BT not a place for a balanced view or a fair debate … do the research yourself!
The views of parts of the Democratic Party are closer to John McCain on intervention in Syria and support of global jihadists. The legacy of the Obama administration on regime change of sovereign nations in MENA will rival the eights years under George Bush after 9/11. The aftermath is devastation, suffering and unintended consequences: the Islamic State of Iran gaining influence in Iraq and Syria.
Tulsi Gabbard is clearly not mainstream by Democrats today … I know too little about her and certainly do not approve of all her individual actions.
More below the fold …
Why is Daily Kos Lying About Tulsi’s Record on Progressive Issues?
There have been multiple diaries written on Daily Kos regurgitating the same tired criticisms of Tulsi that have no actual basis in her voting record, positions, personal integrity and aloha for all people. In order to look at any individual in public office clearly, we need to be looking at the actual facts, not rumor/innuendo. I’ve been very concerned by the way political opponents of Tulsi have tried to distort her record and in many, cases, accuse her of the exact opposite of what her actual record is. One has to wonder what is the motivation behind that kind of dishonesty. That said, here is a point by point response to the accusations being bandied against her
Accusation #1: Islamophobic
Saying someone is Islamophobic is an extremely negative thing to say about them, in the same vein as calling someone sexist, racist, bigoted, etc. It conjures up a very negative image. To use words like “bigot, Islamophobe, racist, etc” untruthfully can only be called a smear of the lowest kind. The facts show this underhanded accusation is completely baseless …
An Islamophobic Progressive? | Socialist Worker |
U.S. REP. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has again catapulted herself into the national spotlight by joining the mobilization of veterans to Standing Rock to stand in solidarity with the water protectors against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
This act of solidarity seems to go with other pieces of evidence that mark her as a progressive: her resignation as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee over the rigging of the Democratic primaries for Hillary Clinton; her endorsement of Bernie Sanders’ left-wing primary campaign; her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership economic agreement.
Yet many liberals were befuddled by Gabbard’s decision, just before going to Standing Rock, to interview with Donald Trump, apparently in the hopes of securing an appointment to his administration. CNN reported last month that the bigoted billionaire president-elect is considering her for positions in “the Defense Department, State Department and the United Nations.”
Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran who made history in 2012 as the first Hindu elected to the US Congress, has cemented herself as a rising star within the Democratic party.
At 21, she was the youngest person to be elected to the Hawaii state Legislature. Then she set her sights on the military.
“In 2003, I felt the need to do more with my life and to do more in the way of service,” she said. “I remember sitting in my office watching the Saddam Hussein statue topple [in Baghdad]. That was shortly before I enlisted. I shipped off to basic training at the end of May 2003 to Fort Jackson, S.C.”
Eventually, she became a platoon leader and a company commander.
She has the support of Bernie Sanders, the de facto leader of the progressive movement, and boasts of endorsements from a string of liberal-friendly groups. The environment-focused Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters, labor unions such as the AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood and National Nurses United have all given Gabbard, a three-term congresswoman, their blessing as she seeks re-election in the November midterm elections.
But Gabbard’s stated progressive bona fides have been called into question by her opponents, who are waging an ambitious challenge from the left in the hopes of pulling off an upset in Saturday’s Hawaii congressional primary.
Although their prospects are grim, Gabbard’s critics say her views on foreign policy and tolerance for dictators such as Bashar al-Assad deserve another look.
…
Gabbard declined an interview for this story.“Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has spoken out strongly against the Trump administration’s travel/refugee ban, the Trump administration’s illegal military strikes against Syria, Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, Trump’s decision to end DACA, and other dangerous decisions and policies,” Erika Tsuji, a spokeswoman for Gabbard’s re-election campaign, said in a statement to the Guardian.
Gabbard also stands by her meeting with Assad, her spokeswoman said: “She has stated time and again that peace can never be achieved if we only meet and speak with our friends. If we really want peace, we need to be fearless enough to sit down and speak directly with our adversaries.”
Although a majority of Democratic voters in Gabbard’s district and neighboring areas said she was obligated to debate her rivals, the snub has not appeared to have had much palpable effect on her prospects.
Colin Moore, an associate professor of political science at the University of Hawaii, said Gabbard’s continued popularity was undeniable. But whereas he predicted Gabbard would sail to another term in Congress, Moore said she has yet to truly be tested nationally — where her ambitions may, in fact, be.
Gabbard told the Huffington Post about how her religion helped her through Iraq, “First thing in the morning and the last thing at night, I meditated upon the fact that my essence was spirit, not matter, that I was not my physical body, and that I didn’t need to worry about death because I knew that I would continue to exist and I knew that I would be going to God,” she said.
Her opponent, Kawika Crowley, even went so far as to say Gabbard’s religion “was incompatible with the Constitution.”
Gabbard retorted with an appeal to her service, via an email to HuffPo: “It is stunning that some people in Congress would so arrogantly thumb their nose at the Bill of Rights. When I volunteered to put my life on the line in defense of our country, no one asked me what my religion was.”
○ Here’s why the Hawaii LGBT Caucus doesn’t support Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s reelection campaign
- Fortunately, progressives and liberals who do not want to support such an ethically challenged rule-breaking Israel apologist war crimes-denier with a bizarre right-wing record have an alternative in the 2018 Democratic Party primary: Sherry Campagna. The Hawaii State Teachers Association has endorsed Campagna and so should you. The primary is on August 11. [Source: Vox]
There really isn't much else to say here. Assad's Congresswoman – @TulsiGabbard won her primary in the #HI02. A true moral failing. #HawaiiPrimary #HIvote pic.twitter.com/faviwaeAdv
— Matthew Isbell (@mcimaps) August 12, 2018
Tulsi Gabbard was overwhelmingly elected in Saturday’s primary …
Enough said!
