The administration of future ex-President Donald Trump appeared to be in a graveyard spiral. The House’s impeachment inquiry was going well; the G7 Summit at Trump’s beleaguered, bedbug-ridden Doral Resort was universally condemned; Mick Mulvaney spit the bit on the quid pro quo deal with Ukraine, and Joe Biden didn’t shoot himself in either foot during this week’s debate.
Nature abhorring a vacuity, into the breach rushed Tulsi Gabbard and Hillary Clinton. During a midweek podcast interview with David Plouffe, Obama’s twice-successful campaign manager, former/former/former Clinton said that one of the current, female Democratic candidates was being “groomed” as a third-party candidate by the Russians. Counting out Harris, Klobuchar, Warren, and Marianne Wilson, the index finger pointed at Tulsi Gabbard, who had done the same math.
Gabbard fired back at Clinton. “Let’s be clear what this is about. Really, that if anyone stands up and speaks out to end the regime-change war policies that this country has had for so long, the likes of which we’ve seen waged in Iraq, Libya, and Syria, we will be labeled as foreign agents, as traitors to our country…that we are traitors to the nation that we love. This is despicable on so many levels.”
Gabbard described Clinton as a champion of the regime change policies. She didn’t stop there, branding the 2016 nominee as the “embodiment of corruption.” These are sobriquets one might pick out of Trump’s Compendium of Campaign Taunts and Disparagement. That would be strange in isolation. Not for nothing, though, Gabbard has received praise from a surprising cohort of Trump supporters. Lisa Lerer wrote in the New York Times several days before the Clinton statement, in a piece called, “What is Tulsi Gabbard Up To?”
Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, is impressed with her political talent. Richard B. Spencer, the white nationalist leader, says he could vote for her. Former Representative Ron Paul praises her “libertarian instincts,” while Franklin Graham, the influential evangelist, finds her “refreshing.”
And far-right conspiracy theorists like Mike Cernovich see a certain MAGA sais quoi.
“She’s got a good energy, a good vibe. You feel like this is just a serious person,” Mr. Cernovich said. “She seems very Trumpian.”
Plus, the support of former KKK Grand Dragon David Duke. The Times story mentioned other alt-right constituencies offering praise for Gabbard’s isolationism and her willingness to criticize Israel. Yet, her isolationist rhetoric reads as an anti-imperialist message, at home in Democratic circles of the sixties and seventies, ignored by Gabbard herself.
The Times article also cited Gabbard’s favorable treatment by the Russian Times and supportive attention from suspected Russian bots. There is a reason for concern that she might be a witting Russian asset, like Donald Trump, or an unwitting one, like Donald Trump.
Gabbard threatened to boycott last week’s debate, contending that the 2020 election was being rigged. This threat has a Trump resonance, But Gabbard worked for Sanders in 2016. She comes by her distrust, honestly.
At the same time, Clinton’s statement — provocative, tone-deaf and impolitic — hearkens back to 2016 and Deplorables 2.0. She threw a Molotov cocktail when all that was needed was a Roman candle. The only important
point is that the Russians need Trump to win to continue to influence U.S. foreign policy. Fearing that the structural limit of Trump’s support and his self-inflicted wounds will render him unelectable, Russia’s interjection of a third-party candidate to Trump’s left would split the Democratic vote, potentially tossing the election to the incumbent.
Russia’s attempt to divide the vote and the Democrats’ internecine struggle over the role of the DNC are the “vectors” which line up Russia’s potential backing of a Democrat to run as a third party. The Democrats have not put out the fire. In fact, in Democratic circles, the war of 2016 continues to rage with complaints about super-delegates and partisan treatment. Hence, claims of corruption.
I drew flack yesterday with the statement, “As Trump falters, the Democrats’ circular firing squad moves into position.”
https://www.facebook.com/678453688/posts/10158060790548689/ Nevertheless, that assessment stands. It remains a long, agonizing lesson for Democrats to learn how Republicans, a minority, outperform them through superior party discipline: Merrick Garland. Brett Kavanaugh.
Unfortunately, the Republicans have gone so wrong as to put party over country. Maybe that’s inevitable when power is concerned. The Democrats have won far less than they should have, because of a failure in marshaling resources. Obama is a notable exception. So much about being a Democrat these days is aspirational. Still, there has to be a pragmatic side to it, and that side must be upgraded to compete with the substantial political and financial forces arrayed against it.
Evan Sarzin is the author of Hard Bop Piano and Bud Powell published by Gerard & Sarzin Music Publishing. He writes and publishes Revolted Colonies (http://revoltedcolonies.com).