The last thing members of the Democratic Party need right now is perhaps their most appealing candidate — to moderate voters, that is — engaged in a head-to-head knockdown, drag-out fight with the party’s former nominee and potential upcoming candidate.
But that’s just what they have on their hands with the current blood match between Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Clinton started the current fight last week in a podcast interview with former Obama staffer David Plouffe.
She made the bizarre, completely unproven, and counterfactual claims that Gabbard is “a Russian asset,” that Gabbard is “a favorite of the Russians,” and that the Russians are “grooming her to be the third-party candidate” in the 2020 presidential election.
Apparently not satisfied with having her similar charges against President Donald Trump debunked by former special counsel Robert Mueller and now looking like a laughingstock, Clinton has doubled down — this time attacking a very telegenic combat veteran and young leader of her own party.
This, of course, is a godsend to Gabbard.
It gets her massive free publicity and casts her as the plucky young underdog versus the vicious party hack.
Related: Gabbard Growls Back at Hillary, Dares Her to Run in 2020
What could possibly have caused Hillary to make such a stupefyingly odd and unsubstantiated claim?
The likely reason? Gabbard will not toe the Hillary line on the Kurds and on so much more. In 2016, she also resigned her position as a DNC co-chair because she thought the group was biased against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for Clinton.
Plus, Gabbard is a contender for the party spotlight.
Think of the relationship between Snow White and the owner of the mirror. Uh huh.
The Russian asset charge was so outrageous it prompted this tweet from Sanders:
Tulsi Gabbard has put her life on the line to defend this country. People can disagree on issues, but it is outrageous for anyone to suggest that Tulsi is a foreign asset.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 21, 2019
Then Gabbard herself responded to Hillary’s charge.
Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a …
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019
That did it.
Even several more of Gabbard’s rivals for the Democrat nod — such as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, and former
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) — came to her defense against Clinton.
Another defender? That would be the president of the United States.
“She’s not a Russian agent … These people (Team Clinton) are sick. There’s something wrong with them,” wrote Trump.
This time, he was not engaging in hyperbole.
Feeling the political wind at her back, Gabbard hit Clinton again on Sunday with this tweet:
Hillary & her gang of rich, powerful elite are going after me to send a msg to YOU: “Shut up, toe the line, or be destroyed.” But we, the people, will NOT be silenced. Join me in taking our Democratic Party back & leading a govt of, by & for the people! https://t.co/TOcAOPrxye pic.twitter.com/TahfE2XOek
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 20, 2019
Then she went in for a kill on the feud yesterday.
.@HillaryClinton, your foreign policy was a disaster for our country and the world. It’s time for you to acknowledge the damage you have caused and step down from your throne. https://t.co/2cWI54lf6Y pic.twitter.com/h2fl7ox0Rv
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 22, 2019
Through her rampant and vindictive paranoia, Clinton inadvertently has promoted the very woman she was trying to squash.
Gabbard has jumped on the gift, stating that she thinks — even though Clinton is not in the race — that the campaign comes down to her and the former secretary of State.
Now, you may be thinking, is this some kind of multi-dimensional chess move by Hillary?
How could a reputed Machiavellian like herself make this kind of blunder?
Sometimes politics can do strange things to otherwise logical and shrewd players — especially those who hold grudges at the very center of their souls.
Share your thoughts on this below.
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