Let's not anoint Tulsi Gabbard just because she hit Hillary Clinton

Representative Tulsi Gabbard’s longshot run for the Democratic nomination for president got a shot in the arm Friday after Hillary Clinton insinuated that Gabbard is being groomed by Russians for a third-party run. The outrageous statement by the former Democratic nominee drew ridicule, outrage, and a response from Gabbard that’s buzzing across social media.

Great! 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. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a …

— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019

… 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.

— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019

The wheels have been turning in the minds of many conservatives for the last three hours. What if she did run third-party? Could she steal enough votes from the left to guarantee a victory for President Trump? These and other questions have been hitting my inbox and DMs for a while, and my answer has been the same every time.
No. We do not want Tulsi Gabbard to run third party. President Trump doesn’t need her to run third party. It will not help him. It will hurt. Here’s why…

A Gabbard run would likely be as a Libertarian

If Gabbard decides to run as a third-party candidate, she will need a party behind her. She’s not H. Ross Perot with plenty of her own money to mount a serious effort. And while the Libertarian Party isn’t the RNC or DNC, they’re the third biggest fundraising party in the country. With a little tweaking to her policies, she could be a Libertarian candidate.
Who would her running mate be? It would be a current or former Republican. Justin Amash is the obvious choice to balance out the ticket and give Republicans an excuse to vote for them.
When Libertarians have no viable options, they tend to lean Republican. Even though Gabbard is currently a Democrat, as a Libertarian she would pull as many if not more votes from the right than the left.

She’d steal the centrist voters the President needs

If Gabbard ran, she’d do so by positioning herself as the common sense choice against an “extremist” on the right in President Trump and a “radical” on the left in Elizabeth Warren or whoever wins the nomination.
Sad reality: There are more Democrats in this country than Republicans. The electoral college degrades this advantage a bit, but if there were no Independents, Democrats would win most elections. If we assume Gabbard will pull mostly from Libertarians and Independents, then that’s an advantage for Democrats. There is no way for the President to win if he doesn’t get the votes of a majority of Independents.
Gabbard represents the not-so-wild card that may appeal to those in the middle. Again, this is an advantage for Democrats.

If lightning strikes, she’s still a Democrat

Let’s say things turn wonderfully for her and she’s actually able to win. That would be a disaster. She may not be a full-blown socialist, but let’s look at some of her positions. Then, ask yourself if you want to risk having these ideas in the White House:

• “Too many people in this country are getting sick without the care that they need. As president, I will work to ensure all Americans have quality healthcare incentivized to increase health and prevent and heal disease.”
• “If we in the United States do all that we can right now to address climate change, it will still not be enough. We cannot solve these problems alone. We have to work together. We have to work together to make sure that our kids today and for generations to come can not only survive, but thrive, and prosper, without fear of toxic and poisonous water, or polluted air, or not enough food to eat.”
• “Primarily, my administration will ensure Social Security’s solvency by taking the trillions of tax dollars now spent on military spending and tax giveaways to the wealthiest American families and corporations and reinvesting them in these two Social Security programs.”
• “We don’t have to wait for answers to these questions for Congress to pass legislation already supported by a majority of Americans, like universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole and reinstating a federal ban on military-style assault weapons.”
• “When we deny LGBTQ+ people the basic rights that exist for every American, we are denying their humanity – denying that they are equal. We are also creating a dangerous environment that breeds discrimination and violence.”

Be careful what you wish for. Conservatives who think Tulsi Gabbard running a third-party campaign would be a good thing for President Trump haven’t thought it through. She’s more of a threat to the GOP than to Democrats if she runs third-party.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.

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