the House Armed Services committee, where she has drawn upon her firsthand experience to advocate for our men and women in uniform, our veterans, and our national security. She also serves on the House Financial Services committee where she has worked to advance financial banking and how it and housing policies that will best serve the american people. Today she is running for president of the United States on a platform of ending regime change wars that have cost trillions of dollars and instead invest in Quality Health care, education and a green economy. We are truly honored that she could take time to visit politics and eggs to tell us more about her vision for our great nation. Please join me in welcoming the honorable congresswoman from the great state of honolulu, hawaii, tulsi gabbard. [applause] ms. Gabbard thank you, jim. Im impressed that both of you started out the conversation this morning with aloha. Bringing that from hawaii. Thank you so much for this opportunity and platform to be able to have a great conversation about where we are as a country and where i believe we need to go. A few thank yous first, neil, you have been incredible. There he is. Been incredible to get this all together and thank you very much mr. President and the college for hosting this. As well as the new england england council, thank you, jim for your leadership and helping to support and provide this platform. I also want to say thanks to my friend ray buckley. We served as vice chairs of the dnc together and grateful for the leadership you are continuing to provide. Especially during this very busy democratic primary. We have before us. I will start with aloha, because he opens the conversation with it. I think its a very relevant word to deal with what we are facing in this country. How many of you been to hawaii before . Good. Almost half of you. Youre familiar with the word aloha. A lot of people dont know it means a lot more than just hello and goodbye. Is ieal meaning of aloha, come to you with respect, i come andou with an open heart care and compassion, a recognition that we are all connected that we are all children of god and connected regardless , of where we come from, race, religion and orientation, all of the things in this current Political Climate are unfortunately too often used as wedges to divide us. Its really disheartening. This hyperpartisanship and hyper divisive politics is undermining the values and principles we hold dear as americans. The principles that we hold dear as a country. Why we love our country. And so i am really inspired as we go through this campaign, we are visiting different communities small towns, cities in different , states across the country, because people are coming up in droves inspired by this love of country. Yes, disheartened and frustrated with the status quo, but driven by the motivation saying the only way we bring about real solutions, the only way we bring about real change is by we the people standing up. And exercising our rights through our democracy to be the change. To be the solution. Recognizing that we cannot just point our fingers in both directions that they can somebody else will come in and save the day. Our elections are so important. Because it is when we the people stand up that we can really bring about that change we need to see. It is important that this be driven by love of country. This recognition that united we stand and divided we fall. Whether it talking about our politics or ideas or the color of our skin or webby come from, how we worship or if you worship, all of these things pick up that beautifully diverse fabric of who we are as a country and remind us of how important it is that we stand up and fight for our freedoms. That we take nothing for granted. And that we stand and protect these freedoms that allow us to continue to strive towards that more Perfect Union that we have. One of the main centers of frustration that we see in our current system, why unfortunately in the past we have seen so many people staying home and not voting at all, is they feel like they have been left behind. This vision that Abraham Lincoln set out of having a government that is truly of, by, and for the people has not been carried out. There is a few people in they feel Like Washington who are in positions of great power who are holding onto that power to serve their own interests while the voices of the people are not being heard. And the consequences of that and you see this in New Hampshire, you are very involved in the elections process election after election, we find ourselves talking about the same problems. Over and over and over again. That these problems are not being solved. Actually being solved. Maybe we put a bandaid on it or talk about it for a minute while it is in the headlines, but then goes away and Something Else pops up. Meanwhile, the people suffering as a result of that problem, whether healthcare or immigration, broken criminal Justice System, failing infrastructure, climate change, these things capture the imagination or the conversation for a moment, then it moves on to Something Else, but the problems remain. Why is that . Why is that . It is because our government is not fulfilling this essential mission of Service First and foremost to the people of our country. Jim mentioned in his introduction i am a soldier, i still serve in the Army National guard. This past april was my 16 year anniversary. A few weeks ago i did my two weeks of active army duty and training, a mission that took place in indonesia, a joint Training Exercise with the Indonesian Military. We have a small group from the hawaii air and Army National guard working with officers in the Indonesian Military from across all branches of their military. The focus of this specific Training Exercise reinforced the principle that has been drilled into me as a soldier for as long as i have been in the military. That principle was a problemsolving mindset. It really struck me how essential this is obviously for planning successful military operations, but how relevant it is to the challenges we are facing as a country both in Foreign Policy as well as domestic policy. A problemsolving mindset. Three basic steps that go into this problemsolving mindset. First of all, the need to understand the current situation, that we cannot even begin to understand the problem unless we understand where we are. Not looking through things through rosecolored glasses, not looking through things only through a partisan lens, but really being a realist and understanding the situation, the challenges we face. Number two, understanding the situation, being able to really define the problem. If we step back and really think about the challenges that we face, how often do we see the inability to solve the problem if we dont understand the root cause . We have to understand and define the problem, which leads to the third step, being able to identify a clear, achievable goal. Each of these three steps being essential to being able to actually really solve the problems that we face. I think there is a lot of different examples that we can point to throughout our recent history, both here at home as well as our Foreign Policy. Domestic challenges. Health care continues to be the top of mind issue for folks across this country, as we see even as there has been progress made, there are still tens of Million People who are either completely uninsured or underinsured. We still have laws in place, in medicare, for example, that are not dealing with actually solving the problem, serving those who need help the most. I think it is absolutely unacceptable that even with the Affordable Care acts passage, medicare is still prohibited from negotiating lower Prescription Drug prices with Prescription Drug companies. The United States is the largest purchaser of Prescription Drugs in the world. We have an incredible amount of leverage. We should be trying to get the best deal we can for the people we are serving. We see these challenges with health care. We see continued challenges with the Immigration Crisis at the border. So much is driven by whats in again the headlines and what we , see too often is leaders who are reacting to the headlines or to the crisis of the day, and there is a crisis, rather than taking a step back and looking at what is driving this, what is causing this problem in the first place. Why are there so many people coming to seek refuge at our borders . What is the issue with our borders . How has our Foreign Policy in the past helped to create this instability . Therefore, what change do we need to make so we are actually solving the root cause of the problem . How are we dealing with our broken, Legal Immigration system . Getting to the root cause of the problem. Criminal justice reform, the Opioid Epidemic that is taking so many peoples lives. This epidemic continues. We are not getting to the root cause of the problem and therefore not in a position we are able to stem this epidemic and prevent people from being harmed in the first place. The list goes on. Failed war on drugs is a prime example, when you look at how these three steps have not been adhered to by our leaders. A failure to understand the current situation, a failure to truly define the problem, and therefore to create a completely unachievable goal to the point where decades later this war on drugs is continuing to be waged, but at what cost and to what consequence . It has had a devastating impact on peoples lives, an overburdened criminal Justice System, and it has done nothing to stem the tide of Illegal Drugs in this country. Gun safety legislation is another one that is continuing, unfortunately, to stand at the forefront of the challenges that we face because of the ongoing tragedies and shootings and murders. Why is it that we have not yet begun to solve this . Why have we not yet gotten to the point where we are bringing down the number of shootings in this country . Because we are not addressing the root cause of the problem and then coming together as a country to be able to solve this. Instead, we see one side pitted against the other, pointing fingers, shouting, and forgetting the unity we have as americans. That when we put the divisiveness aside, what we are left with is who we are as people and the care we have for each other, recognizing that this is about all of us. These challenges impact every one of us, not just democrat, republican communities. These are things that concern all of us and require all of us to come together and be a part of that solution. You see these same challenges in our Foreign Policy and the tremendous toll it has taken on our country. During my first deployment to iraq in 2005, we were based in a camp 40 miles north of baghdad. It was the height of the war and it was at a time where we were seeing very severe casualties. I served in a field medical unit during that deployment, and every single day i was confronted with the terribly high human cost of war. How many people, americans, every single day were being injured, killed in combat. This is something that as a soldier and a veteran hit very close to home, especially as we lost friends of ours, our fellow soldiers, there. We came home and their families were not able to welcome them home. We see this ongoing toll being taken for those veterans who have come home with both visible and invisible wounds, scars that stay with them for a very long time. I think there is a cost to these failed Foreign Policy decisions that reaches far beyond those of us who have worn the uniform or who continue to serve. Thats a cost that is paid for by every single one of you, every single one of you who may be watching from home, every single american. This isnt something we often think about, but when we connect the dots, we see how these failed Foreign Policy decisions have a direct impact on everyone of the domestic challenges we face, every one of the needs we feel in our families and communities. I served in the city council and state legislature in hawaii, so for local officials, the frustration is often we dont have enough resources, dont have enough money to pay for the things we need in our communities. Serving on the city council, talking about potholes, sewers, water, safe parks, neighborhoods, law enforcement, firefighters, the basic needs that have a daily impact on our residents, our citizens. Yet so often, we are told there is not enough money. You have to squeeze so much out of every dollar to try to meet those needs. Yet at the same time, since 9 11 alone, our country has spent over 6 trillion over 6 trillion on wasteful, counterproductive wars that have not made our country more safe. They have not been about national security. They have actually strengthened terrorist groups like al qaeda, the terrorist group that attacked us on 9 11. They have taken a toll on our men and women in uniform, cost us so many lives. They have caused the lives of the people in the countries where we wage these wars, and they have cost us as a people tremendously as we see these dollars taken out of our schools, out of our health care system, our communities and our Community Needs and infrastructure. So you cant separate these issues, which is why it is so important as we talk about this problemsolving mindset. This is the kind of mindset i would bring to serve you as president. Yes to solve these problems, to build coalitions, bring people together, to recognize that the only way we move forward is when we move forward together. The experience that i bring to this job of president and the most report and responsibility president has as commanderinchief. Yes, my time in the military, but also congress, almost seven years on the Armed Services committee, on the Foreign Affairs committee. The Homeland Security committee, on understanding the importance of our national security, making sure we have a strong, trained, and capable military, and also understanding that our failed Foreign Policy is undermining those objectives, which is why as president i will end these wasteful, counterproductive wars, the likes of which we have seen in iraq, libya, syria, and unfortunately the word President Trump is pushing us closer towards, the war with iran. A war that would be far more costly and devastating than anything we saw in the iraq war, would take more american lives, would create more refugees, would cost us as taxpayers trillions more. End these wasteful wars. Work to end this new cold war we are in with escalating tensions between the United States and Nuclear Armed countries like russia and china and the arms race that has kicked off as a result, and instead redirect these precious resources that would have otherwise been used on these wars and these weapons, and use them to serve the needs of our people, because those needs are great and they are pressing. It is time we get our priorities straight in our country, put the wellbeing of our people ahead of profits and partisanship and divisiveness and bring these principles that are at the heart of every soldier, every servicemember, the principle of service above self, to the white house. Restoring a government truly of, by, and for the people. This is whats driving me, this is whats motivating me, my love of country and appreciation for who we are as americans and where we need to go. I think there is nothing but opportunity ahead of us if we are driven by love and respect for one another, appreciation for the principles and freedoms that we hold dear, and the work that we have ahead of us, to be able to work for the wellbeing of our people and our country and the protection of our planet. Thanks for the opportunity to be here to join you today. I look forward to our conversation. Thank you. [applause] can you do a couple questions . Rep. Gabbard absolutely. We have students with the portable mics. If you could identify yourself when you have a question. If i could ask the first question, congressman, it has been reported that the president is negotiating with the taliban in afghanistan. We have 14,000 troops. Talking about reducing them by half. Is that a prudent approach . What would you recommend we do with afghanistan, the longest where we have had . Rep. Gabbard thank you, jim. It is a great conversation to start this question because it is connected to what i was talking about. What is happening with these negotiations should have happened a long time ago. It is important that we as a country recognize a couple of things. We have to stop trying to be the worlds police. Its not working, it is not our and we see in examples like afghanistan how costly this Foreign Policy has been and how it undermines the interest we have as a country. Even though it is hard to accept for those of us who want to be able to help others, the Afghan People are dealing with a lot of challenges. They have been for quite some time. Ultimately it is only the Afghan People who will be able to determine their own futures, only the Afghan People who will be able to root out corruption that exists within their own government. It is only the Afghan People who will be able to work out their form of governance. It is very different from ours. As a has been. These negotiations are very important. They should have happened a long time ago. We need to bring our troops home from afghanistan now. [applause] jim we have Pat Mcdermott from aarp. Good morning. Thank you for coming here. Thank you for your service, both in congress and obviously in the military. My question has to do with the high cost of Prescription Drugs. You mentioned in your remarks allowing medicare, medicaid to negotiate for lower prices. If you are elected president , in addition to that, what specific steps would you take to lower drug prices in the United States . Rep. Gabbard thank you very much. Thanks for being here and thanks for all the work that aarp is doing. We have a great relationship with our aarp chapters in hawaii, really powerful advocates that i think is important in washington because it crosses party lines and you have conversations with people about what is affecting our community. This issue of Prescription Drug prices is one that is way out of control and it is not only impacting seniors, it is impacting people dealing with diabetes, people reliant on lifesaving drugs about are increasingly finding they cant afford them as costs skyrocket. It is only happening here. There is a couple of Different Things i think we need to do. We need to reform our patent system that allows Prescription Drug companies to continue to hold onto these patents rather than allowing the generic Drug Companies to come in and offer them at a lower price. The other thing is to allow for the importation of these drugs at a cheaper price from other countries, like canada. The pushback we often hear is there is a safety concern. It is really a very empty counterargument. The bottom line is we have got to make sure our medicines and our health care is being offered and available to people at an affordable price and that the price gouging we are seeing coming from big Prescription Drug companies is ended. I think there has to be an accountability measure in place and oversight so that this is not allowed to run rampant. We see some accountability in other industries. I think we need to apply those same principles to Prescription Drug companies. Thank you. Jim other questions for the congresswoman . Just wait for the mic, sir. Mark tardiff. Hi. Strategic pieces and questions i know you are asked, but how does this conversation start . You talk about divisiveness. You could talk about the strategic problems, solving this, solving this. But in this environment right now and you look around, particularly in the democratic field, you look at what is out there, what is being said, you look at the treatment. What are you going to do to start the conversation that you talk about bringing together . Rep. Gabbard thank you. This is whats at the heart of what we are talking about. We talk about unity. How does this unity begin in such a divisive environment . There is two approaches that we have got to take. First, it starts at the top with leadership. What kind of leadership what i i bring that would help to unify this country . It also needs to happen within our communities. It cant be a onesided thing dictated from the top. I think we as people need to recognize the role we need to play, whether it is within our workplace, at school, at home, where unfortunately we have seen families separated because mom or dad voted this way and the son or daughter voted this way and they are pissed off and dont talk to each other anymore. This is where we are at. I have seen this myself and it is really unfortunate. Where it must begin is with that recognition that the things we care about, the things that make us angry and frustrated, are things that should drive us to bridge this divide, that we have to start at a place of respect, and this is the kind of leadership that i would bring, the kind of work i have already been doing in my almost seven years in congress. When i first got elected, i was a freshman democrat coming into a republican majority, brandnew member of congress from a very small state. When i first went to washington i was told by longtime , washington people, dont even waste your time trying to get legislation passed, just mind your own business, bide your time, and wait for the democrats to take over, because you cant get anything done. Nothing motivates me more than people telling me i cant get it done. I started thinking about how do we do this . How do we bridge this divide that would cause someone to tell me that . People with good intentions and who were trying to be helpful to me. It is through building relationships that start with respect, not coming in with prejudgment and saying, you have this letter next year name, therefore you must be this or that. I did something simple. I started with the universal language of food. Shortly after i got to d. C. , i called home and asked my mother, who makes this amazing macadamia nut toffee, can you make 434 boxes . [laughter] rep. Gabbard she and my dad raised five rambunctious kids, so she said hey, that is a i said, i am not done yet. Can you make another 435 bigger toffee for the staff of the members of congress. Moment to say,a ok, that might take a little longer. But i am and. In. Played quality control. Doingin d. C. As she was this. Writing handwritten notes to all of my colleagues. Learning more about them. What are the issues they care about . What was incredible was that as soon as we started to deliver tose little gifts of aloha people, almost right away on the house floor, which is about the only time we are in the same place at the same time, Senior Republicans and Committee Chairman making that long walk from the republican side to the democrat side, saying, where is this new member . When finding me, saying thank you so much. Really appreciating that small gesture. Ate it alsoing i im by the figure out how to get it more to take him with me this weekend. Most importantly saying, what is going on in your district . Tell me what your constituents are much most worried about. Im the chairman of the transportation committee. The National Resources committee. This committee or whatever. Let me know how we can Work Together. That came from a very small and simple gesture of reaching out and saying aloha. That is why we started this conversation today with aloha. I respect you. Lets focus on how we can best Work Together to serve the american people. Serve the people in your community. Us just those who agree with and then say to hell with everyone else. How do we come together . That has allowed me to be effective during my time in congress. Working with democrats and republicans. Coming together and not being afraid just because we disagree on some are many things. To come together and say, this is what we agree on. Lets find a way to pass legislation to address this. One great example of this happened in congress not too long ago when we passed the first step act, a very important Prison Reform bill. It happened because the aclu and the Koch Brothers came together. Strongly, we disagree on many things. But we realize how important this is for every american family. Lets join forces to get it done. And we got it done. Unity andlk about putting the wellbeing of people first, this is not some utopian, pie in the sky out of reach goal. It is happening. It is what is necessary to deal with perennial challenges that we face. To finally solve these problems. It begins with reaching out and treating people with respect. Recognizing that aloha, that connectedness. We must stand united. Thank you. Thank you for being here. If you are elected president , will you release her tax returns and do you think a president should release his tax returns . Rep. Gabbard yes and yes. [laughter] i dont think it needs much more explanation beyond that. During one of the democratic debates, you spoke to senator harris about her dealing with the criminal Justice System in california. Toelected, how do you plan reform the system we currently have in place . Rep. Gabbard thank you for this very important question. I just mentioned the step act that dealt with Prison Reform and trying to reduce recidivism. To see howredible is these few short months since that legislation was passed, we have already seeing close to 5000 people be released from prison as a direct result of that bill and be able to integrate with their families and communities. We see how great the impact is when we are able to make change. Also, how many people are left behind because of this broken system. One of the first things we have to address is the failed war on drugs. It is causing so much of this overcrowding in prisons. Is costing us as taxpayers on the federal and local level. Mayors are dealing with the nuts and bolts issues on the ground every day. He said his number one issue was the need for criminal justice reform. To end federal marijuana wrote prohibition. They are seeing their county jails filled up and so much money going toward local prosecutors and all that is required to fuel this broken system. We have to in the failed war on drugs. I have introduced the only Bipartisan Legislation in congress that would and the federal marijuana prohibition. This would have a great impact systemcriminal justice was also helping to deal with the opiod crisis. Have legalized some form of marijuana, whether it be met is a small medicinal or recreational, we see a reduction of opioid addiction and deaths. That would have an impact on our veterans who too often come home dealing with chronic pain due to combat related injuries or posttraumatic stress. They go to the va and say they they dont want opioids. Because of the federal prohibition, they are not referred to other medicine like the decimal marijuana. This leads to detrimental consequences. We have to end the private prison industry. It is wrong on its face that you have an industry with a Business Model that is motivated by keeping cells full. Our objective should be how we , reduce therime revolving door that we see through the criminal Justice System too often and actually help people make sure that they are being productive members of our society. There is a lot more that we need to do in sentencing reform. Talking about mandatory minimums. I met a young man from virginia who shared his own story about how he was charged with two marijuana violations of because of the laws in for genia, he got to back to back five years sentences. Student at thee time studying computer science. His whole life was torn upside down. He takes responsibility for his actions. He ended up with a 10 year sentence because of mandatory minimums. Someone who was convicted of homicide and he got out of prison before he did. The last thing i will mention is cash bail. This is a huge issue that very clearly and unfairly punishes the poor. People who cannot afford to pay their bill. Innocent or guilty. Left in jail because they cannot afford it while those who dont have the means, charged with the same or worse crime, are able to pay their bill and get on with their lives. This is inexcusable in my view. I think this is a major and urgent change that we need to make. Thank you again for your service to our country. You mentioned issues that we need to fix in this country and how our society and government instrument by headlines. We live in a country now where the mass murder of our civilians doesnt even last a couple of days in our headlines, including children. What other concrete steps will you take to make this a safer country from mass murder and the murder of children . We have to look at this from a couple of different perspectives. Himdo we tackle this fear that now exists throughout our country that no one is safe . That our kids are not safe in school . That our loved ones are not safe in church or synagogue or temple or the mosque . We are not safe going and shopping at the supermarket or walmart. Or walking down the street. The recent massacres that we have seen. Legislatively, congress is to take action. There are clear barriers in place to that because of this divisiveness. Because these conversations are not happening in a honest way. Saying,have is one side there should be absolutely no on ourion whatsoever Second Amendment rights. And the other side saying, we need to take away the second commitment completely. Extremes are driving the devices this and this when the vast majority of us recognize that it is a false choice. We can and should uphold our Second Amendment rights while also having sensible safety regulations in place that make sure guns are not getting into who would dothose these mass shootings. Who would seek to do harm to others. You are right about the headlines. It is in the headlines for a day or two and then the new cycle moves on to trumps next week tweet. Ande are so many kids families who are losing their lives every day and cities like chicago, detroit, and others who we never hear of. Evenproblem is bigger than what is talked about or realized. I think with the recent texas , that is aat we saw clear example of how having universal background checks could have prevented this guy from getting a gun. We have legislation passed to congress. It passed with bipartisan support several months ago. It is sitting on Mitch Mcconnells desk in the senate. He has refused to bring it forward for a vote. There is a glimmer of hope when trump, in the wake of one of the shootings, said of course we should have background checks. And Mitch Mcconnell said maybe we will bring this forward. Now that the spotlight has moved on, they are not feeling that pressure to carry through on that commitment. Is has where we come in the opportunity to keep the heat on. There is no excuse white background checks are not. Andatory whether you are purchasing from a gun shop or a gun show or a private person. The vast majority of people support this. Sensible gun safety laws can and should be put in place. It requires the leadership and courage of members of congress. In this day and age, thats what it encourages. Requires. In iowa a few weeks ago, we had a chance to spend some time with family members of those who have been killed due to gun violence. Some in the very publicize shootings that we have seen, others in the cities im talking about where their children were killed and nobody knew about it. Nobody took notice. It was so powerful to hear in see the tearsto streaming down their face, that really brings this whole thing home which is this is about our lives. All of our lives. And if we stay focused on that, i believe we can change the tone of the debate and the discussion around this issue to one that all of us really care about. We care about our children and our loved ones. None of us wants to have to live in fear that one day they wont come home because they have fallen victim to gun violence. There is a great emple being put forth by the kids in parkland, florida. Too often we sit in our own camps sitting talking with people who we agree with on both sides of this issue rather than having the tough conversations are reaching out to those who are on the other side. When we do that, we realize we are all on the same side. We are on each others side. These kids from parkland have been doing that in an amazing way. They are not just going to communities that are friendly to their cause. They are going to places that are not. That are quite unfriendly. And dealing with protesters screaming and shouting in their face. I asked them, how do you respond . Do you go the other way . Cancel your event . They said they went up and picked a bunch of flowers and giving them flowers. As an opening. Just to be able to talk. And listen to where they are coming from. Conversation is at the heart of where we need to go and how we bring about this change. Through that dialogue and discourse. Thank you. That is a very nice message. We appreciate you being here. We know you have a busy schedule. [applause] he has one of the best minds around. We want to thank them for being here. We want to thank the congresswoman for being here. She has a very tight schedule but she wanted to make it here. Rep. Gabbard thank you for having me here. I think a lot of the students and the members of the council would like to talk to you afterward. [applause] tomorrow, president of the Senate Majority pac. Electper pac is trying to democrats to the senate and when a majority. He talks about Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnells race for reelection in kentucky. There has been more of a focus on mcconnell. Is that going to be a strategy to focus on him and a lot of these races . Will it help . In 2018of fall that with focusing on pelosi. I know there is a difference there. I can you outline if that is a strategy and whether it will work . Most things that have political power dont come from us. They come organically from around the country. Mitch mcconnell is a very powerful metaphor for a broken washington. He is carrying that now more than ever. Even among republicans, there is a certain borderline anchor at they justparty that keep saying more of the same. They are not completely shielded from whatever love that donald trump takes. Is the face ofll a lot of the chaos and disarray. Senator mcconnell said this week that he would not hesitate to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court next year if there is one. How big of an issue is that promoters . For voters . You are republican or conservative, you are aware of the hypocrisy. That brings us right back to the business as usual mentality in washington. I think you will be surprised by the number of candidates who will find themselves distancing themselves from Mitch Mcconnell. Newsmakers sunday at 10 00 a. M. And 6 00 p. M