W.J. Astore
Further Thoughts on Tulsi Gabbard’s Confirmation Hearing
Once upon a time, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard was the future of the Democratic Party. Born in American Samoa. A woman of color. A military veteran who’d served in the Iraq war. A Hindu. She represented diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her politics were broadly progressive. And thus she was quickly given a position as vice chair of the DNC. That’s where the trouble began.
Because Tulsi believed in an equitable and fair process for the 2016 presidential campaign, when the DNC then was controlled by Hillary Clinton and her acolytes. The primary process was, in a word, rigged, with outsider candidate Bernie Sanders never having a fair chance to win the nomination despite his enormous popularity. So Tulsi resigned her position as vice chair even as she backed Sanders, earning the unending enmity of Hillary Clinton and the entire DNC establishment.
Tulsi was a candidate for president in 2020 in the Democratic primaries, where during one debate she demolished then up-and-comer Kamala Harris, another Clinton acolyte. Harris fizzled as Tulsi endured, despite smears by the Clinton wing that she was a Putin puppet. Tulsi never had a chance, of course, as Barack Obama intervened to throw the primary to Joe Biden, already a man in physical and mental decline.
After that, Tulsi sought another way, becoming an independent until she decided, obviously because she’s politically ambitious, to endorse Donald Trump and to turn Republican. I can’t say that I blame her. When Democrats are suggesting you’re a possible traitor to your own country, or at the very least a useful idiot for Putin and Assad, even as you wear the uniform of the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel, what was she to do?
As I watched yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Tulsi, I was once again struck by her intelligence, knowledge, and poise. A skilled speaker, she thinks well on her feet. Her answers are direct and clear: no “word salads” like Kamala Harris, no evasiveness, no laughing or giggling when she doesn’t know the answer. If Joe Biden had picked Tulsi as his running mate in 2020, and Tulsi had run against Trump last year, my bet is that America would now have its first woman—and woman of color—as President.
I recently read an article that listed the Democrats’ top presidential candidates for 2028. Not surprisingly, mediocre white males dominated the list: Josh Shapiro and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania (both fanatical Zionists) as well as “Mayor” Pete Buttigieg. The one female with a reasonable chance, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, has a standard background as a lawyer and a Christian. Most importantly, she’s a party loyalist, so look for her in 2028 as the “diverse” candidate of the DNC.
Of course, Democrats used to have a truly diverse, highly capable, and charismatic candidate in Tulsi Gabbard. She may yet emerge as a strong candidate for the presidency in 2028—as a Republican.
Much like RFK Jr., Tulsi is now hated by the Democratic Party for her nonconformity to corporate interests. Those interests have torn the heart out of the party of JFK, LBJ, and George McGovern. Only a corporate shell (and corporate shills) remains at the national level. And that is truly a shame for democracy in America.
Bracing Views 