Interviews during 2018-2020, interviewing Democratic presidential hopefuls for 2020

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Beto O`Rourke: VA must cover full spectrum of women's reproductive care.     Pete Buttigieg: Personal choice is best for abortion's moral decision.     Marianne Williamson: Abortion is about private morality; government has no role.     Wayne Messam: Abortion issue demagogued, should be left to the mother.     John Hickenlooper: Against fetal heartbeat laws; favors access to contraception.     Beto O`Rourke: Abortions up until third trimester are woman's choice.     Pete Buttigieg: Abortion is a woman's choice, not a political statement.     Marianne Williamson: Calls herself 100% pro-choice.     Andrew Yang: Abortion should be regulated by doctors, not legislators.     Bill de Blasio: Crucial to protect women's right to choose in 2019.     Bill de Blasio: Women, not politicians, should control their bodies.

Budget & Economy     Amy Klobuchar: Focus on issues affecting small business, rural America.

Civil Rights     Beto O`Rourke: Upgrade records of LGBTQ vets who were discharged.     Pete Buttigieg: Has dealt with racism & police violence, but it's not enough.     Joe Biden: In the 1970s, I worked with opponents to get things done.     Joe Biden: You don't have to agree with opponents to work with them.     Joe Biden: Will be mindful of changing social norms & personal space.     Pete Buttigieg: If U.S. to address human rights, we need to be credible.     Marianne Williamson: Reparations are an appropriate response to country's history.     Marianne Williamson: Attacks on gay rights is attack on us all.     Bernie Sanders: Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery.     Cory Booker: Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery.     Elizabeth Warren: Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery.     John Hickenlooper: Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery.     Kamala Harris: Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery.     Kirsten Gillibrand: Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery.     Beto O`Rourke: Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery.     Julian Castro: Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery.     Amy Klobuchar: Paper ballots allow audits, ensure election integrity.     Beto O`Rourke: Supports NFL players taking a knee during national anthem.     Julian Castro: Property was taken from slaves, so pay reparations.     Joe Biden: 1970s: Desegregating society ok, but not via school busing.     Marianne Williamson: Reparations to be distributed over 10 years by black leaders.     Jay Inslee: Statehood for DC & Puerto Rico; they deserve representation.     Elizabeth Warren: Reparations for slavery and to Native Americans.     Kamala Harris: Reparations means real investments in black communities.     Pete Buttigieg: Calls for redistricting reform; questions Electoral College.     Cory Booker: Recognize Native Americans but no Indigenous Peoples' Day.     Kamala Harris: Rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples' Day.     Julian Castro: Protections for GLBTQ; benefits to same-sex partners.     Pete Buttigieg: For LGBT rights, but doesn't presume to speak for everyone.     Stacey Abrams: Takes a strong stand against voter suppression efforts.     Pete Buttigieg: Voters have judged his record, not his marriage.     Tulsi Gabbard: Early 2000s: supported father's antigay rights group.     Tulsi Gabbard: Actively supports equal rights on LGBTQ+ issues.

Corporations     Tom Steyer: Big-money interests are committed to stopping progress.     Tom Steyer: AdWatch: put people before corporations.     Pete Buttigieg: Anti-trust law must go beyond pricing to deal with high tech.     Bernie Sanders: Defend farmers & consumers from corporate middlemen.     Elizabeth Warren: End "integrated" farming favoring corporations over farmers.     Bernie Sanders: 1976: I favor the public ownership of utilities & banks.     Bernie Sanders: 1970s: State should take over utilities without compensation.     Bernie Sanders: 1976: Relocating businesses must pay; for public ownership.     John Hickenlooper: Market must allow entry to new businesses.     Julian Castro: Supported tax breaks to lure corporations.     Julian Castro: Top earners & corporations must pay fair share.

Crime     Tom Steyer: Regrets Farallon's $34M investment in corporate prisons.     Joe Biden: 1994: Billions for state prisons but fewer billions than GOP.     Bernie Sanders: OpEd: Ambiguous record on 1994 crime bill.     Joe Biden: 1992: pro-death penalty; 2019: congrats on ending it.     Pete Buttigieg: Restore voting rights for ex-cons, but not those in prison.     Pete Buttigieg: Death penalty is racist; mandatory minimums too.     Beto O`Rourke: Expand death penalty if police officers are attacked.     Beto O`Rourke: Capital punishment is an inequitable, unfair, unjust system.     Kamala Harris: Federal and state moratorium on death penalty.     Kamala Harris: 2004: no death penalty for cop killer; 2019: apply to all.     Cory Booker: Rich-and-guilty treated better than poor-and-innocent.     Joe Biden: 1993: Don't care why "predators" act; put them in jail.     Joe Biden: 1994 Crime Bill got help for first time offenders, not jail.     Joe Biden: 1990s: Supported tough-on-crime; 2019:considers those racist.     Andrew Yang: Police unfairly target minorities.     Beto O`Rourke: We must cut down on recidivism for non-violent offenders.

Drugs     John Hickenlooper: As teen, grew his own marijuana before it was legal.     Beto O`Rourke: Arrested for drunk driving at age 25; license suspended.     Beto O`Rourke: Dealing Drugs and Death: 2011 call for legalization.     Joe Biden: Harsh sentences for crack were a mistake; worked to rectify.     Tulsi Gabbard: Let states legalize marijuana; non-user supports free choice.     John Hickenlooper: Supports states permitting marijuana, not federal reform.     Joe Biden: Long record of opposing marijuana legalization.     Joe Biden: Forbid government study of legalization.     Beto O`Rourke: End prohibition on marijuana, expunge records of possessors.     Joe Biden: 1989: Bush didn't go far enough in War on Drugs.     Joe Biden: Proud of backing tough drug laws & penalties.     Michael Bennet: Let states experiment with marijuana; address racial issues.

Education     Pete Buttigieg: States should take on more of cost of higher education.     Pete Buttigieg: Supports loan forgiveness but not across the board.     Wayne Messam: Address immediate student debt with one-time cancellation.     Marianne Williamson: Wipe out college loans burdening the young.     Eric Swalwell: College bargain: no-interest loans & debt-free college.     Beto O'Rourke: 2102: charters are a good idea tdat encourage competition.     Beto O'Rourke: Wife Amy headed a dual-language charter school.     Beto O'Rourke: My kids attend public schools; keep charters accountable.     Cory Booker: Government should not profit from student debt.     Cory Booker: Investment in education helps the whole society.     Elizabeth Warren: Proposed all-voucher education; now opposes charters.     Kamala Harris: Federal money to subsidize teach pay raises.     Wayne Messam: First priority is resolving current student debt.     Joe Biden: 1970s: outspoken Senate critic of school desegregation.     Marianne Williamson: Free college; low cost education for older adults.     Amy Klobuchar: I am not for free four-year college for all.     Julian Castro: Extended Pre-K education for needy kids.     Elizabeth Warren: Invest in education, but focus on results.

Energy & Oil     Tom Steyer: Departed from Farallon in part due to fossil fuel holdings.     Tom Steyer: When I realized the threat of fossil fuels, I divested.     Tom Steyer: AdWatch: I left my business to combat climate change.     Wayne Messam: Criticized Trump for quitting Paris Climate Accord.     Marianne Williamson: Climate change biggest crisis of our time.     Eric Swalwell: Support for Green New Deal and Paris climate accord.     Wayne Messam: Ran pro-climate firm, worked on "greenest school" in SE.     Wayne Messam: Address climate change to create jobs & keep us competitive.     Pete Buttigieg: Timetable on climate set by reality, not by Congress.     Beto O`Rourke: Keep planet from warming one-half degree Celsius.     Jay Inslee: No "silver bullet" for climate: "silver buckshot" instead.     John Hickenlooper: Drank a glass of fracking fluid to show it was harmless.     Jay Inslee: We are last generation that can do something about climate.     Jay Inslee: Fighting climate change must be top goal of next president.     Jay Inslee: Supported renewable portfolio; supports Green New Deal.     Mike Bloomberg: $218M effort led to closure of 282 coal-fired power plants.     Amy Klobuchar: Green New Deal is aspirational; don't over-promise.     Julian Castro: Green Jobs Leadership Council: more solar; less coal.     Julian Castro: Supported both fossil fuel and green energy.     Pete Buttigieg: Supports Paris climate accord and Green New Deal.     Kamala Harris: Climate change important, but not only issue.

Environment     Marianne Williamson: Deal with factory farming by having environmentalists at EPA.     Steve Bullock: Passionate about protecting public land access for all.

Families & Children     Pete Buttigieg: $100B in grants for minority home ownership.     Steve Bullock: Supports same-sex marriage in Montana.     Cory Booker: Government funded savings account at birth.     Marianne Williamson: Need a cabinet department to focus on children and youth.     Eric Swalwell: No firearms for people with history of domestic violence.     Eric Swalwell: Agrees with Obama that kids should dream bigger than parents.     Elizabeth Warren: Federal funds to cap childcare at 7% of income.     Bill de Blasio: Launched universal free lunch in NYC schools.

Foreign Policy     Joe Sestak: Building liberal world order is what makes America First.     Tulsi Gabbard: Met with Syrian president; for "extreme vetting" of Syrians.     Marianne Williamson: Support Israeli security & Palestinian human rights.     Marianne Williamson: Return moral principles to our foreign policy.     Pete Buttigieg: Supports Israel; situation more complex than seen in media.     Beto O`Rourke: Help refugee asylum seekers at home in Northern Triangle.     Mike Gravel: Bring critique of American imperialism to Democratic primary.     Mike Gravel: 1971: end Vietnam involvement; 2008: end Mideast involvement.     Joe Biden: Opposition to European alliances like NATO is dumb.     Pete Buttigieg: Pay attention to assessments of intelligence agencies.     Julian Castro: Strengthen our relationship with allies to keep us safe.     Joe Biden: $750M to Central America to address root cause of migration.     Joe Biden: Revive Alliance for Prosperity with Central America.

Free Trade     Pete Buttigieg: Free trade doesn't have to mean exporting jobs.     Beto O`Rourke: Traveled to Asia with Obama to push TPP.

Government Reform     Pete Buttigieg: Provide new opportunities for voluntary public service.     Beto O`Rourke: Same-day voter registration; make election day a holiday.     Beto O`Rourke: Term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court.     Kirsten Gillibrand: Public financing of elections through voter choice.     Bernie Sanders: Citizens United is most disastrous decisions in history.     Elizabeth Warren: Constitutional Amendment to protect the right to vote.     Pete Buttigieg: Abolish Electoral College; it makes society less democratic.     Marianne Williamson: DC should have representation in Congress.     Marianne Williamson: Must address election security & Russian interference.     Elizabeth Warren: Every vote matters: so abolish the Electoral College.     Democratic Party: $2M to register 200,000 Florida non-voters.     Mike Bloomberg: Fund voter registration in FL, WI, OH, MI, and PA.     Pete Buttigieg: Need to depoliticize Supreme Court.     Beto O`Rourke: Increase Supreme Court to 15 independent Justices.     Beto O`Rourke: Supports term limits for Congress.     Amy Klobuchar: Automatically register citizens to vote when they turn 18.     Jay Inslee: End the filibuster; it dooms good legislation.     John Delaney: Nationally televised debates between President and Congress.     Pete Buttigieg: Open to expanding judiciary in reaction to GOP actions.     Pete Buttigieg: Get rid of the Electoral College.     Andrew Yang: Make Puerto Rico a state.     Steve Bullock: Unlimited corporate spending has impacted our elections.     Steve Bullock: Signed the Montana Disclose Act into law.

Gun Control     Cory Booker: 14-part gun control plan, with criminal enforcement.     Eric Swalwell: Assault weapon buyback program, with criminal enforcement.     Eric Swalwell: Be big; be bold; do good; gun control.     Wayne Messam: Sued state of Florida to allow municipal gun control.     Marianne Williamson: Gun laws are driven by profits of gun manufacturers.     Wayne Messam: Reduce gun violence by 50%.     Eric Swalwell: After mass shootings, time to make gun control an issue.     Tim Ryan: Soured on NRA after Sandy Hook.     Marianne Williamson: Universal background checks including at gun shows.     Pete Buttigieg: Yes to gun control and universal background checks.     Andrew Yang: Make gun manufacturers liable for mass shootings.     Bill de Blasio: Gun laws are necessary to protect the city and ourselves.     Steve Bullock: Supports background checks & semi-automatic ban.     Eric Swalwell: Ban assault weapons and buy back as many as possible.

Health Care     Tom Steyer: Keep private health insurance; but add public option.     Beto O`Rourke: Expand health care benefits and support for veterans.     Marianne Williamson: I support vaccines, but I understand the skepticism.     Marianne Williamson: Vaccination should be a choice, like abortion choice.     Andrew Yang: Aligned with "intactivists": against circumcision.     Jay Inslee: Declared emergency over measles anti-vaccination wave.     Marianne Williamson: Make Medicare for All a public option.     Bernie Sanders: Medicare-for-all: no more private insurance plans.     Eric Swalwell: Coverage for all, but don't eliminate private insurers.     Wayne Messam: Medicare-for-All okay; open to any expansion of health care.     Bernie Sanders: State-by-state Medicaid expansion is a major step.     Amy Klobuchar: For public option, taking on Big Pharma.     Beto O`Rourke: Supports Medicare for America as public option.     Eric Swalwell: Keep private insurance; allow public option.     Pete Buttigieg: Single payer option can lead to Medicare for all.     Beto O`Rourke: Protect existing priorities, then expand Medicare & Medicaid.     Bernie Sanders: 1970s: For socialized medicine, public drug companies owned.     Beto O`Rourke: Eventually make "health care for all" a reality.     Pete Buttigieg: Medicare for all who want it: public option.     Eric Swalwell: Yes to Medicare-for-All after time in the ICU with daughter.     Amy Klobuchar: Medicare-for-all is aspirational and for the future, not now.     Pete Buttigieg: Single rate for healthcare before single payer.     Michael Bennet: Make public plan optional; others can keep private insurance.     Pete Buttigieg: His generation not put off by claims of "socialism".     Pete Buttigieg: Single payer can still allow role for private insurance.     Mike Bloomberg: We can never afford to replace employer-based health system.     Kirsten Gillibrand: Provide a public option to get to universal coverage.     Steve Bullock: Got Medicaid expansion through a GOP-dominated legislature.     John Hickenlooper: Too soon to make changes in Obamacare.     Michael Bennet: Single payer would lead to massive tax increase.

Homeland Security     Andrew Yang: I'd love to declassify Area 51, for government transparency.     Pete Buttigieg: Suffered post-deployment depression, but not PTSD.     Kamala Harris: Domestic terrorism as national security priority.     Pete Buttigieg: Be serious about security like Israel, but live freely.     Joe Biden: Refugee policy is an embarrassment.     Julian Castro: Supported military expansion into cybersecurity.

Immigration     Joe Sestak: Expand involvement of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.     Beto O`Rourke: Military service as pathway to citizenship for immigrants.     Kirsten Gillibrand: 2000s: opposed amnesty for undocumented immigrants.     Pete Buttigieg: There's a consensus on immigration if we have the will.     Marianne Williamson: Need to examine how US policy created border crisis.     Eric Swalwell: Visit Northern Triangle to gain compassion for those fleeing.     Amy Klobuchar: Immigrants crucial to labor & management.     John Hickenlooper: Need a comprehensive reevaluation of our immigration laws.     Beto O`Rourke: Condemns President Trump's wall; "Walls end lives".     Beto O`Rourke: Raise cap on work visas; find pathway to citizenship.     Marianne Williamson: Pathway and affordable healthcare for illegal immigrants.     Kamala Harris: 2008: Supported SF policy reported arrested juveniles to ICE.     Kamala Harris: Reform system, against "vanity project" of border wall.     Jay Inslee: Illegal immigration not a national emergency.     Pete Buttigieg: Supports DACA and easing deportation policies.     Andrew Yang: Supports the DREAM Act.     Kirsten Gillibrand: In House, took hardline for border security, ICE funding.     Kirsten Gillibrand: Hadn't understood issues, changed views in Senate.     Kirsten Gillibrand: Pathway to citizenship for DREAMers.     Kirsten Gillibrand: Pathway to citizenship gets immigrants connected.     Julian Castro: Compassion for refugees, pathway for those here.     Joe Biden: Focus on refugee asylum seekers at home in Northern Triangle.     Michael Bennet: Trump is anti-immigrant; immigrants are a positive force.     Michael Bennet: America is a unique place for refugees to succeed.

Jobs     Pete Buttigieg: Government must be pro-active with changing economy.     Tim Ryan: Progressive goals should be sold as job creation.     Marianne Williamson: Supports $15 minimum wage & Green New Deal.     Joe Biden: We need "moral capitalism" and corporate responsibility.     Julian Castro: Opposed unionizing city employees.     Pete Buttigieg: Unions good for US workers, but not NAFTA.     Julian Castro: Minimum wage should be a living wage.

Principles & Values     Marianne Williamson: Requested that her donors support Mike Gravel.     Mike Gravel: Made debate donor count with help from opponent Williamson.     Joe Biden: We are in a battle for the soul of this nation.     Kirsten Gillibrand: Pushed to oust Al Franken from Senate for sexual harassment.     Michael Bennet: Family includes Mayflower descendants & Holocaust survivors.     Pete Buttigieg: God does not have a political party.     Eric Swalwell: If you work hard it adds up to dreaming bigger.     Pete Buttigieg: Supports religious values and separation of church and state.     Mike Gravel: 2008: YouTube political "video art" went viral.     Pete Buttigieg: Progressive, but not concerned with labels.     John Hickenlooper: Work with Republicans to advance progressive priorities.     Julian Castro: Make America smartest, healthiest, fairest & most prosperous.     Pete Buttigieg: Would be youngest president ever, and first mayor.     Tulsi Gabbard: To understand socialism, look at Venezuela.     Tulsi Gabbard: Labels like "capitalist" and "socialist" are misused.     Michael Bennet: Most Democrats are not socialists and should say so.     Joe Biden: Restore America's soul: bigotry is not an American value.     Mike Bloomberg: American Cities Initiative philanthropies gave away $6.4B.     Andrew Yang: Subsidize journalists to do local reporting.     Amy Klobuchar: Minnesota Nice: reliable, calm, aw-shucks bipartisanship.     Amy Klobuchar: Nicknamed "The Senator of Small Things," but some are big.

Social Security     Andrew Yang: Universal Basic Income recipients might lose other benefits.     Beto O`Rourke: 2012: Protect retirees, but make changes for the future.     Beto O`Rourke: 2012: Maybe raise age; 2019: Against raising age.     Beto O`Rourke: 2012: raise retirement age; apply means-testing.

Tax Reform     Beto O`Rourke: War tax on non-military households to support vet healthcare.     Kamala Harris: Monthly tax credit would provide base income.     Pete Buttigieg: The wealthy should pay their fair share in taxes.     Wayne Messam: Shifting tax burden from business not in national interest.     Cory Booker: Helped people claim earned-income tax credit.     Amy Klobuchar: Changes in corporate tax would fund infrastructure.     Beto O`Rourke: Wealth tax would generate revenue for 'common benefit'.     Bernie Sanders: 1974: 100% tax over $1 million.     Beto O`Rourke: Everyone should sacrifice, with higher top marginal tax rate.     Julian Castro: Senior/disabled property tax freeze favored wealthy.     Andrew Yang: Value-Added Tax as part of new capitalist philosophy.     Bernie Sanders: Raise income tax & fix estate tax: hardly Marxist ideas.     Elizabeth Warren: Wealth tax: $4.1 billion per year on fortune of $137 billion.     Mike Bloomberg: Progressive tax yes; wealth tax no.     Mike Bloomberg: The wealthy prefer the current rigged system.     Mike Bloomberg: Wealth tax is unconstitutional counterproductive.     Elizabeth Warren: Curb inequality: 2% tax on assets over $50M; 3% over $1B.     Julian Castro: Top earners, corporations should pay "fair share".     Elizabeth Warren: Making housing affordable by raising estate tax.

Technology     Pete Buttigieg: Automation is changing the workplace; we need to adapt.     Beto O`Rourke: Regulating Big Tech is more sensical approach than breakup.     Beto O`Rourke: Member of hacktivist group, "Cult of the Dead Cow".     Elizabeth Warren: Break up Big Tech companies: they stifle innovation.     John Delaney: Bipartisanship on infrastructure, digital privacy, and more.     Jay Inslee: Requires major rebuilding of America, means new jobs.     Pete Buttigieg: Infrastructure upgrade of sewer system needed in South Bend.     Steve Bullock: Signed executive order requiring net neutrality.

War & Peace     Seth Moulton: AdWatch: Don't send troops back to Iraq.     Joe Sestak: America broke its word with departure from Iran agreement.     Mike Gravel: Filibustered to end the military draft.     Julian Castro: Opposed troops in Syria, but have to plan withdrawal.     Mike Gravel: 2008: searing indictment of Democratic support of Iraq war.     Tulsi Gabbard: No more wars for regime change, like Syria and Afghanistan.     Joe Biden: US should stand up to aggression of dictators.     Pete Buttigieg: Pull troops out of Afghanistan, but not Syria.

Welfare & Poverty     Bernie Sanders: 1980s USSR housing worse than U.S.'s, but they pay only 5%.     Beto O`Rourke: Pushed "El Paso renaissance": Walmart replaces poor housing.     Elizabeth Warren: Address housing crisis by assisting cities & homebuyers.     Kamala Harris: LIFT Act and Rent Relief: $42 billion to people in poverty.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Amy Klobuchar Minnesota Democratic candidate for President; Minnesota Senator Andrew Yang Democratic candidate for President; CEO Bernie Sanders Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O`Rourke Texas Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from TX Beto O'Rourke Bill de Blasio New York Democratic primary candidate and NYC mayor Cory Booker New Jersey Mayor of Newark; N.J. Senator Democratic Party Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts Senator Eric Swalwell California Presidential candidate (withdrawn); U.S. Rep from CA-15 Jay Inslee Washington Democratic Washington Governor Joe Biden Democratic V.P. Joe Sestak Democratic candidate for President; Navy Admiral John Delaney Maryland Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from MD-6 John Hickenlooper Colorado Democratic Colorado Governor Julian Castro Texas Mayor of San Antonio; HUD Secretary Kamala Harris California Democratic candidate for President; California Senator Kirsten Gillibrand New York Democratic candidate for President; New York Senator Marianne Williamson Democratic candidate for President Michael Bennet Colorado Democratic candidate for President; Colorado Senator Mike Bloomberg New York Mayor of NYC Mike Gravel Democratic challenger for president Pete Buttigieg Indiana Democratic candidate for President; Mayor of South Bend, IN Seth Moulton Massachusetts Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from MA-6 Stacey Abrams Georgia Democratic nominee for Georgia Governor Steve Bullock Montana Democratic Montana Governor Tim Ryan Ohio Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from OH-13 Tom Steyer Possible Democratic candidate for President from California Tulsi Gabbard Hawaii Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from HI-2 Wayne Messam Florida Democratic Presidential Challenger