My Thoughts On Tulsi Gabbard and Bernie Sanders

As another presidential election approaches, we see the various elements involved in the democratic process taking shape. Oh, you have to look for it behind the cheating and manipulation, but it’s still there. We watch as various candidates jostle for position. Even in a perfect democracy, candidates would act like chickens at the feed trough, figuring out the pecking order in a mad rush.

As I said, this is all taking place while massive corruption and blatant power plays are trying to take the decision-making power from us, contemptuous of the democratic process. Within that democratic process, the candidates have to take on the corruption. But they have to do so in the messy process that is democracy. Many people believe that the only way to rid the process from corruption is to remove it from the messy process. They speak about politics from a theoretical position with little regard for the reality. Of course, there are those who only see the reality and are quick to bow to the manipulation and power. But those who hope to accomplish real change, real strengthening of our democratic system, must live somewhere between the drab reality and the beautiful dreamworld of the theoretical.

Which is all simply my introduction to speaking about Bernie and Tulsi. And Yang, though my personal candidates of choice are Bernie and Tulsi.

Tulsi stands up for all of the right things. She makes courageous statements even Bernie does not come near, saying she would stop the persecution of Julian Assange and forcefully condemning the attempted coup of Maduro in Venezuela. Hell, she knows all the words to John Lennon’s Imagine! It’s hard to find a reason why I wouldn’t prefer her over any other candidate, unless I was one to give credence to anything the corporate media has to say.

The unfortunate reality, however, is that the corporate media does have a great deal of influence over what the American public believes. Their attacks on Tulsi have been effective enough to kill any momentum her campaign might have had, despite the fact that her appeal reaches across the political spectrum and reaches deeply into the hearts of those who agree with her. Sadly, voting for Tulsi at this point would be a vote of protest. I am not one who's afraid of casting such a vote, (of which I shall say more later), but it is a decision not to be made lightly.

While Bernie was an amazing breath of fresh air in 2016, speaking about issues that have been ignored by other politicians, there have been more than a few moments when Bernie has failed to rise to standards we expect of him. He has repeatedly thrown supporters and allies under the bus when the media attacked them (Matt Orfalea, Cenk Uygar, etc.), has been weak on his condemnation of U.S. intervention in other countries’ politics, and has of course muttered the word Russia more times than many of us would like.

But here’s the deal: Bernie has a shot, a real shot, of becoming our next president. And the establishment media and the establishment Democrats and Republicans are going to do everything in their power to prevent that from happening. In truth, they have been for over four years now. And despite that, Bernie still has a real shot of becoming our next president. That would be a remarkable achievement and a remarkable shifting of the political narrative. I think this is a battleground that is favorable to those of us on the left who are looking for meaningful change, and I think it is one that could prove a significant moment in the war. I think this is the place where we have to throw the greatest amount of our efforts and attention right now.

I regret shifting my focus from a candidate I appreciate as much as I do Tulsie, but I realize the shift in attention is merely a short-term one. It is pretty obvious that Bernie is not the long-term future of our movement but merely the most opportune tool of the moment. Supporting Bernie does not require abandoning Tulsi, it is merely a realization that she is a MAJOR weapon that will be of immense value to us in the future but is currently not positioned to be maximally effective. And that future is not and should not be projected at any great distance. It is my hope that Tulsi will not only help Bernie’s election by supporting him and convincing many of her supporters to do the same, I also hope that she will continue to fight for the positions and values she has been addressing and forcing Bernie to address them as well.

Indeed, it is my great desire to see Bernie choose her as his Vice President. I believe it would be a great mistake for him not to. It is the perfect balance, her being both young and a female of color with a military background. This should be enough to gather votes from those separate constituencies, and as much as I dislike it personally, identity politics cannot be denied.  Further, her inclusion on the ticket would dull the edge of those on the Right who are fond of painting anything remotely smelling of socialism as being anti-American. There are many of the Libertarian bent and even many Trump supporters who like and support Tulsi Gabbard. The image of Trump voters as a bunch of goose-stepping Nazis is a little far-fetched, they are far more diverse than Democratic leaders would have you believe. The main source of dislike of Tulsi Gabbard stems from the corporate media that has never opposed war or imperialism, as well as those whose brains are seeped in the narrative the media spews.

It all seems quite clear to me, revolutions are never won in a single battle. Bernie is the first stage in the movement, his election being an immense step forward. Tulsi being the second stage, her run for president ready to go in 2024 when Bernie’s age prohibits him from running again. One need not view support for Bernie as a betrayal of Tulsi. I believe showing support for Tulsi can go hand in hand with support for Bernie so long as we continue to express that we support Tulsi and force Bernie to acknowledge the issues she supports and the bravery she shows in supporting them.

P.S. Lest I be accused of being one of those who’s always willing to compromise when voting for president, let it be known that I voted for Ralph Nader in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. I also voted for Jill Stein in 2016. I did vote for Barack Obama in 2012, when the Republicans got a little too crazy. I’m not afraid to fight for an unpopular cause and believe a protest vote counts more than a vote that merely capitulates.

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