In Defense of Tulsi Gabbard.

The election of 2020 is approaching us fast, and the primary season will be here before we know it. Already, the 2020 democratic field has a few challengers. The darling of the establishment, Elizabeth Warren, has announced. From the insurgency ranks, outside of the establishment, is Hawaii congresswoman, Tulsi Gabbard.

Tulsi Gabbard, on nearly all sensible and progressive policies gets a perfect score. She supports the reinstitution of the Glass Steagall act.[1] She supports raising the minimum wage.[2] She also has vocally opposed and taken part in protests against the monstrosity called the Keystone Pipeline. She has continuously called for Climate change to be taken seriously and for America to embark on a pragmatic shift away from fossil fuels to efficient alternative energy.[3] She has supported civil rights for all individual Americans, including our Latino, LGBT, African-American, disabled and Muslim citizens.[4] So therefore, it appears she should be an ideal candidate for all left-leaning individuals, mainly those who supported Sanders in the 2016 primary. She also was one of the few Democrat Party officials to endorse Bernie Sanders during his presidential race in 2016, with considerable risk to her political career. She freely resigned from her high ranking post as vice chair of the DNC in order to follow her conscience and endorse Sanders, much to the chagrin of the DNC’s operators.

Most importantly, and speaking from the personal perspective as a PHD candidate in the field of Middle Eastern Studies, she has a spotless foreign policy. Hers is the kind needed for a successful and functional American relationship with not only the Middle East, but the rest of the world as well. She has rightly condemned the illegal war of aggression against Syria.[5] At great risk to her person, and her own political career, she undertook a fact-finding mission in the war-torn nation of Syria. She has since taken it upon herself, much to the ire of the Democratic Party establishment, to tell Americans the truth about where their tax-dollars are going. They are being funneled at the behest of the Military Industry Complex, Saudi Arabia, and Israel to aid the wrong side of a conflict that is of no interest to the United States. Mainly, the American government is actively using American money to assist those who have killed Americans in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.[6] She also repeatedly called for the suspension of aid and weapon sales to the atrocious and genocidal regime in Saudi Arabia, which has been in the process of starving the Yemeni population to death.[7] She also condemned Obama’s illegal war of aggression against Libya, which our former commander in chief admitted was a tragic mistake.[8]

Also, just like many new congresspersons, she has courageously opposed actions of the Israeli government, much to the chagrin of the Israeli lobby in the United States. Far-right media Zionists call her an “enemy to Israel” for condemning Israel’s butchering of 58 Palestinians in the May of 2018. In our present day and age, with the embedded tyranny of the Israeli lobby, by far the most powerful lobby in the United States government, one who would threaten to break their power and influence should be considered an ideal candidate.[9]

As with the case of Bernie Sanders in the election of 2016, she has attracted her fair share of criticism from both the radical far left, with pieces of respected left-leaning organizations such as Rolling Stone[10], Jacobin Magazine[11], and the Socialist Worker[12]denouncing her. She has also predictably received her fair share of criticism from the right and from the establishment democrats. The criticisms far outshine anything which was leveled against Sanders during the 2016 election campaign. Among these allegations, is that she is a Hindu Nationalist, Islamophobe a homophobe, and a Bashar al-Assad apologist. Well, if we can examine the claims against her, one can see they are all as fictitious as the claims that Obama was born in Kenya, or that Jill Stein opposes vaccinations.

So what are the major criticisms of Mrs. Gabbard? One of the most pervasive ones is that she is an alleged “Hindu nationalist” and has ties to the controversial right-wing Indian party, the BJP, or as it is translated into English, the “Indian Peoples Party.” The BJP is often considered to be the equivalent of the religious right in Indian politics. They are often described as a Hindu supremacist and anti-Muslim organization. In particular, she has attracted considerable criticism for her advocacy of a visa for the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Well, what are the facts behind this allegation? She has the support of a large section of the Indian-American community, many of whom are BJP supporters because they come from middle-upper class Indian backgrounds. Does this honestly surprise anyone? As the first Hindu in congressperson in the United States, it should come as no surprise that Hindu Americans would flock to her as someone who would represent their interests, or that she would lobby on the behalf of her religious community. Keith Ellison, when he was in congress, was largely seen as the spokesperson for the Muslim American community, and spoke at organizations like the Islamic Society of North America and the Council of American-Islamic Relations. Nobody of any serious consideration gives Jewish elected officials a hard time for representing the interests of the Jewish community in the United States, or Israel for that matter. A lot of folks are giving her trouble for being an alleged "apologist" for the controversial Indian Prime Minister Modi. All she has been doing, and rightly so, is trying to improve India-U S relations by criticizing the hypocritical visa denial of Narendra Modi. If Benjamin Netanyahu is allowed to come and go as he pleases; so should any other world leader. She also voted against a House bill, https://www.congress.gov/…/113th-congr…/house-resolution/417which, at the end of the day, was essentially nothing more than an attempt to drive a wedge between India and the United States.

It should be self-evident that the last thing the United States needs is to enter a cold war with India, a nuclear armed country with one of the largest armies in the world, and also a vital trading partner with the United States. So Gabbard should be applauded and not condemned for working towards a more ideal and peaceful world.

In a recent interview Gabbard clarifies she supports working with the Indian government as a whole, and does not favor the BJP over their opponents, the Indian Congress Party. She clearly states, that as a member of congress, she wishes to cultivate closer ties between the United States and India as a whole. She will not give preference to any particular Indian party, just as she is willing to reach across party lines within the United States and work with Republicans and Democrats alike to achieve better outcomes.[13]

Also, it is worth mentioning, that the reason those on the left are raising the alarm about Prime Minister Modi is because of his alleged involvement in some tragic massacres in 2002 in the Indian province of Gujarat. However, Modi has never been convicted in a court of law for any complicity in the Gujarat riots. The Supreme Court of India has upheld Modi’s innocence.[14] Modi has yet to be convicted, within India, or anywhere in the international community, such as the United Nations or the International Court of Justice for complicity in the crime. How can Gabbard be criticized for seeking to maintain positive relations with a legitimate head of state? Especially when so many friends of the United States have so much verifiable blood on their hands?

Another popular and monotonous canard against the congressperson is allegations that she is a “homophobe.” The evidence for this is that during her time as Hawaii state representative, at the young age of 22, she opposed the legalization of gay marriage. She also defended her father who is a staunch opponent of LGBT rights.

However, her time in the military, coupled with the natural progress of age and wisdom has led to her evolving on the issue. She has staunchly repudiated and apologized for her early opposition to LGBT rights.[15] One can clearly see from her voting record that she has voted in favor of every pro-LGBT piece of legislation, one of which prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, as well as a bill that prohibits federal funding to law enforcement agencies that engage in demographic profiling in violation of the DOJ guidance. She voted against a bill that would have had the VAWA remove protections for LGBT individuals.[16] She also signed a letter to president Trump, asking him to reverse the ban of transgendered individuals serving the military.[17]

Will such apologies satisfy her critics? Apparently not, as they haven’t stopped talking about it, some having commented that the fact she had even once in her life held views such as those, should permanently disqualify her. Is this a fair assessment? As the great Heraclitus said, one cannot step in the same river twice. We are the sum of our experiences, and know only the information that we are exposed to, our upbringing and society shaping the way in which our plastic brains perceive the world in front of us. The famous Malcolm X for many years pronounced his opposition to the civil rights movement, and integration. However, after his pilgrimage to Mecca, he had a change of views and later broke ranks with his former organization, the Nation of Islam, which resulted in his ultimate demise.[18] George Wallace, Alabama governor and presidential candidate in the election of 1968 who famously said “segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” later recanted his segregationist views. In his later years, Wallace made it a point to apologize to the leaders of Civil Rights movement.[19]

Another popular claim that is making rounds is that Mrs. Gabbard is bigoted against Muslims. Indeed, the Socialist Worker newsletter named their hit-piece “an Islamaphobic Progressive.” What is the evidence for this claim? It’s simply that she uses that term “Islamic terrorism” and criticized Obama for not considering the theological and spiritual motivations for organizations such as ISIS.

Speaking personally, as both a Muslim, and a PHD student in the field of Islamic studies, I can safely say that claims that criticism of Islamic extremism and fundamentalism account for Islamophobia is as bankrupt as the claim that criticism of Israel equates with antisemitism. Extremist Islam, while not representing the real heart of Islam, or the belief of most Muslims worldwide, is a very real thing. While economic reasons, such as destabilization brought on by regime change, the kind which Gabbard opposes whereas her colleagues in the democrat party support, is the major cause for recruitment, it is not the only thing.

To call her an Islamophobe is to call countless Muslims who have condemned Islamic extremism also Islamophobic. For example, distinguished journalist and Muslim himself, Stephen Sulayman Schwartz, who runs the Center for Islamic Pluralism, has written multiple books and articles about the unique danger posed by the Wahabi sect of Islam,[20] which for years has been funded and promoted by Saudi Arabia at the behest of the United States. With the power of Saudi Lobby in the United States, it will only take someone like Tulsi Gabbard to stand up to the power of the Saudi Arabian lobby. Donald Trump spoke against Hillary Clinton and her cozy relationship with the Saudi Arabian lobby, only to betray our nation like his predecessors by authorizing a generous arms sale to Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, Gabbard has explicitly praised distinguished Muslims who have been killed by the followers of Salafism, such as the prominent Pakistani Sufi Muslim Amjad Sabri, who was killed by fundamentalists in Pakistan in 2016. For this, she has been lauded by the Muslim-American group “Interfaith Unity for Tolerance.” The group was founded by Pakistani-American Muslims specifically to raise awareness and combat the spread of extremist interpretations of Islam in Afghanistan and Pakistan, particularly those from the fundamentalist Salafi and Deobandi sects.[21]

If one watches the media interviews in question, the ones which the progressives have lambasted her for, and for which she allegedly was made a hero to the American right, she rightly so criticized president Obama for selling weapons to the same nations who are arming ISIS, al-Queda, and other Salafi terrorist organizations. Specifically, she singles out the nations of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. She also acknowledges that the terrorist threat extends well beyond ISIS. A number of other groups, including those affiliated with the so-called “moderate opposition” in Syria, that is to say, the Free Syrian army are equally as heinous as ISIS. Radical Muslims succeeded in establishing parts of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya as a base to serve broader ambitions which have deadly consequences, for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The bases of operation arose as a direct consequence of American and European interventions, interventions which Gabbard has rightfully opposed.[22]

Furthermore, what refutes the notion that she is Islamophobic is the simple fact that she has proven herself an ally to the Muslim community on multiple occasions. Namely, she endorsed Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to serve in congress, for chair of the DNC. She also spoke out against Trump’s travel ban from Muslim majority countries. She has spoken to several Muslim-American communities, including Muslims United for Peace, where she reaffirmed her commitment to civil liberty for all Americans, including Muslims. She also made it clear that she does not, in anyway shape or form, believe that most Muslims are terrorists, or terrorist sympathizers. She makes it clear that there is a night and day difference between the small minority of Islamic extremists, and the religion of over a billion people on the face of this planet. Also interestingly enough, she sees the Prophet Muhammad as a recipient of divine revelation, as a member of her branch of Hinduism which takes a universalist approach to religion.[23] Specifically, she says, “Let me be clear, the political ideology of Islamism is not the same as Islam, the religion. The vast majority of Muslims who embrace Islam do not adhere to the political ideology of Islamism.”[24]

Then of course, there is her trip to Syria, where she met with President Assad. Howard Dean and many others who run the upper ranks and inner political machine of the Democrat Party denounced her vigorously. She won the label of an “Assad apologist” for meeting with the president of Syria. Some outlets have gone so far as to call her a traitor, for meeting with America’s so-called “enemy.”

To make one thing clear is that yes, Assad is a Tyrant who lots of blood on his hands; this is something which Gabbard has freely acknowledged. However, it has yet to be established if he has been guilty of the crimes associated with him. Namely, allegations of both the Trump and the Obama administration that Assad used chemical weapons have yet to be verified. More importantly, Assad is welcomed and supported by Syria’s religious minorities, namely the Christians, Shiites, and Druze population.[25] Despite the fact that the media loves to tell us of the Syrian civil war being an alleged “sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shiites” a large percentage of Syrian Sunnis support Bashar al Assad.[26] Despite the fact that pro-government Shiite forces, as well as the primarily Shiite group Hezbollah has been accused of sectarian killings, there is no credible evidence of any authorized genocide of the Sunni population.[27] Quite the contrary, Syrian Rebels have been committing systematic ethnic cleansing of religious and ethnic minorities. This includes the YPG, the main Syrian Kurdish group based in Northeastern Syria, who have been accused by Amnesty International of war crimes against the Arab and Turkmen populations.[28]

How can Assad be considered an “enemy” of the United States, when congress has yet to declare war against the Syrian state, something which Gabbard pointed out on more than one occasion? During the Vietnam war plenty of American journalists travelled to North Vietnam to meet with the leaders of the NVA in order to properly study the situation. Former congresspersons Cynthia Mckinney[29] and Walter Fauntroy[30] undertook a fact-finding tour in the nation of Libya during US’s unconstitutional intervention. Mckinney and Fauntroy both came back to the states and provided detailed accounts of what they witnessed, as well as exposing the lies and media distortions which were perpetuated by the media giants.

Furthermore, the idea that Syria can even be qualified, at this point, as a “Civil War” is dubious at best, for a large percentage of Syria’s revolutionary forces are in fact foreign volunteers who are seeking to turn Syria into a base of operations.[31] Many of these foreign volunteers are veterans with American blood on their hands from extremist insurgencies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, as well as terrorist who are under United Nations sanction for terrorist against Russia and China. Also many of the Syrian members of the FSA have already defected back to the forces of the government.[32] This includes former top ranking FSA general, Munqez Al-Dali.[33]

By all accounts, The Syrian government has won the war. There is only one stronghold of resistance to Assad left.[34] The Kurdish population of Syria has already entered into an alliance with Assad and Moscow, to protect themselves from any actions which the Turkish army may take.[35] Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, representing the Arab league, visited Syria and met with Bashar al Assad only a few weeks ago.[36] Arab League countries Kuwait and Bahrain have reopened their embassies with the Syrian government.[37] Any attempt to remove Bashar al Assad would result in the genocide of Syria’s minorities, and a long, drawn out, unnecessary US occupation which would have disastrous consequences with the same effects which the world has already seen in the like of Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraq. War begets war; interventions never result in their desired outcomes.

Of course, this is not the only criticism of Congresswoman Gabbard. There is the claim that she “unelectable” because of her alleged radicalism, her Hindu faith, and her gender. However, many in the media didn’t believe that Barack Hussein Obama would become president. The consensus in 2016 seemed to be the guaranteed election of Mrs. Clinton. The only thing for certain, is that the perceived “inelectability” of a candidate is often a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, with these considerations, do not hesitate to support Tulsi Gabbard for president.

.

[1] https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-lawmaker...

[2] https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-senator-...

[3] https://www.votetulsi.com/node/25010

[4] https://gabbard.house.gov/civil-rights-equality

[5] https://www.votetulsi.com/node/25114

[6] https://www.globalresearch.ca/america-created-al-qaeda-and-the-isis-terr...

[7] https://gabbard.house.gov/nationalsecurity

[8] https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/20/opinions/libya-chaos-civilian-deaths-berg...

[9] https://www.timesofisrael.com/democrat-gabbard-who-slammed-israel-for-li...

[10] https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/tulsi-gabbards-2020-...

[11] https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/05/tulsi-gabbard-president-sanders-democ...

[12] https://socialistworker.org/2016/12/08/an-islamophobic-progressive

[13] https://medium.com/@Harihar/rep-tulsi-gabbard-on-islam-vs-islamism-c87b1...

[14] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SIT-clears-Narendra-Modi-of-wi...

[15] https://www.tulsigabbard.org/tulsi-gabbard-on-lgbt?fbclid=IwAR3bXV9sYiQy...

[16] http://politicsthatwork.com/voting-record/Tulsi-Gabbard-412532

[17] https://votesmart.org/public-statement/1197627/letter-to-donald-j-trump-...

[18] https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/08/archives/malcolm-x-pleased-by-whites-...

[19] https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-03-11-1995070104-story.html

[20] https://www.islamicpluralism.org/

[21] http://ifut.net/3569-2/?fbclid=IwAR3zoATYaNTeCEmLrsf6BVlAiA6piiaSFCB7CMy...

[22] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKfNTIhNt0U

[23] https://medium.com/@na_rup/exposing-lies-in-zaid-jilanis-article-on-tulsi-gabbard-cdb0e1589e6c?fbclid=IwAR2SepH7-d-k5evUOeXm2lfMPPMpltlQLWbOjZ_HMstsV6gwgWSkLeKrk9c

[24] https://medium.com/@Harihar/rep-tulsi-gabbard-on-islam-vs-islamism-c87b1...

[25] https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/assad-victory-...

[26] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/01/syria-sunnis-assad/...

[27] https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/05/assads-sunni-foot-soldiers-syria/

[28] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/18/syrian-kurds-accused-of-ethn...

[29] https://citizentruth.org/congresswoman-cynthia-mckinneys-trip-libya/

[30] https://apnews.com/c3f3b011daa1449fb654a44431610a43

[31] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/23/syria-foreign-fighters-joi...

[32] https://www.rt.com/news/syria-fsa-defected-officers-081/

[33] https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/high-ranking-fsa-commander-abandons...

[34] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/01/civilians-in-syrias-last-r...

[35] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/world/middleeast/syria-kurds-turkey-m...

[36] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/omar-al-bashir-visi...

[37] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kuwait/kuwait-ex...

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@Tall Bald and Ugly And since when is Warren considered part of the establishment?

She's been mostly anti-establishment. (note the word 'mostly.')

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dfarrah

arendt's picture

@dfarrah

I met Warren at a fundraiser in 2010. I voted for her. She is a gigantic disappointment. Another talk one way, vote another way, go along to get along corporatist. Others, like Lambert Strether at Naked Capitalism have her number (see quote below). As a Congressperson (as opposed to an Executive Branch official, where she did some good), she virtue signals, but pulls her punches. She does not deliver the goods. TPTB leave her out there to demonstrate that some degree of dissension is allowed in the DP, especially if that dissension is toothless.

Its hard to pull a pithy quote out of Stether's line-by-line dissection of a recent Warren speech. This is the best I could do:

workers are passive, acted upon by rules, and those who create them. But Warren contradicts herself: “Lyft and Uber have often resisted efforts of those very same workers.” Here, workers are active. But if workers are active in the second context, they are also active in the first! Where does Warren think change comes from? The generous hearts of Uber managment and its marks investors?...

Warren’s theory of change — which seems to involve people of good will “at the table” — cannot give an account of events like Haymarket or why, in the present day, it’s Uber’s drivers who are also the drivers of change, and not benevolent rulemakers. Warren’s views on the social contract are in great contrast to Sanders’ “Not me, us.”

The Social Contract According to Elizabeth Warren

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Roy Blakeley's picture

@arendt publican. She is a capitalist but would like to take the rough edges off so that it works better and is less harmful. This puts her to the left of the Democratic Party leadership, who are Nixon or Reagan Republicans. Neither she nor Bernie shows a lot of insight or courage with respect to foreign policy as far as I know. On the other hand, criticizing the US military or Israel seems to ensure political death these days. Only a few (e.g. Tulsi, Ro Khanna) have been brave enough to do it unless the msm gave them cover (e.g. babies dying).

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@arendt came upon the national scene, she was among the few dems decrying the connection between Wall Street and the depression, and talked about reigning in the big banks. Plus she talked about medical costs causing bankruptcies, she was behind the establishment of the Consumer Protection Board, and she talked about jobs. At the time, she sounded rather radical.

Now, the CPB has been de-toothed, I think.

But I haven't paid close attention to her since Bernie ran for pres and don't know how she has morphed.

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dfarrah

mimi's picture

@arendt
I learned something. Smile (no snark)

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

@dfarrah

position,

. . . The job, strategic policy adviser to the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, cements her role as the Senate’s most prominent conduit to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Now, Bernie's also holding a similar position,

. . . The Vermont independent will be the chair of “outreach” for Senate Democrats next Congress, Senate Democratic Leader-elect Chuck Schumer of New York announced Wednesday.

Blue Onyx

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

mhagle's picture

Like mimi, I prefer to read a long detailed referenced article rather than edited video. I enjoy videos, for other reasons. Comedy, music, gardening, spirituality.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Anja Geitz's picture

As your very lengthy and detailed essay indicates, you certainly seem very dedicated in your support for your candidate. As a ph.d student I can't imagine where you found the time to write and cite this homage to your candidate. Perhaps Ms. Gabbard should know about your efforts and recruit you on her campaign?

Yes, you are right. The election season has begun. It will be interesting to see who drives by next and drops off their views here and then drives off.

Would you like fries with that?

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

I believe that the essay was written in response to the Daily Kos straw poll which has been cited in several MSM articles as though it's from a "strongly progressive website on the left". The poll shows Bernie languishing in 5th place with only 11% and doesn't rank Tulsi at all. Most of the people at Run Tulsi Run would be happy if Bernie was the candidate as long as Tulsi was his VP. There was a lot of hate directed at Kos and C99% was suggested as an alternative. Many people there had never heard of this site (or Kos).

This essay was first published at Kos with predictable results.

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CS in AZ's picture

@artisan

That context is helpful to know. I don’t read those other sites and rarely look at daily kos anymore.

Written to promote Tulsi, obvious. Why... that is not so obvious to me. But I realize I would not see the appeal, because I’m not charmed by Tulsi in particular, and the dem primary is not on my list of priorities at all. Especially since I live in AZ and my voter registration is independent, or not affiliated of whatever they call it here. Which means I’m excluded from voting in the party primaries for the presidential election. So literally I don’t even have a vote to give to any of them, even if I wanted to.

I didn’t sign up for the party in order to vote in the primary for either Bernie or Obama, both of whom I was gaga about at the time. I’m sure not becoming a democrat now.

Anyhow, I see that I really don’t grok it anymore, being this invested in any political candidate. It all just seems so pointless, all this energy being expended on this. And the money!

The recent midterms cost billions. The GE will cost billions more.

Imagine doing something useful with all that energy and money.

That’s my cynical view of politics nowadays.

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N/T

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

as you can tell, we give Everybody a hard ass razzen' when certain subjects come up. Not pickin' on You personally(youre just handy now), we insist on background, supporting info, etc. . .Which you seem to have brought! Good arguments, basic civility in debates( cursing allowed, just not At each other) and otherwise Spirited debating is encouraged!
A Lot of us continue to 'wander through the wasteland' that IS our current political landscape. Do Not be discouraged-our proverbial bark is WAAAY worse than any bite.

peace

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Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

Anja Geitz's picture

My apologies for the sarcasm of my response to your essay. My knee jerk reaction had less to do with your essay and more to do with a flashback of the 2016 election where most of us were members of the Daily Kos and who were psychologically bludgeoned, ridiculed, and punished for supporting Bernie by both the membership there and the paid shills who relentlessly published false diaries there.

C99 has a lot of great people here who, while definitely opinionated, do believe in supporting a political site that tolerates discussions from every side. I don't believe in the electoral process any more, so I'm most likely not your target audience, but that's beside the point. You have a right to post what was a well written and thought out defense of your candidate.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

her my #1 choice. Her views on torture still need to evolve but she's a smart lady with a good heart.
AFAIK she and Bernie were the only 2 D's to show up at the pipeline demonstration.
Thanks for a well written piece.

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chuck utzman

TULSI 2020

Deja's picture

@chuckutzman
Someone got arrested that was a big name. Maybe it was Amy Goodman?

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@Deja

but she is not a Democrat.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/09/dakota-access-pipeline-j...

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Big Al's picture

the place down. I put up a short sarcastic comment that seems to have blown into something bigger. I regret that and promise it won't happen again. To be clear, I in no way was inferring that JtC had anything to do with this essay being posted here (as a "commercial"). I was simply implying that it looked like some kind of campaign release from or for a political candidate. I will no longer comment or post about elections or political candidates here so as to help prevent this from happening again.

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@Big Al BA, keep commenting,Please? I might not Always agree with you, but ya make me Think, dammit, and I need All the help I can Get on that one!
That goes for the rest of Youze, too!

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Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

@Big Al

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chuck utzman

TULSI 2020

detroitmechworks's picture

@Big Al I'll stick to my own essays and the open threads from here on out.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Deja's picture

@detroitmechworks
You add valuable content, as does BA, within the comments. If everyone just comments in their own essays, it'll be ridiculously boring. Nothing but essays and the authors talking to themselves.

I don't see how what has been posted on this thread as anywhere near the level it would need to be, to shut her down, but I'm a nobody who loses my mind on the internet at veritable strangers, on occasion, so what do I know? Still, how do you have a political website without discourse? What happened on this essay was self policed. I don't see the earth-shattering incident that would cause JtC to contemplate shutting it down unless he wants no discourse or disagreement, which would put it right back to essay authors posting, then talking to themselves in the comments.

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detroitmechworks's picture

@Deja I don't need the drama. Folks have stated that they find my humor inappropriate. I have had far too much experience with Weaponized Boundary Setting these days to play the tiptoe around game.

Far as I'm concerned, I have been asked to stop. I will not risk violating a clearly set boundary even if I feel it is unreasonable. Not stopping the FIRST time you are asked is considered abusive and harassment by some.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Deja's picture

@detroitmechworks
But I see nothing inappropriate here. Guess I missed when you were asked to stop commenting or making jokes.

I used to frequent a non political site that is downright crude. No rules except no kiddie porn, bestiality or doxing. Then I went to TOP. Had to bite my tongue, not to keep from telling someone to fuck off, because that is actually allowed there unless you tell the wrong person, and they tattle, but when I didn't agree with the herd. Now I'm here, and what used to be fine, is now not, apparently. It's unfortunate too. Not that we can't tell people to fuck off, but because some are having to self censor if they don't go along with the herd or else get a pile on. I think it started with metoo. That too is unfortunate. Is it possible to bring it back?

I don't know the answer, but I just smoked a bowl, so all sorts of answers will be coming in, any minute . . .

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@detroitmechworks for both you and Big Al. We don’t need censorship as long as people subscribe to DBAD. This place suffers with anyone self HRing. If essay comments are reduced to comments that only agree with each other, JtC might as well shut this place down and we can all go back to ToP.

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

Big Al's picture

@Dr. John Carpenter it's just not worth it. It's obviously better just to bite one's tongue when disagreeing with the views on a political candidate supported by most on this site.

I made one smart ass comment in the last five days and it turned into (evidently) a threat to close the place down. So now I feel as I've been chastised for making that comment. I was told to calm down which was rec'd by a good number of people who obviously feel the same way about me and my opinions about democratic party politicians, AND, the owner threatened to close the blog down. Since I don't know how else to respond to a bullshit essay like this that I could easily challenge, it's obviously best I simply don't. I'm not willing to be the bad guy anymore, it fucking sucks. Been THERE, done that.

So ya, with that kind of pressure, it's going to be an echo chamber. But I understand it, the majority have spoken and C99 is all about democracy.

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dance you monster's picture

@Big Al

It's obviously better just to bite one's tongue when disagreeing with the views on a political candidate supported by most on this site.

Who (besides you) said Tulsi is supported by most on this site?

I made one smart ass comment in the last five days and it turned into (evidently) a threat to close the place down. So now I feel as I've been chastised for making that comment. I was told to calm down which was rec'd by a good number of people who obviously feel the same way about me and my opinions about democratic party politicians, AND, the owner threatened to close the blog down.

It looked to me that people reacted to your sarcastic dismissal of the OP, not that they were some bloc sharing the same opinion about you personally or about any politician but that they responded to your behavior in that moment.

Since I don't know how else to respond to a bullshit essay like this that I could easily challenge, it's obviously best I simply don't. I'm not willing to be the bad guy anymore

Maybe start by not calling an essay bullshit without a reasoned rebuttal. You say you could have rebutted it easily, but you didn't do that, did you? And you close the ensuing discussion of the c99p rules of the road by just labeling the essayist's effort as bullshit, 'cuz somethin'. Feel better? 'Cuz for some personal pout you just lowered the culture of the site still further. The drama, . . . it sucks. You're making it about you again. You could have made it about the content of the original essay and raised the level of discourse here. Why didn't you?

Sorry to extend the meta, everybody, but someone had to respond to this.

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Big Al's picture

@dance you monster @dance you monster All right, fuck it.

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CS in AZ's picture

@dance you monster

I was just reading the new “dreaded meta” post where joe asks everyone to be kind to each other so we can all get along and not make other people feel like leaving or going silent. He suggests:

So, in this special season, let's remember to be kind to others, eh?

Maybe kindness means recognizing that people are human beings, with feelings, who have bad days or moments where they fail to be all you’d like, people who make mistakes.

Maybe kindness means realizing that people don’t need to be verbally beaten up on those days.

Personally, I don’t think that kicking someone when they are already down is showing kindness. And I sure don’t think it’s something anyone needs to do.

Just my opinion, of course. I guess that’s a problem with using ‘kindness’ as the guiding light... it’s one of those words that everyone interprets their own way. But to my eyes, this post was unnecessary and unkind. Although I hope Big Al keeps posting here, it’s easy to see why he would think twice, at least.

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dance you monster's picture

@CS in AZ

And I hesitated long before responding as I did. I won't be making any friends with my post, will likely lose some.

You mention that BA was down. The problem was he wasn't licking wounds but was doubling down, with another substance-free attack on the original essay, and with unsubstantiated claims against other c99ers' motives. No one had a problem with anyone's disagreeing with his or her views; the problem was with the manner of expression.

The point of meta is to get us to stop doing something we shouldn't be doing. BA evidently had not taken that to heart, and that meant we'd see this kind of behavior pop up again in short order in another thread that doesn't conform to BA's point of view. This is not our first ride on this merry-go-round. I am pleading with him to stop. I want his voice and opinion here, but not the spitballs.

My goal is not to stifle BA. Everyone, I mean everyone, here can, and absolutely should, disagree when he/she wants. But leave the pissiness, the snide, substance-free jab at the top of a thread (remember how we all hated that at TOP?), at home, and get a much more fruitful discussion going.

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CS in AZ's picture

@dance you monster

Again:

Maybe kindness means recognizing that people are human beings, with feelings, who have bad days or moments where they fail to be all you’d like, people who make mistakes.

Your expectations that Big Al must always conform to your boundaries on what he’s allow to say or how, is what I’m thinking about when I say that.

Actually, in my view again, Al’s very first post on this was succinct, and yet spoke volumes to those of us who — like TBU posted about earlier — saw the essay as a piece of fluff propaganda for Tulsi Gabbard. There’s no need to spend hours factuality rebutting it. Al has posted in depth critiques of Gabbard in the past on here, more than once. His short post was his reaction to seeing an essay that is easily identified as candidate-cheering that glosses over serious issues and questions.

Why is he obligated to write yet again on the topic? I don’t see why. Yep he could have just kept silent instead, rather than leaving a short message of frustration. Again, nobody gets it perfect every day.

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@CS in AZ Thanks for putting what I was thinking into words. There’s something about all this that’s really bugging me for some reason, but I think you articulated some of it.

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

Raggedy Ann's picture

@dance you monster
I made this comment in joe sixpack's silly season essay.

Let's accept people for who they are - warts and all. It appears you are not on board with Big Al's warts. Well, we all have warts, so let's be kind about those warts. I have them too. I would appreciate folks being gentle with me - or just walk away from my warts.

A point is NEVER that important to make at the expense of another human. Pleasantry

Drinks

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

mimi's picture

@Big Al
my words to calm down were misplaced and uncalled for. It was just that I found it a bit sneaky to compare Gabbard with Obama, as it is known how many people really are deeply offended about Obama's betrayals. Tulsi hasn't done it (yet). That's what triggered me. I just made another additional comment as response to the Jane Sanders interview, she did with Gabbard.

so, now I need you "to stand by us" and I need my "lollipop".
[video:https://youtu.be/hwZNL7QVJjE]
[video:https://youtu.be/K7hpFKTd2oE]
Kiss 3

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@Big Al (may I call you that?) I don't believe 'the site' has spoken For or Against any candidate. I'm pretty sure that's not what this 'site' is about. You Know this. I laughed like Hell at your comment because it encapsulated My first thought on this essay as well. To wit; I kept expecting a gif at the end with Tulsi's face showing up and a banner repeating"I'm Tulsi Gabbard, and I Approve this message!"
That accounts for my first comments dickish-ness, which I recognized and then walked away, and th n walked Back a bit.
So Some of Us didn't respond well to a new poster(raises hand contritely) with their first post Here. Maybe that tripped JtC's trigger, maybe not. I. Don't. Know.
And neither do you, or anybody else.
I Do know this 'Site' is Bigger and Better than the sum of its participants, but that it Needs All its disparate Voices to remain Vocal to function that way.
Stay or go, your decision(obviously).
Somebody put some CLASH in here?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BN1WwnEDWAM

That goes for you too, dmw.

peace

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Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

Big Al's picture

@Tall Bald and Ugly

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dance you monster's picture

Alex, thank you for posting here. And for your effort to pull all you posted together.

As you've doubtless noted, and I'll say this for any other newcomers reading this thread, we have a large contingent at this site who believe voting for anyone in a primary of either of the two big parties is a waste of time, or worse. It's a battle -- between the "reformers" of the Democratic Party and the eschewers thereof -- that has been going on for many, many months here. That's the context into which you walked here. It gets testy quickly and frequently, in part because the active participants here are divided almost equally between the two camps. And since so many here honed their blogging skills at the GOS, it gets abrasive more often than is healthy.

I, for one, appreciated your effort. I hope you'll stick around.

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"election" that opened my eyes to the absolute failure of electoral politics but it sure helped. I just can no longer see or believe that any election will change the basic trajectory of this country. While we argue about walls and candidates and should we vote or not the world continues to burn and this country is still heading right down the shitter, IMHO.

And as CZ in AZ stated above, it all seems like a waste of time and money, time we simply do not seem to have as a species and money that could be spent to perhaps delay the inevitable collapse.

A friend asked me today about Gillibrand, and said to me "go ahead and burst my bubble" and to fill her in on what little I even know or care about Gillibrand or any of them. Maybe we need to stop developing "bubbles" that always get burst? I'll not place my faith in ANY candidate of any "party" ever again, I just can't do it. Call it pride, defeatism, negativity, whatever label one wishes to apply but the knowledge that these people herd us into opposing camps and laugh their proverbial asses off while we scream to high heaven at each other sickens me to my core and I can't unsee that now.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

snoopydawg's picture

@lizzyh7

Spot on, lizzy!

Maybe we need to stop developing "bubbles" that always get burst?

This is what I have done in the past I'll admit. I was never interested in politics that much until Bush became pres.... first because I was so against the Iraq war and then because he was such a doofus. And his policies.. oh yeah I could see where they were leading us.

Thence Obama came along and was going to save the country. Poor naive me believing that he would do what I thought he said he would do. Talk about a bubble popping very fast!

With both of them I let myself get caught up in their actions while not understanding that no matter who gets to play president the little people will never win. But I especially wasted lots of energy in the Bush presidency and I see people doing that again with Trump. Meanwhile backstage the parties are continuing their dance to their master's tunes.

Welcome to the blue blog, Alex. I'm probably the only one who read this when you posted it on DK. I literally LMAO seeing how it went over there. This was after reading a diary where people were saying that Liz was getting the HRC treatment of sexism and misogynism only to see people criticizing Tulsi and not being called those things. Or racist. Stick around. It's all uphill from here...

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

earthling1's picture

Spirited commentary.
Biting retorts.
Sincere apologies.
Won't find any of this at TOP.
Thanks everyone, especially you Alex.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Gabbard showed up in Cannonball, North Dakota, to support the water protectors against the DAPL pipeline. That's seriously showing up. To the best of my knowledge, no other Democratic party pol did that.

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gulfgal98's picture

This is a very extensive and well documented essay and I commend you for that.

Since some of us here have been burned in the past, we sometimes can be wary of a newcomer. I hope you will not take that personally and will continue to write and post here in the future.

While I have some misgivings about all the potential candidates out there including both Bernie and Tulsi, I think it is good for us to learn more about all the potential candidates. Your essay gives us a great overview of Tulsi. As I stated in my comment above, I have some concerns about Tulsi's public comments on the war on terror and torture, but her recent trip to Syria and her comments about the Palestinians in Gaza are reassuring to me that she would not be a hard line war hawk if elected. One of the big things I find extremely refreshing about Tulsi Gabbard is her courage and leadership skills.

Thank you again for joining us and writing this excellent essay. I hope we will see more from you in the future.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

divineorder's picture

Foreign policy any time.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Lookout's picture

I've gotten to where I don't often comment in these election based to dos. But I wanted to say I appreciated your research and work to present a best case for Tulsi. Personally I wish she and Bernie would walk away from the dims and help Branna create a peoples party. I wish Bernie had walked out of the DNC and accepted Jill's offer to run as a Green.

Although she is the most anti-war of all the candidates I'm aware of (better than Bernie for example), she still supports droning (which of course creates more terrorists). No one is perfect. Expecting perfection is guaranteed disappointment.

I wish Tulsi the best of luck, and hope you will continue to participate in our conversation.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Lookout

with that way of thinking. Perhaps it's the way in which it basically equalizes all the different policy points as if they were items on a Christmas list, which is a bit troubling when some of those policies involve assassination and torture. And then again, others of the policies involve destroying the capacity of the planet to support human life, or putting lead in water that's reducing the IQs of kids in Flint. "You can't expect to get everything you want" is a troubling position when you're talking about effects like that.

I'm not sure why we couldn't expect to have a government that, at least, assassinates and tortures people far more rarely than it does now; a government that, rather than claiming publicly that assassination and torture are (practically automatically)justified, feels the need to hide those actions in the shadows, because there is no pretense that assassination or torture could be considered right action; rather, there would be the understanding that assassination and torture would be extreme measures of last resort, only undertaken in the most extreme corner cases and under extreme pressure--if at all.

That was, after all, the government those of us over 40 lived under for most of our lives. And before Al or anybody else gets on my case, I was always one of the people who protested most strenuously against torture and assassinations that our government committed in the shadows; I'm not saying the old government was good. I'm saying that what we have now is far, far worse, and that it's hard to understand why "you can't expect perfection" holds water as a response to these terrible policies, when I was over 30 before any notion that Americans should accept torture and assassination was noised abroad.

The metaphor, or frame, of this kind of political thinking also focuses attention not on policy effects, but on the character of the critics, explaining them away as Veruca Salts of morality: spoiled children, replete with privilege, who don't understand that to be an adult is to accept that things don't always go your way. The fact that the things that aren't going our way involve lots of people dead for no good reason gets lost in the shuffle.

None of this is intended to be an attack on you, Lookout; I'm just trying to work out why I feel so queasy whenever this talking point comes up.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Anja Geitz's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

about the "purity" accusation.

which is a bit troubling when some of those policies involve assassination and torture. And then again, others of the policies involve destroying the capacity of the planet to support human life, or putting lead in water that's reducing the IQs of kids in Flint. "You can't expect to get everything you want" is a troubling position when you're talking about effects like that.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Anja Geitz's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

The metaphor, or frame, of this kind of political thinking also focuses attention not on policy effects, but on the character of the critics, explaining them away as Veruca Salts of morality: spoiled children, replete with privilege, who don't understand that to be an adult is to accept that things don't always go your way. The fact that the things that aren't going our way involve lots of people dead for no good reason gets lost in the shuffle.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Lookout's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

is guaranteed disappointment. In yourself as well as others.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Lookout @Lookout

"not supporting drone strikes" to be some kind of unrealistic Platonic ideal?
In other words, who defines what constitutes an unreachable standard of perfection?

It seems like the current concept of perfection could be used to counter any criticism of any politician or policy. As a matter of fact, the current concept of perfection seems not to have much meaning at all beyond its function of shutting down dissent.

I'll show you what I mean. Let's construct a fictional alternative-history Tulsi Gabbard, Tulsi 2.0. So let's say Tulsi 2.0, in her alternative timeline, supports Medicare for All, getting out of 4 of the 7 wars we're in over in the Middle East, and a 15-dollar minimum wage, but she also believes in Russiagate, the Syria war, and fighting Iran. She has a problem with racist prison conditions in this country, but doesn't have a problem with indefinite detention, drone assassination, and torture.

So people see Tulsi 2.0's various speeches, and some of them say "American politicians shouldn't support extrajudicial executions because that interferes with the rule of law. Currently, unelected people whose names we don't even know can order people anywhere in the world to be murdered, pausing briefly to get a rubber stamp from the President, and we shouldn't accept that. If Tulsi 2.0 is OK with that policy, that's a problem with Tulsi 2.0."

And then other people say "If you expect perfection, you're sure to be disappointed."

What gets lost as a result of that response:

1)The fact that some nameless people within our government are simply killing at will

2)The losses and damage that policy causes worldwide

3)The political situations that arise because of those losses, which we then need to deal with

3)The horrifying political implications of the fact that the people in power are murdering whenever they feel like it, apparently refraining from murdering Americans stateside simply because potential blowback would be inconvenient (there's certainly nothing in our legal structure that would stop them from murdering here as they do elsewhere).

All those considerations go away, and in their place arises a critique of the characters of people who have a problem with drone strikes. Or, possibly, a critique of the characters of people who think they shouldn't give their political allegiance to those who support drone strikes.

And what's great about this talking point is that it can be used to shut down any critique. The only thing necessary is that the politician or organization in question has to make some concession to good policy at least in speeches. So if somebody talks about how Medicare for All and clean energy are good things, they can't be criticized on anything else. And they don't have to actually accomplish anything like achieving Medicare for All or getting us off petroleum; they don't even have to accomplish incremental movement toward those goals. All they have to do is say the right things.

That being said, I suspect Tulsi Gabbard probably really believes what she's been saying about war and climate change; she certainly has reasons, from her own life experience, to believe what she says she does. But the purist/perfectionist talking point basically even makes the best of the politicians into a weapon for shutting down dissent. People get discredited unless they stop criticizing the good politicians for their bad policy positions. It seems to me that it was, under the Republic, our responsibility as citizens to make exactly those sorts of criticisms: that is how we exerted all the force we could to direct our country down the right paths rather than the paths of tyranny, waste, and abuse. Now it seems like we are blamed if we don't give the right kind of unquestioning allegiance to people who tell us they share some of our beliefs, as if we should be so grateful that they advocate for some of our beliefs that we should give them our unequivocal support henceforward.

Also, there seems to be an assumption that if we criticize Tulsi's policies, we're doing something massively bad to Tulsi. There almost seems to be an idea kicking around that if we criticize Tulsi, or refuse to give her our support, she will lose because of us.
When in fact, there seems to be little evidence that our allegiance, or lack thereof, causes politicians to win or lose. Bernie is a great example of that.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Lookout's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

I think my original comment was she looked like the best of the lot...but I'm not pushing any politics nor politician. I'm pushing gardening.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

SnappleBC's picture

I've been watching Tulsi since she stepped down as vice-chair of the DNC to support Sanders. Many of the arguments you've illustrated I was already aware of but it's great to have the compendium of links you've put together. For the rest, I'd heard the argument proposed on GOS which puts it into the "likely false" category in my head. I'm looking forward to reading the links you've provided on them to get a more solid feel.

Honestly, I see Tulsi a lot like Sanders. They are both in the "best we can hope for" camp for people who are fighting inside the system. Neither of them perceives the larger issues... that capitalism itself has issues and that the particular way we've implemented it is particularly toxic.

I would vote for either one of them. But we need so much more.

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

Amanda Matthews's picture

The rest of the wretched? *Meh*

(Glad I found out early that Beto isn’t all he’s cracked up to be.)

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

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