“An Iraq War veteran, **Gabbard quickly became a rising progressive star after her election to Congress in 2012. She was named vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, **only to resign in 2016 when she endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, boosting her popularity among his supporters. This past November, she had the support of Democratic-allied groups, from the AFL-CIO to Planned Parenthood, in her reelection campaign. She was also supported by Our Revolution, a group started by Sanders’ supporters after the 2016 elections, and easily won her contest.”
So your proof that she’s “beloved by the left” is that Democratic groups endorsed her in her race against a Republican?
Just out of curiosity, I ran a search for “Gabbard” in the Elections forum, from a year ago and older (so as to exclude all of the talk about her current Presidential run. The first hit was from 2012, about her being the first Hindu to be elected to Congress, and had almost nothing about her personally, being more a discussion about religious diversity in general. The next mention of her isn’t until February of 2016, and is quickly dismissed because people had never heard of her. After that, we have one from March 2016, where she again comes up in connection with her endorsement of Sanders, and again is quickly dismissed. Shortly after that, she gets a link-drop with no further explanation as a suggestion for a running mate for Sanders, which is followed by one person saying they’d rather have a governor, and another saying that she seems like a good candidate, again with no elaboration.
Skimming through a few of the other mentions (there are only 16 of them), it looks like nobody’s actually saying anything substantive about her. The only person she seems to be “beloved” by is WillFarnaby.
So the Boomers of SDMB hadn’t heard of her while Mother Jones recognized her as a rising star and she was selected as Vice Chair of the DNC. Yeah ok. I guess if you live in this bubble you may have missed her.
In all seriousness it could have been that she was beloved by pro-diversity antiwar Dems and unnoticed by old-guard pro-war Dems.
All valid points, and I’ll check out the thread you recommended. However, my perspective is a little different. I think that US elections are basically popularity contests and the only variable that matters is charisma. I mean that quite literally. Nothing, not facts, not experience, not even basic competence is even the tiniest bit important. People might say they’re important. They might even believe it. But, generally speaking (because there are always exceptions to every rule), most people vote based on how the candidate makes them feel and then they come up with reasons to justify that decision after the fact. That’s how an idiot racist buffoon beat perhaps the most experienced candidate to ever run for office. He had nothing, absolutely nothing, except a professional showman’s charisma, and that was enough. Because she had everything but charisma.
Frankly, the only thing I care about is getting Trump out of office. I disagree with Gabbard on gay rights and other things but I feel she has enough charisma to beat him. Check out her appearance on Joe Rogan’s Podcast. On a gut level, I feel she comes off as authentic, and a natural leader. IMO, Beto simply doesn’t.
Well, I disagree that charisma is the only thing (or even necessarily the most important thing), and I also don’t think of Gabbard as charismatic in the least. Funny how impressions can differ, but the interviews I’ve seen with her make her seem quite milquetoast. --I’ve heard three of the contenders speak in person thus far, and where charisma/authenticity/leader-ness is concerned I’d rank 'em Buttigieg first, Klobuchar a close second, Gillibrand a more distant third. Based on what I’ve seen from Gabbard she’s somewhere behind Gillibrand. Obviously your mileage varies considerably.
I’m not really sure what point(s) you’re trying to make, other than “I’m smarter than all these dumb Dopers,” but none of this actually supports your argument.
–“A rising progressive star” is not at all the same thing as “beloved in the party.”
–More specifically, Mother Jones is a highly political and ultimately very wonky publication which expresses a particular political stance and is WAY more focused on politics–and on politicians of a certain stripe–than is the average Democrat, even the average informed Democrat. That MJ speaks highly of her, or anyone, says little or nothing about the way she is perceived–if she is perceived at all–by the rank and file.
–The fact that she had support from “Democratic-allied groups” in her 2018 campaign seems to contradict your idea that “the knives came out” after she spoke out against Obama.
Anyway: Whether rising star or not, it’s clear from polling that progressives are supporting Sanders or Warren, or maybe Biden or Harris, and not Gabbard. Well, everybody is supporting someone other than Gabbard. Maybe prospective voters “should” be focusing more on her foreign policy and less on her rather dismal record on gay rights, though I’m not sure that would help her very much. But in any case, I ain’t waiting up nights :).
Not that her foreign policy is much less dismal than her gay rights record. She’s by far the most hawkish Democrat, and the most supportive of authoritarianism. So of course WillFarnaby supports her.
I agree. I don’t know who Gabbard is appealing to. Many of her positions are too progressive for the centrist Democrats. She’s pissed off the establishment Democrats by breaking with Obama on foreign policy. Many progressives are upset at her support of Modi, her support of drone warfare, her previous anti-LGBT stances, etc. Climate realists don’t want her because she’s anti-nuclear. The only people who seem to genuinely support her are the Bernie supporters who prioritize leftist economic policy here in the US to such an extent that all social issues are mere identity politics.
I’m a leftist, and I’m very cold on most of the candidates, but Gabbard is at the bottom – both because of her political stances and the fact that I don’t see how she can beat Trump.