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DBC Sez...

Transcribing a Twitter Thread

21/2/2019

 
This is me not caring about the Democratic race for the 2020 presidential nomination—not caring so hard that I'm writing about it again.

To be more precise, I am writing yet another post about Tulsi Gabbard, the candidate whose rhetoric thus far best embodies progressive ideals—yes, better than Bernie in that regard. And she delivers that rhetoric so calmly and smoothly. I'm beginning to wonder if she ever raises her voice to be heard over a cheering crowd.

This morning, inspired by the clip of Rep. Gabbard on The View, I took to Twitter and hammered out a nine-part thread. Rather than link to the tweets or embed them, I figured I should preserve them here. As of this afternoon, to my complete lack of surprise, Gabbard has yet to respond. She and her crew keep a rather busy schedule.

This was also inspired in part by a recent reminder in a secret Facebook group: The author of the post referred to Gabbard as a "tool of empire" and warned that as long as she remains a Democrat she will play a sheep-dog role in the campaign after the party nominates yet another centrist warmonger.

Figueredo has a lot to say about this View segment; Kulinski has even more. The first portion of her appearance is below the fold.
Aloha, @TulsiGabbard. A few disagreements on policy aside, I consider you the best declared presidential candidate as of now. That said, can we talk about your overuse of the phrase "regime-change wars"?

2/ It's not just wars for regime change that we need to quit, but wars for preservation of regimes, or for any reason other than thwarting a direct military threat to the United States.

3/ The Saudi war in Yemen, which the US is actively supporting, is a war to maintain the current regime there and crush a popular resistance movement. It is on track to kill millions of Yemeni civilians, whatever their political sympathies.

4/ Your anti-war positions, like the views on foreign policy that you have expressed are pragmatic. That's what makes you stand out. But as you well know, opposing wars based on pragmatism isn't what gets votes.

5/ In today's political environment, you need to build a MORAL case against US involvement in overseas military misadventures. While you're at it, you can also build a moral case against the US-led global corporate empire.

6/ The US carries on these wars mostly at the behest of that empire. Saudi Arabia and Israel are two of the main accomplices in maintaining the empire. And how do they manufacture public consent for them? "Humanitarian" reasons, i.e. "morality."

7/ Mainstream/establishment media has already put the smear machine in motion against you. You are a kook to them, fit to be either ignored or pilloried on the chat shows. You may as well go full kook & expose the empire for what it is while you have a national platform.

8/ We need regime change here in the US, and we can accomplish it peacefully. But more importantly we need systemic change. As a Green, I support your vision of a government that makes compassion for people & planet its primary motivator, not corporate profits.

9/ We need a revolution: peaceful if possible. Violent revolution has not yet proven capable of implement an agenda of compassion. But the plutocrats, who pose the biggest threat to people & planet, have to go. Challenge the Empire, Tulsi2020.

SocraticGadfly
23/2/2019 11:06:57

Surprised on this piece. Tulsi is known to be in bed with the neocons on Israel and Palestine. She has repeated Zionist claims, like those that Palestinians use people as human shields. She has yet to renounced ties to the RSS and to Hindutva in India in general, while taking their campaign money. (And defense contractor campaign money.)

She strikes me as a weathervane, not too far distant from "Bernie or Trump" people like H.A. Goodman.

https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2019/01/drinking-tulsi-gabbard-kool-aid-and.html

dbc
23/2/2019 12:00:41

SG, I'm aware of Rep. Gabbard's problematic stances on certain issues including being chummy with Hindu Nationalists. That's why I was careful to say that her campaign rhetoric is closest to my worldview, not necessarily her positions overall. I'm also aware that, in running as a Democrat, she will likely rope Progressives into voting for the eventual centrist nominee (unless that nominee has a record of supporting regime-change wars a la Hillary).

The principal point of this post & my tweet-storm is this: Gabbard is making progressive noises, and she may be quite sincere about constructing a peace-centered foreign policy, but she still doesn't have me convinced that she is one of us.

Here's something else that struck me this morning: In her appearances on "Morning Joe" and "The View," Gabbard defined an enemy as a person or nation that poses a direct threat to US interests & security. Then she goes on to illustrate what US interests are and have been since World War II, using as examples CIA coups in Iran and Venezuela. US interests include installing friendly regimes that will help us plunder mineral wealth & cash crops from less powerful nations. She needs to start a conversation about redefining our national interests.

SocraticGadfly
24/2/2019 20:58:49

Gotcha, David. I thought you probably know her stances elsewhere, but wasn't sure. I agree on having a "traditionalist" (as in pre-Wilsonian traditionalist!) view of foreign policy. From World War I (starting with it) and on, we've gone wrong.

==

Now, while we're talking about Prez candidates? Per another post of yours, unless you know more about Marianne Willilamson than you wrote, we'll disagree there. Her whole new ageyness (plus a specific issue or two in the past) negate for me all of what sound like great political stances. (She also sounds like a squish on Israel-Palestine, among other things.(


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