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38-year-old Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was by far the most distinguished and mature candidate on the stage Tuesday night. She was also completely ignored throughout the majority of the evening by CNN moderators and her fellow Democratic candidates.
For Gabbard and her small base of supporters, it was par for the course. Members of the Democrat party and the mainstream press have been ignoring her for months.
On the surface, it seems puzzling. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard presents as the ideal candidate for Democrats to rally behind. When she was elected in 2012, Gabbard, a veteran of the Iraq War, became the first Samoan American and Hindu member of Congress. She’s young, charismatic, and consistently demonstrates a willingness to reach across party lines.
She’s also relatively moderate in her positions on key issues and refuses to demonize her political adversaries. Therein lies the problem.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is a rarity in the modern-day Democratic party: a genuine adult who conducts herself with class, communicates in a civil manner, and understands the broader impact of the radical left’s relentless attempts to overturn the 2016 election and destroy President Trump.
No wonder she’s rejected and ignored; there’s no place for civility and rational thought in the modern day Democrat party.
It’s ironic in a way. For Conservatives who are anti-Trump and those who have grown tired of the President’s antics, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is a Democrat whom weary Republicans could conceivably rally behind and support in 2020.
Sadly, the very qualities that make Gabbard a legitimate and logical choice are why Democrats shun her. Gabbard knows this, yet she remains willing to break from the pack and stand on principle. That’s integrity.
When the opportunity finally presented itself Tuesday night for Rep. Gabbard to speak her mind, the 38-year-old Iraq War veteran seized the moment and owned the stage.
Debate moderators kicked things off last night by asking every candidate about his or her stance on impeachment. While most took the opportunity to grandstand and pathetically regurgitate talking points designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, Gabbard broke from the partisan narrative.
“If impeachment is driven by these hyperpartisan interests … it will only further divide the country,” said Gabbard, later noting that “calls for impeachment really began shortly after Trump won his election, and as unhappy as that may make us as Democrats, he won that election in 2016.”
Predictably, Rep. Gabbard took one hell of a beating on social media for her measured and reasonable answer to the moderator’s question.
Gabbard also went after the hosts of Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate, labeling their coverage of her “completely despicable.”
She accused the news media and politicians of pushing the conflict in Syria.
“Not only that, New York Times and CNN have also smeared veterans like [me] for calling for an end to this regime-change war,” said Gabbard.
“Just two days ago The New York Times put out an article saying that I’m a Russian asset and an [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad apologist and all these different smears. This morning a CNN commentator said on national television that I’m an asset of Russia.”
Later in the evening, Gabbard went head-to-head with South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg over President Trump’s decision to pull back US troops stationed along the northeast Syria border.
“Donald Trump has the blood of the Kurds on his hand, but so do many of the politicians in our country from both parties who have supported this ongoing regime-change war in Syria that started in 2011, along with many in the mainstream media, who have been championing and cheerleading this regime-change war,” Gabbard said.
“We need to get out, but we need to do this through a negotiated solution,” she added.
Look, we’re not saying we’d support Rep. Tulsi Gabbard over President Trump in 2020. Just take comfort and find hope in the fact that a handful of reasonably intelligent and mature individuals who are willing to seek common ground with their political adversaries still exist in the Democrat party.
The Chicks on the Right have additional commentary on Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s debate performance in the clip below.
