Hi Everyone!
Here’s our next edition of the Caucus Power Rankings. Sam and I disagreed on rankings for Gabbard, resulting in a tie for 10th. As a reminder, here’s where we are right now:
- T-10: Tulsi Gabbard
- T-10: Mike Bloomberg
- 12: John Delaney
Arguments For:
Josh — #10 — The US Representative from Hawaii’s 2nd district since 2013, and the only Hindu in office, Gabbard also served in Iraq in 2004-2005 and in Kuwait from 2008-2009 in a field medical unit for the Hawai’i Army National Guard. Back in 2016, Tulsi Gabbard was one of the first politicians to endorse Bernie Sanders, which enamored her to a lot of progressives. But in 2020, as she has run for President, she has carved her own path independent of the progressive formula. One of the most non-interventionist candidates out there in 2020, she leans on her military experience to say that the USA needs to stop getting involved in regime change wars. She also supports Medicare-for-All. Fans of hers likely are attracted to her military service, her foreign policy, and some of her progressive pedigree.
Sam — #11 — Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has been in the US House since 2013. As Josh noted, Gabbard has long positioned herself as a pragmatic representative who chooses policy positions based on her beliefs rather than basing her positions on her specific position on a linear political ideological spectrum. Which is to be commended and one of her strongest appeals! She even famously had a strong friendship with firebrand Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy, one of the strongest antagonists of Hillary Clinton and the head of the special Benghazi committee.
Gabbard is a Major of the Hawaii Army National Guard (2003-present), serving two tours of duty in Iraq and Kuwait. Her experience in combat zones have shaped her stance on ending US involvement in regime change that result in endless wars with young enlistees, now born after 9/11, continuing to shoulder the largest plurality of service and sacrifice. This experience in the Guard aligns with efforts that party-line Democrats and progressives have worked to cultivate with more candidates up and down the ticket. Additionally, Tulsi has been a proponent of many progressive, populist policies, including Medicare-for-All, a $15 minimum wage, and the Green New Deal. These are definitely positives that, if desired to appeal to moderates and working class folks, can always tack back to the center during negotiations with Congress.
Arguments Against:
Josh — Gabbard realized halfway through this race that an untapped lane for Democrats was to appear constantly on Fox News, pick fights with Hillary Clinton, and confront others on “supporting regime change wars”. This rebellion against the DNC and the Democratic Party went so far as to have her vote “present” on the articles of impeachment for President Trump. Considering her sketchy history of supporting and/or meeting with strongman leaders Modi in India and Bashar al-Assad in Syria suggest that her foreign policy chops may not be the strength she thinks they are. I’ll be honest — I was optimistic about her in 2016, but this cycle has shown her to be an attention-seeking at-all-costs politician that has no issue trashing her own party to make news.
Sam — While Gabbard has potential in terms of her candidate profile, she has gotten into hot water an impressive number of times. It started with previous actions that demonstrated her core policy beliefs. Gabbard traveled to Syria in 2017 to meet Bashar al-Assad in person without informing top Democrats until after the meeting. She then referred to those resisting the Assad regime, in a blanket statement, as “terrorists”. This includes the democratic Syrian forces along with Kurdish forces.
Campaign discipline has also been lacking. The closest comparison to previous candidates would be Ron Paul for the GOP nomination in 2008 and 2012: its easy to agree with about 3 or 4 policies, such as calling out Kamala Harris’ history as California AG, but its the other 6 or 7 policies that completely turn voters the other direction, such as . From attacking Hillary Clinton to becoming Fox News’ favorite candidate to interview and calling out Obama’s administration for not aligning with the Assad regime and Russia to defeat ISIS, the Gabbard’s campaign has continued to become more extreme. This rift within the party has lead to the point that Gabbard will not run for reelection in the US House, instead focusing on her run for president. Oh, and to boot, she is suing Hillary Clinton for $50 million for defamation after claiming an unnamed Democratic candidate was being groomed to make a third party run as a “Russian asset”. Along with the Ron Paul comparison, there are emerging similarities to Sarah Palin’s political career. That’s not a good thing.
Purple State Progressive 