Sayonara, Tulsi?

Tulsi Gabbard

By Robert Wenzel

Kurt Nimmo has thrown the towel in on Tulsi Gabbard.

He writes in a post titled  "Sayonara, Tulsi":

I like what Tulsi has to say about US foreign policy. Get out of Syria, Afghanistan, bring the troops home, stop mucking around in the business of other nations. You’re not hearing that from either side of the supposed political divide between Democrats and Republicans.

But then we have the same old same old—to wit:

Want a president who will put your interests ahead of the rich and powerful? Meet Tulsi Gabbard --> https://t.co/O84E20Lpio #Tulsi2020 #TulsiGabbard #ServiceBeforeSelf pic.twitter.com/NpzjtXl2qB— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) July 8, 2019

And then came the real blow. Nimmo again:

For me, the number one problem—followed by a rigged “everything bubble” economy—is the curse of forever war.
I wanted to believe. I should’ve known better.

BREAKING: 398 House members just voted for H.Res.246 in a powerful statement opposing the global BDS campaign and its deliberate discrimination of Israel. This overwhelming vote is representative of the breadth, depth and diversity of bipartisan support for Israel in Congress. pic.twitter.com/B4j6kNYKaF

— AIPAC (@AIPAC) July 23, 2019

The BDS vote shot down any misplaced idealism I mistakenly held.

Tulsi Gabbard, Ro Khanna & Ayanna Pressley all just voted for AIPAC’s resolution to condemn BDS. It’s not progressive to embolden Trump’s attacks & legitimize an apartheid state committing an ongoing massacre. https://t.co/LgowuoOiLq

— Abby Martin (@AbbyMartin) July 24, 2019

Only two months ago, #TulsiGabbard said she would support the constitutional right of Americans to BDS against Israel. But yesterday she voted for AIPAC’s bill to condemn BDS. What happened? https://t.co/e9Ro75Ibkt

— Syrian Girl 🇸🇾 (@Partisangirl) July 25, 2019

Nimmo wasn't the only one to notice her flip on BDS.

I received several emails about Gabbard including one from Martin Hill who also sent over the above Partisan girl tweet.

I am not as shocked. I have always seen Tulsi as only a limited rearguard tool in the fight for liberty. I have always pointed out that she was good on foreign policy and bad on economics. I noted that she would have to gain a following on issues beyond her foreign policy positions to gain traction in the presidential race. But she doesn't seem to have the skill set at this point to do that.

It seems that she is flailing. She has come out against Silicon Valley social media censorship:

Join me in this fight to end big tech monopolies power to censor & undermine Americans’ freedom of speech—because whether we are progressives or conservatives, left or right, if we do not stand united to protect our freedoms, we all lose. https://t.co/Ei3Ws5H257 #TULSI2020 pic.twitter.com/wt5MJKT94G

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) July 29, 2019

But this is mostly a conservative, libertarian and Republican issue, why would she waste time featuring this when she needs expanded Democratic support to stay in the debates?

Then she put out this workout video which will certainly lock in the 14 to 16-year-old male vote for her...if only they could vote.

Starting out this #Sunday with one of my favorite soundtracks of all time @lionking! #hiitworkout #sundaymorning pic.twitter.com/LOZ2O0LEd6

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) July 28, 2019

She just doesn't seem to have the capability to create her own issues, Trump-style, that will make others follow her lead. The issues are out there that Democrats will pay attention to, that aren't being touched, and they will become increasingly important since I expect Joe Biden to drop out of the race eventually because of mental errors. Once that happens there will be a huge chunk of Democratic voters that are semi-sane that Tulsi could grab. But not the way she is promoting herself now.

So I consider Tulsi nothing more than an early summer fling. It was nice to think there was a future with her but it doesn't look like it is going to happen.

The way she is polling now, she is not going to make the polling numbers required (2% or more in 5 major polls) that would get her into the September debate. So she will have plenty of time, very soon, to hit the Hawaiian waves while the rest of us remain on the continental United States trying to figure a way to survive as the warmongering, central planners close in.

I would still support her, because she remains the best out of a very terrible pack, if she somehow triggered major support out of her debate performance this coming Wednesday in Detroit. But that is not going to happen.

So, yes, it is Sayonara, Tulsi.

Robert Wenzel is Editor & Publisher of EconomicPolicyJournal.comand Target Liberty. He also writes EPJ Daily Alert and is author of The Fed Flunks: My Speech at the New York Federal Reserve Bankand most recently Foundations of Private Property Society Theory: Anarchism for the Civilized Person Follow him on twitter:@wenzeleconomics and on LinkedIn. His youtube series is here: Robert Wenzel Talks Economics. More about Wenzel here.