Tulsi Gabbard did the right thing by choosing not to vote.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voted “present” on the articles of impeachment against president Trump. A move that is being widely criticised by Democrats across the country.
Major Gabbard’s whole campaign has been about uniting America, having a conversation across the aisle and meeting in the middle. An impeachment like this further divides the already fractured country. Her vote was in the best interest of the country.
This further becomes clearer in her statement that came out following her vote.
One may not always agree with my decision, but everyone should know that I will always do what I believe to be right for the country that I love.
I have always put our country first,” the Hawaii representative wrote.
Tulsi is right. While she agrees that Trump is indeed guilty of his wrongdoings, the partisan process of rushed out impeachment further divides our country.
Here’s my perspective – this impeachment will never lead to removal, it is wasting time that could be spent focusing on important issues, and the American people will get the final say in November. Impeaching is nothing but a moral victory for the Democrats that will further tear this country apart.
In fact, it could backfire and help Trump’s reelection campaign.
An Axios survey recently found out that a majority of likely 2020 voters do not support impeaching and removing Trump from office. This was apparent in the three states surveyed – Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Republican firm Firehouse Strategies’ partner Alex Conant told Axios: “Democrats racing towards impeachment are at serious risk of leaving behind the voters they need to retake the White House next year.”
You see, when it comes to President Trump, scandals regularly bounce off of him, leaving him untouched and undamaged. In a recent poll, more than 80 percent of Americans declared they were “not surprised” or “not surprised at all” by Trump’s alleged behavior on the call.
Coming fresh off the heels of a three-year Russiagate affair, Ukraine can’t help but come across, to many Republicans, as just the latest attempt by Democrats to undo the results of the 2016 election.
None of the facts surrounding the Ukraine call will be big enough to override the sense Trump’s base has that Democrats are illicitly drumming up anything they can to stop Trump from being president, and to stop him from being reelected in 2020.
Tulsi’s ‘present’ plays a bigger role here that the ayes from Dems. With her ‘present’, she’s going to be branded more as a ‘Russian asset’ furthermore, the usual political shaming from the left will multiply against her.
However, the move also gets Tulsi a solidified support from Libertarians and moderate Republicans – both of whom do not generally agree with the impeachment case.
Tulsi’s approach always comes as mind-boggling at first but eventually starts making sense. That’s the reason why she’s always been a few steps ahead of everybody.
Tulsi has repeatedly stated that the impeachment is not worth pursuing and they should focus on winning the election, not this pointless act. It makes sense. If you want to defeat Trump, then do it in the polls, not with this witch-hunt.
There certainly won’t be any congressional fallout. Gabbard has already asserted that she will not seek reelection to the House to better focus on her bid for the presidency.
Regardless of whether it helps or hurts her 2020 presidential campaign, Gabbard’s vote was good. It shows she is choosing a new kind of politics, one that transcends establishment talking points, big money donations, and partisan feuds — even if the rest of her party won’t.
By Amit Pandey
Amit is a freelance writer, a commentator in US & UK politics.
