Clinton attack on Tulsi: Despicable or Hillaryous?

Why was Hawaii senator Tulsi Gabbard, who is one of the five women battling out in the primaries for a shot at the presidential candidacy for the democrats, writhing in rage and shaking in disgust at what was probably the best endorsement for presidency she has received from one of her own in the photo-finish of a race for the 2020 polls?

In a podcast with David Plouffe, who is known for managing the 2008 campaign for former US President Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former democratic presidential candidate, got the cameras and fingers pointing at her by hinting the Russians were prepping someone who’s in the fray for the party primaries after serving president Donald Trump who has been charged with similar accusations and accused of rigging the polls with the aid of Russia to take the sweet spot in the White House.

From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a concerted campaign to destroy my reputation. We wondered who was behind it and why. Now we know — it was always you, through your proxies and powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine, afraid of the threat I pose

Tulsi Gabbard

“I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate,” Clinton said in the podcast with Plouffe. Clinton isn’t quite done with her malicious claims and draws the curtains on her own insinuations in full public glare by rambling away, “She’s the favourite of the Russians.”

Clinton pointing to a Russian mole in democrat camp was received with a muffled protest and general inconvenience by the other contestants in the race for the candidacy. But her team took no time in understanding the depravity has been exposed in the Clinton camp and hasn’t exactly found the resonance they might be expecting of her egregious comments in a fellow member.

Gabbard didn’t take it lying down either and in a loaded response to her elderly colleague shot off a series of tweets to bring her down from her high pedestal and challenge her to face the primaries directly and not shadow-hunt from behind the curtains.

In her first tweet, she tore through Clinton by calling her a warmonger. She wrote, “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.”

She continued with her tirade against Clinton and pulled her into the boxing ring. “From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a concerted campaign to destroy my reputation,” she said, adding, “We wondered who was behind it and why. Now we know — it was always you, through your proxies and powerful allies in the corporate media and war machine, afraid of the threat I pose.” “It’s now clear that this primary is between you and me. Don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies. Join the race directly,” she signed off.

Her cinematographer husband Abraham Williams posted a picture of her in the uniform and questioned Clinton’s motive at maligning his wife without naming her once. He tweeted, “I just want to share this photo as a reminder of where @TulsiGabbard’s loyalties lay. For anyone to smear my wife as an agent or asset of another country is offensive to all Americans, no matter where your political ideologies lay. #HillaryClinton #QueenOfWarmongers #Tulsi2020

The lone democratic candidate who came out and stood by Tulsi and stood out of the herd was Andrew Yang. Yang, who has risen through the ranks to catch the attention of democrats with his catchy election punchline #YangGang, tweeted, “Tulsi Gabbard deserves much more respect and thanks than this. She literally just got back from serving our country abroad.”

This whole episode, even though in a bad taste and one which reflects poorly on the Democratic Party, has in fact given traction to Tulsi’s campaign with a wave of sympathy tiding in her favour. Even republicans have criticised Clinton for her off-the-cuff remarks for someone who was accused of keeping and deleting a private server while excusing confidential mails through it as state representative. Nick Merill, Clinton’s spokesperson, who was arguing that his leader’s claims weren’t “outlandish,” got his tail between his legs within 24 hours and carried over to twitter to squeak out a weak and Hillary-ous defence, “She (Clinton) doesn’t say the Russians are grooming anyone. It was a question about Republicans.”

Tulsi went by the instincts and hollered at Clinton to stop her from indulging in armchair witch-hunting but she really shouldn’t have been worried sick of her “despicable comments” drawing a parallel with Trump who won against her as the a republican candidate.

She should have just told Clinton, Ouch, it hurts. Doesn’t it? Must be I’m doing something right.