NASHUA – Beginning with “aloha,” Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii made a stop in Nashua Monday evening for a house party at Matthew Gravel’s home.

“My gosh, our country and the world needs this aloha because what aloha really means is recognition that we are all brothers and sisters. We are all connected no matter where we come from, no matter the color of our skin, no matter who we love, how we live our lives, the way we worship…aloha recognizes that we are all connected,” Gabbard said Monday.

Gabbard said aloha inspires respect for one another.

“We may have different ideas on how to solve the great challenges that we face in our country, like health care, education, Social Security, infrastructure, foreign policies. We have different ideas on how to get there, but if we can stand together understanding that we are working for the common interest of our fellow Americans… and for our country, this is how we actually solve problems. It’s how we actually get things done,” Gabbard said.

Gabbard believes that communication is necessary both in Congress as well as across communities. She vowed that the leadership she would bring as president would encompass respect.

“Within my first seven days in office, I’ll call for a meeting with both Republican and Democrat leaders in the House and the Senate to come together and begin this conversation based on respect, to set a list of priorities, figure out where the common ground is, where’s that low-hanging fruit that we can work together on to actually deliver results for the American people, and continue these meetings at least once a month so that we stay focused, getting past the hyper-partisanship, focused on actual results,” Gabbard said.

“This is the culture change that I will bring in Washington so that our leaders are actually focused on putting service above self, on being the leaders that our founders envisioned that we could and should be, leaders who are of, by and for the people,” she added.

By using this mentality, Gabbard believes this can lead to solving problems surrounding Medicare, lowering prescription drug prices, changing the criminal justice system, investing in education and addressing climate change.

Gabbard promised she will bring systemic change in the government — systemic change, she said, that includes defeating President Donald Trump.

“But it’s bigger than that,” Gabbard said. “Because we had challenges, we suffered in this country long before November of 2016 and if we’re serious about solving these problems, we’ve got to get to the root cause of the problem, to make sure that we stand together, take our government back from the government of, by and for the rich and powerful and ensure that it is a government that is by and for the people.”

As for foreign policy and national security, Gabbard vowed to end “this new Cold War and Nuclear Arms Race that we are in now that’s pushing is closer and closer to the brink of nuclear catastrophe.”

“I will end our long-held foreign policy of being the world’s police… and instead redirect our resources, our taxpayer dollars back toward actually serving the interests and the needs of the American right here at home. This is where our priorities must lie,” Gabbard added.

In the audience Tuesday evening was a first-responder from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Jeff, who said he saw Gabbard on Fox News a few nights ago calling out the FBI to release the documents that share links between some of the Sept. 11 hijackers and the Saudi Arabian government.

The lack of documents has caused a significant delay in a number of lawsuits from families of those affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.

He asked Gabbard how, as a politician, she would be able to break that door open.

“A lot of people out there … are still hurting pretty bad. And the families are hurting pretty bad,” he said.

Gabbard said she has reintroduced a resolution in Congress that calls on the government to declassify and release these documents so that the Sept. 11 survivors, families and first responders and the American people have answers.

“We all deserve to know the truth, we all deserve the truth, this is about closure. It’s about justice for those who were directly and personally impacted by these attacks,” Gabbard said.

Grace Pecci may be reached at 594-1243, or at gpecci@nashuatelegraph.com.