Democrat Tulsi Gabbard Has a Good Chance at Becoming President in 2020
In less than three years, Americans will return to the polls to elect their president. If the tax reform that Congress approved works—that is, if the lower and middle classes see real gains—there’s a good chance that Donald Trump could win a second term. But if they don’t, the anger against Hillary Clinton that drove people to vote for Trump in key traditional Democrat states like Pennsylvania might not be a factor in the next election; voters may do a 180-degree turn back to a progressive Democrat.
While there’s still speculation that Hillary Clinton might run again, one of the emerging stars of the Democratic Party is Tulsi Gabbard.
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If you haven’t heard of her yet, don’t be surprised when the “Tulsi Gabbard 2020” or “Tulsi Gabbard for President” ads start showing up on social media. The gears of the American presidential electoral machine have already gotten in motion. The Congressional mid-term elections are approaching, and they might act as a barometer of popular sentiment. Further, there are already strong hints of the campaign issues along which the next campaign will be fought.
In this sense, “Tulsi Gabbard for President 2020” makes sense. It’s unclear how long the charade of the “Russiagate” investigation will last. There’s little chance that President Trump will fire special prosecutor Robert Mueller now. That would backfire in the Oval Office, leaving too much suspicion. It would also cast a shadow of alleged Russian efforts to influence Americans’ choice for president in the 2020 vote.
The Democrats Appear Determined to Milk “Russiagate” But It Will Backfire
The Democrats might want to pursue the “Russiagate” line, but they risk alienating support again. It wasn’t Vladimir Putin or Russian agents who advised Hillary Clinton not to campaign in Pennsylvania or Wisconsin in 2016, the States where she lost the game and the match. She was ill-advised by her campaign handlers. The next Democratic presidential candidate should learn from Clinton’s mistakes, but not as they are presented in her book, What Happened.
Rather, if they’re looking for reading material, they might do better by reading a considerably shorter summary of what happened, to realize that the entire “Russiagate” issue is full of holes. (Source: “More Media Malpractice in Russiagate,” The Nation, December 21, 2017.)
It’s essential that the candidates—any candidate, for that matter—let go of “Russiagate” if they want to have a credible shot at the presidency. That said, winning the Democratic Party nomination in the current atmosphere will be a double-dare challenge for even the toughest person. If reasonable heads prevail and the Democratic candidates are allowed to discuss real issues instead of overinflated threats from behind the Iron Curtain, the prospect of Tulsi Gabbard as future president is more likely than it first sounds.
Trump Tax Cuts Could Fail and the Dems Will Rediscover Traditional Liberal Values
So far, the first year of Trump’s presidency has been characterized by the Dow Jones Index’s relentless drive toward new records. The process began under Barack Obama as early as 2009, after the 2008 financial meltdown. But low interest rates have driven this apparently successful almost nine-year bull run in the financial markets. How much longer can it last?
Trump has picked a new Federal Reserve Chair: Jerome Powell. In February 2018, he is due to replace Janet Yellen, who had shown a tendency toward pushing for higher interest rates. Ostensibly, the reason was to slow the rise of inflation ahead of the expected growth of the real economy, employment, and disposable income that Trump’s lower taxes were supposed to have brought.
But the tax breaks for most people are not going to add that much per family. It’s only the truly wealthy who will see the real gains. In other words, the market rally may soon face a reality check. This could take the form of a mighty correction or a series of crashes that could spark a recession or worse.
The performance of the Dow has allowed the ridiculous mainstream media obsession over “Russiagate” to thrive. The pundits have had little else to discuss that could get the people’s attention.
But a recession would change all that. The Democrats would finally have the incentive to change their playlist, returning to the familiar classics that their audience would like to hear, including income inequality, healthcare benefits, and corporate welfare. As for international affairs, the more liberal Democrats would start arguing for cuts in military spending and fewer foreign interventions.
It just so happens that candidate Donald Trump also argued for a more isolationist American foreign policy. Instead, the risk of a major war, even one against Russia, has never been greater (so much for Russian collusion). It’s in these areas that a “Tulsi Gabbard for President” campaign could flourish.
Gabbard speaks the progressive liberal language that many once-dyed-in-the-wool Democrats are longing to hear ever since President Bill Clinton shifted right and reversed some of the regulations that kept Wall Street in check since the Securities Act of 1933.
Tulsi Gabbard Has What It Takes to Win Over Bernie Sanders Supporters
Bernie Sanders could have won the Democratic nomination in 2016. In fact, Donald Trump’s personal pollster, Tony Fabrizio, believes that, had the Democrats picked Sanders as their candidate to go against Trump—instead of Hillary Clinton—in 2016, Sanders would have won. (Source: “Bernie Sanders would have won the election if he had got Democratic nomination, says Trump pollster,” Independent, October 31, 2017.)
If Sanders were to run in 2020, he may have a shot. What hurts him is his age, not his platform.
Sanders did not run on a platform of “identity politics.” That’s where the Democrats have been losing the plot lately. Elizabeth Warren and too many other left-Democrats have not learned that lesson yet. Moreover, the Obama administration became overly antagonistic to Russia, reviving the Cold War, which Trump—despite campaign efforts and “Russiagate” Chicken Littles—has continued.
The one lone voice that tried to steer the Democrats back was Tulsi Gabbard. She has the liberal voice that many thought lost in domestic and international affairs. She appears to have a strong understanding of foreign policy and she has an open mind and courage, as her meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad suggested.
Gabbard is not afraid to speak her mind rather than taking hypocritical positions just because they’re politically correct. For example, she once opposed gay marriage. She also accused Obama of encouraging Islamists and of picking the wrong side in the Syrian civil war, misunderstanding it or enabling ISIS. In that regard, she can also address some of Trump’s voters.
Tulsi Gabbard even has something for the identity politics aficionados. She’s the first Hindu member of Congress; she is of mixed ethnicity and born in American Samoa, growing up in Hawaii. She also served 12 months in a medical unit in Iraq, even though she opposes foreign military interventions.
Gabbard has always advocated American disengagement from the Syrian war, including terminating support for the rebels. She would no doubt pursue better relations with Russia rather than perpetuate the “Russiagate” story. Indeed, unlike other potential Democrat presidential candidates, Tulsi Gabbard would be the one to relegate “Russiagate” to the dustbin and focus on the real issues. She’s truly refreshing, which is why she’s going to make a strong candidate. “Tulsi Gabbard for President 2020” indeed.
