Why Republicans Don’t Want YOU To Go Hard For Gabbard

ByCurwen Ares Rolinson

I’ve seen a few strange things this morning; but one of the more peculiar has to be the Republican Party attacking Tulsi Gabbard’s just-announced Presidential candidacy, on grounds that “Progressives have blasted her”.

I’ll say that again: the Republicans appear to be attacking Gabbard for allegedly not being popular enough with “Progressives”.

Like … wut? Ordinarily, scare-mongering about a candidate running for the other party’s Presidential nomination at this stage in the (pre-)campaign, is a matter of attempting to whip up your own party’s supporters in paroxysms of terror about the politics of this or that potential nominee.

Now you could probably suggest that the GoP also attacking her for “Resign[ing] from the DNC to support Bernie Sanders”, is an example of that. Something something “she’s a creeping socialist infiltrator” something something. [Although I suspect that line of attack’s going to backfire – partially due to cross-over support for economic populism between the Sanders-sectorial of American politics, and many people who voted for Trump [c.f Steve Bannon’s remarks on the issue]; but largely also because people remember the narrative of the DNC having “rigged” the contest for Clinton in order to keep Sanders out. Statements that Gabbard left the DNC over this, therefore, just make it seem like a) she has Principles [over craven power-pursuit]; and b) they’re Principles that people, including GoP working class people, will like].

But when you get right down to it, there’s no way that the Republicans’ statement about Gabbard being anathema to and routinely attacked by “Progressives”, even if it were significantly true, is geared towards the Republicans’ own voters.

I mean, how could it be? “DON’T VOTE FOR HER! SHE’S SECRETLY A CONSERVATIVE, MAYBE?” Yeah, nah. Doesn’t work.

What it is, however, is quite clearly a message intended for Democrat Primary participants, who’ll get to have their say [assuming, you know, the Primary process is fair, rather than a carefully co-ordinated Coronation] over the next year and a half or so on whether or not Gabbard gets the nod. And with the very explicit objective of discouraging them from supporting her.

Now why might that be.

Clearly, it is because the Republicans are most afraid of Gabbard.

Hence, they shall continue to do everything in their power to try and de-legitimate and pre-emptively bump-off Gabbard’s candidacy, before it’s even out of the starting blocks.

Because they know all too well that the potent mix of a sensible foreign policy and a genuinely for-the-people economic platform – is an absolute winner (even despite any amount of media-mouthpiece shrieking to the contrary). And, more to the point, that it’s what a not insignificant proportion of those who cast their ballots for Trump in 2016 thought they were voting for, only to find themselves bitterly disappointed two to three years in, when the Hope And Change with Red Hat Characteristics, turned out to be More Of The Same – But On Twitter.

And, of course, because the GoP also know that many of the usual attack-lines they’d field against most other Democrat leading personalities simply won’t work on Gabbard. After all, it’s pretty difficult to accuse a relatively recent military veteran (who, indeed, left her political role in order to serve her country abroad) of being an unpatriotic, craven Beltway careerist. Or, for that matter, somebody who resigned from the DNC in protest at perceived Clintonite skulduggery, of being some sort of front for a “Clintonite agenda”. Or, indeed, an ardently pious and well respected figure within our religion as being some sort of “Godless Cultural Marxist Communist” or whatever.

Having said that, it will be interesting to see how the religion angle plays out; as sadly,i wouldn’t put it past Republicans (and even a few Democrats) to basically attempt to attack her for being a) of a religious minority [in the US], b) brown [and probably c) Hawaiian by state].

In any case, while I’m not in the business of simply urging people to do something largely if not entirely because somebody we don’t like is opposed to it …

… as applies the Tulsi Gabbard 2020 candidacy, I am reminded of a Murray Ball political cartoon published here in New Zealand at the height of the electoral reform debate in the early 1990s.

Namely – that looking at who’s opposed to Gabbard, and why : is a pretty great gateway to starting to understand why she should, nay, must be given a fair chance to run.

She stands alone, in terms of character and characteristics, policy and political personhood, that is true.

And in so doing, casts all the rest of the field, entire, in such harsh relief and shade.

#GoHardForGabbard

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18 Comments

  1. Tulsi is one woman who the ‘deplorables’ will vote for, simply because she says it how they see it, and has served in the military with “them’. The question really is will the well healed liberal “left” aka the “progressive” elites endorse her? Reality is that she is their best hope of defeating Trump.

    1. Nope, establishment democrats won’t vote for her. They’ll pull a Sanders on her. Only way Tulsi wins is if The DNC splits the establishment vote by running to many candidates.

      1. Indeed Sam, she is the biggest threat to both sides. In the end the Republicans couldn’t defeat Trump, nor field another candidate who would win, so they fell into line. Afterward the Republicans rebelled and conspired against Trump. I reckon that is where this is heading for Gabbard.

        1. On the plus side Tulsi has taken the initiative by announcing her candidacy first. She’s brown and a woman but most importantly she’s against super pax money, so she’s against political donations in the DNC, that’ll bring the establishment candidates out otherwise it’s a straight fight between Sanders, Warren and Tulsi. It’s a win win every which way.

    2. They will vote for her because she has been strongly anti gay and specifically anti gay marriage. She has shifted on the issue since there is n o longer any real battle left to be fought.

      She looked for a job in the Trump administration shortly after he was elected and has openly endorsed him packing his cabinet with ex military.

      She has called for increased bombing in Syria and whilst being against regime change.

      Gabbard is a very good chance of becoming president should she win the primary. Against anything the Republicans put forward. The question is if she is the right choice for the Democrats on Trumps heels?

      1. “Crashcart”, do you have any citations for those assertions? Without evidence, it comes across as a dubious smear.

        According to a piece in The New Yorker;

        …in those early years she was a social conservative, pro-life and active in the fight against same-sex marriage. She is now pro-choice and pro-same-sex-marriage

        … Gabbard insists that she never considered the possibility—which seemed plausible, in those unpredictable days—that Trump would offer her a position in his Cabinet…“I walked out thinking that there may be some opportunity to work with this Administration to shift our foreign policy in a more positive, less destructive direction,” she said, and then paused. “Less hopeful, now.”

        In April, after Trump ordered an attack on a Syrian airfield, Gabbard accused him of behaving “recklessly,” and suggested that he had fallen under the influence of “war hawks.”

        ref: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe

        Those are at variance with your (uncited) claims.

  2. I agree with this.
    She seems to be the real deal. Everything the establishment in either party can dream up to denigrate her to the voters will backfire. They would be best to shut up and do nothing at all that will call attention to her.
    It seems very early to be starting a campaign, but last time Bernie lost out in some states because democrat party members had not been members for long enough according to party rules so their votes (in primaries) were discounted. By announcing now people can join up early enough to support her. Watch for a surge in Dem membership like in labour party membership in the UK when Jeremy was up for nomination.
    Cause that will be her biggest hurdle . Getting through the establishment of the Democrat’s selection process. It will be all downhill from there . But what a daunting task then to implement the policies she has championed.
    She will likely have about 4 or 5 supporters in her own caucus , just like Trump.
    D J S

  4. Gabbard is the only intellectually honest Democratic candidate, and the only one with a true left wing take on America First.

    The rest have fallen headlong into the neo-con line of US imperialism, falling over themselves to be the “toughest” on Syria/Russia/Iran/whatever, and ensuring that the credibility of dubious institutions such as the FBI and CIA is enhanced.

    The “progressive” reaction to Trump’s proposed Syria/Afghanistan pullout is scarcely believable. After hearing what the same people said about the guy who got them there, Bush.

    1. How about state negotiations with Kim Jun Ill? Every attempted critism of progressives is easily countered, easy as.

  6. Tulsi is a smart woman with a balanced world view, I would recommend her and Bernie Sanders to stand on a Joint Democratic Ticket.

  7. Tulsi is a smart woman with a good CV the Democrats if they ignore her it will be at their peril and it will be another Trump Victory 2020.

    However if that is what the USAand it’s people wants that is what the USA will get.

  8. JohnnyBG Like 100%+, not our problem we need to tidy up the mess left by Key & Blinglish ?

    1. Being helpless is a loss of sovereignty

      Asking for help is a loss of sovereignty

      Helping ourselves strengthens sovereignty

      Helping others strengthens sovereignty

      Being the friend that America needs is helping ourselves and helping others. It’s a wives tale that New Zealand is a poddle of America or China. At least we can not allow that to be true.

      1. New Zealand is like a lost sheep with it’s head cut off, lacking in vision and direction, fortunately we have Winston/NZF steadying the ship at present guiding us through the mess left by the Natzi’s.

  9. As a Democrat, I don’t feel too good about Gabbard, but I do like the fact that there are so many women running for the Presidency in 2020. However, if she becomes the front-runner, I will support her over Donald Trump.

  10. I do think Gabbard has a better CV, better character, better personality, better military record, and better looking than Trump.

    So it is really a No Brainer if they really want to win the Election however I believe many Democrats actually like Trump especially the Elite ?

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