What Does It Mean To Be A Berniecrat? Take Tulsi Gabbard

Trump-Gabbard '16?

Many progressives heard of Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) for the first time when she quit the DNC, denouncing the wicked #DebtTrapDebbie Wasserman Schultz and endorsed Bernie. If that made her a progressive in anyone's mind, it was a mistake. This week she was in the news again-- as a hold-out in endorsing Hillary-- a good progressive position on the surface... but not necessarily when you read between the lines. In many ways, she's even further right o the political scale than Hillary. (Bernie fans need to be aware of the fact that ProgressivePunch's algorithm grades Gabbard's voting record an "F," which giving Bernie an "A" (and both Hawaii's senators also "A"). An "F" isn't a "B" or even a "C." you have to be really bad, really anti-progressive, to get an "F."

A friend of mine from Capitol Hill actually floated the idea of Gabbard as a Hillary running-mate, which, at least on the surface, is patently absurd. Her record as a right-of-center Democrat wouldn't deter Hillary but does anyone really think Tulsi Gabbard, ex-girlfriend of GOP Mafioso Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm, could pass a vetting process?

Obviously, no one on the national political scene is more of a Vladimir Putin booster and a Barack Obama detractor than Donald Trump. But Gabbard ranks a close second.

Last fall, while bizarrely invoking 9/11 as a basis for bombing Syrian civilians ("them," in her terminology), she praised Putin for his willingness to bomb and blasted Obama for his alleged unwillingness to do so.

That's strange behavior for any Democrat. But it's been working for her. Gabbard's willingness to attack Obama from the right on foreign policy has made her a darling of Fox News, which she proudly acknowledges.

  

She has spent recent days reiterating her critiques of Obama's purported dovish foreign poilcy in venues ranging from CNN (as featured on GOP.com) to the People's Summit, where she used her speech time not to advance any progressive cause, but to defend the murderous and tyrannical Assad regime.

Despite her willingness to chastise Obama, Gabbard has made it a point to avoid criticism of Trump. This is all she would say when recently pressed by the Honolulu Civil Beat: "The problem with Donald Trump is that no one really knows what Donald Trump stands for and what his polices will be if he’s elected. So, I’ll leave it at that."

Her gentle treatment of Trump, her continual attacks from the right on the Obama Administration and her admitted ambition for national prominence have led some to wonder whether she's angling for a spot on the Republican ticket or a cabinet post in the Trump Administration.

The Trump-Gabbard affinity is based on their shared Islamophobia.

She regularly uses the resources of her congressional office to promote disdain for Muslims, as seen in this press release criticizing Obama over Gitmo:

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: Unlawful Release of Muslim Terrorist Leaders Could Endanger U.S. National Security.

Earlier this year she joined with Republicans to vote against Syrian refugees:

Gabbard supports GOP bill on Syrian refugees.

Most notably, throughout her three-year tenure in Congress, she's been the only Democrat to regularly join the Republicans and demand that Obama use the term "radical Islam" to describe terrorists:

Dem Rep. Gabbard: Use Term Radical Islamic Terrorism, "Important That You Identify Your Enemy"

Finally, in the despair and frustration after Orlando, Obama provided a strong rebuke to her, Ted Cruz and the other advocates for "magic words."

Gabbard's disdain for Muslims isn't as well known as Trump's, but is just as fierce. And it is well documented in progressive media, such as Alternet and TeleSur.

Of course, her anti-Muslim rhetoric is also being cheered on in the darkest elements of right-wing media. The conservatives who've long admired her aren't dissuaded by her well-calculated endorsement of Bernie Sanders, as seen in her recent appearance with the Adelsons.

Even her domestic politics are conservative, as has been noted here since her early days in office and more recently in Hawai`i alternative media.

So maybe a Trump-Gabbard ticket isn't such an outlandish prospect.

Gabbard has a challenger from the left in the Aug. 13 primary for Hawai'i's Second Congressional District, one of the nation's most progressive. Meet Shay Chan Hodges.

Tulsi never made it anywhere near the Bernie Congress ActBlue page; we're not crazy: