Maui Democratic Party activist Shay Chan Hodges says she’s running against U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

[Her Sister]

Author and local Democratic Party activist Shay Chan Hodges has decided to run against U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard this year, Chan Hodges told us on June 6, one day before the state’s deadline for candidate filing. Though Gabbard–who is also a Major in the Hawaii Army National Guard and an Iraq War veteran–is one of the more high-profile Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Chan Hodges believes that she simply isn’t progressive enough to represent Maui.

Some of Her Main Points

First, that Gabbard has helped out billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation who opposes organized labor and is a major campaign donor to conservative Political Action Committees and Republican candidates. Chan Hodges noted in her essay that Gabbard has introduced Adelson-backed legislation that would kill online gambling–a major threat to Adelson’s interests.

Second, Chan Hodges noted that Gabbard has repeatedly criticized and mocked the Obama Administration for not saying we’re at war with “Islamic extremism”–something even Sanders opposes. “While I believe that no elected official should be above critique –lest we devolve into a cult of personality over substance –our district elected President Obama with a 70% majority, and a respectful discussion in an appropriate forum reflects both our district and Hawaiian values,” Chan Hodges noted.

Finally, Chan Hodges criticized Gabbard for supporting legislation that would make it more difficult for refugees fleeing the bloody Syrian civil war to get to the U.S. “[O]n November 19, 2015, Gabbard voted with 46 Democrats and 242 Republicans to pass HR 4038 — the American SAFE Act of 2015, to institute a stronger screening process for refugees from Iraq and Syria who apply for admission to the U.S.,” Chan Hodges wrote. “Previously, in 2014, Gabbard called for visa waivers to be curtailed from European countries with “Islamic extremist” populations –specifically Britain, Germany, and France. (A year later, Donald Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the US.)”

More in link: http://mauitime.com/news/politics/maui-democratic-party-activist-shay-chan-hodges-says-shes-running-against-u-s-rep-tulsi-gabbard/