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With Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) entering the 2020 presidential fray, establishment figures on both Right and Left are scrambling to smear the anti-war congresswoman with impeccable identity-politics bona fides.<\/p>\n
Ever since her 2017 visit to Syria, Gabbard has been condemned for daring to seek firsthand accounts rather than blindly trusting the MSM narrative,\u00a0so on Friday the pundits were again off to the races, with fresh accusations of Assad-sympathizing.<\/p>\n
\nTulsi Gabbard\u2019s disturbing and singular denialism of Assad\u2019s role in the brutal butchering of his own people, obliging a meeting with him and spreading his propaganda should be disqualifying. pic.twitter.com\/EI3UiEvLuu<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 S.E. Cupp (@secupp) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/p>\n \nGabbard’s association with Hindu nationalists is odd, but her track record as an Assad apologist strikes me as being way more disturbing and likely disqualifying if she tried to run in 2020. https:\/\/t.co\/bj4XoHvrEq<\/a> by @shankarmya<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Zach Basu (@zacharybasu) January 5, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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\u201cAssad apologist<\/em>\u201d seems to be the Tulsi equivalent of \u201cPutin puppet<\/em>,\u201d judging from the early tweets, though she was accused of being one of those too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \nMy support for every other Democratic 2020 candidate still stands. But Tulsi Gabbard? Hell no. She should have been banned from the party a long time ago. Fucking monster. She\u2019ll use her campaign to try to destroy the Democratic Party during the primary. I won\u2019t allow it.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/p>\n \nThe funny part is, looking through all the tweets mentioning \u201cTulsi Gabbard\u201d right now, the only ones saying positive things about her are Trump supporters and alt-right. Their deranged fantasy is that she turns the Democratic Party into a right wing puppet of the Kremlin.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Gabbard certainly poses a thorny problem for the neocon-neoliberal axis, as she checks all the identity politics boxes \u2013 the first Hindu member of Congress, a woman, a veteran \u2013 and she has undeniable populist appeal, given her anti-establishment record. While Gabbard is a Democrat, she was emphatically not a Clinton supporter, resigning as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee in February 2016 to endorse Bernie Sanders in the primary.<\/p>\n
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\n Also on rt.com<\/span>
\n Tulsi 2020: Anti-war Democrat says she\u2019s running for US president<\/span>
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\n<\/a><\/p>\nBut Republicans, too, felt the need to speak up against her. \u201cLiberals think she\u2019s too conservative, conservatives think she\u2019s too liberal, and just about everyone thinks her coziness with Bashar al-Assad is disturbing<\/em>,\u201d Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens said<\/a>, also mentioning the congresswoman\u2019s \u201clack of experience.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \n\u201cAssad\u2019s \u2018mouthpiece\u2019 in Washington\u201d \u2014RNC welcomes Tulsi Gabbard to the presidential race with a moniker that many liberals probably agree with as well pic.twitter.com\/WJJrP1aJv1<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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The RNC released a \u201ccheat sheet<\/em>\u201d of talking points following the news of Gabbard\u2019s pending announcement, though some took that as a sign of weakness.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \nThe fact the GOP took the time to tweet out an infographic about her when they’ve only ever mentioned Kamala Harris on their Twitter feed one time ever, as far as I can tell, says a lot about the potential of her candidacy<\/p>\n
\u2014 I’m real (@edkrayewski) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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The Israel-first crew made its opinion known, though no one really asked them.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \nEveryone in the pro-Israel lobby (myself included) is already talking about how to make sure that Tulsi Gabbard’s campaign is over before it even gets off the ground \u2014 If you’re going to bet on a Dem candidate, look elsewhere 🇮🇱<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jacob Wohl (@JacobAWohl) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Others didn\u2019t even bother with \u201cissues<\/em>\u201d or \u201cfacts<\/em>,\u201d preferring guilt by association and personal insults.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \nThese are the Tulsi Gabbard fans\u2014Russian propaganda outlet and a KKK grand puppy dragon or whatever pretentious-ass title they give themselves. https:\/\/t.co\/v3XXH8NAUO<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Markos Moulitsas (@markos) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/p>\n \nI couldn’t be more thrilled that @TulsiGabbard<\/a> announced she’s running for president. <\/p>\n
Because now all the think pieces exposing her for being just terrible can be published and people can stop pretending she gets a pass on her messed up record for whatever freaking reason.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Diana Hussein (@heyadiana) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/p>\n \nTulsi Gabbard is an insane person, please stop talking about her like she\u2019s a reasonable choice to lead anything<\/p>\n
\u2014 Sam (@samthielman) January 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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