Forget “Tulsi Gabbard, Rising Star.”聽It’s now “Tulsi Gabbard, Superstar.”
My apologies to Andrew Lloyd Webber, but can it be much longer聽before聽Hawaii’s聽young, dynamic congresswoman聽ascends to Mount Olympus?
It’s been a heck of a week for the Democrat representing our 2nd Congressional District.
Thanks to a dust-up between Gabbard, a vice chair of the , and the聽DNC聽chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of Florida, Gabbard’s face has been all over cable and network news, online and in print.
Again.
This time it’s聽a she-said, she-said story:
The vice chair聽says the chair聽disinvited her from Tuesday’s presidential debate in Las Vegas because the vice chair聽wants more than just six debates and the chair聽doesn’t.
The chair聽says the vice chair聽is saying untrue things and that the vice chair聽cares聽more about the vice chair聽and “process” than the party’s great presidential candidates.
If things keep going at this pace, “General” Gabbard will be a聽vice presidential candidate in 2016, or defense secretary in 2017, or senator in 2019.
On Thursday, Gabbard’s position was bolstered greatly when another DNC vice chair accused Wasserman-Schultz聽of making 鈥渇lat-out not true鈥 statements about Gabbard, and聽questioned her political skills.
R.鈥奣. Rybak, the former mayor of Minneapolis who joined Gabbard last month in calling for more debates,聽said he had 鈥渟erious questions鈥 about Wasserman-Schultz’s suitability for the job, .
Asked if she feels vindicated in the matter, Gabbard told me聽Thursday: “It was never an issue of vindication, it’s an issue of fact. It was never an issue of people making claims, it was about pointing out the truth. I feel strongly that integrity聽matters.”
Gabbard reiterated her position聽that an “exclusivity clause” the DNC instituted earlier this year 鈥斅爄t says that聽candidates can’t聽participate in other debates aside from those聽approved by the DNC聽鈥 is a policy of retribution.
“It weakens our party and our democracy,” she said.
Regardless of who’s聽telling the聽truth, Gabbard is winning聽the PR game big time, receiving gobs聽of sympathetic coverage in the centrist and on聽, in the left-leaning聽 and on聽, and on the conservative and in聽.
Also on聽Thursday, two papers with different political bents profiled Gabbard. The headlines speak volumes:
“,”聽said聽the establishment .
“,” said聽the right-side聽.
Gabbard shrugged off the headlines, saying聽she believes strongly in Democratic values of inclusion and celebrating freedoms that have been protected by men and women in uniform.
“This has聽nothing聽to do with聽politics, Democrats聽and聽Republicans,” she said, insisting聽that what she was actually聽doing was聽“taking a stand for truth.”
In addition to the debate over the debate, Gabbard was also asked by national media this week about President Barack Obama’s policy in Syria. Gabbard, the military veteran, is as harsh a critic of the White House聽as many Republican presidential candidates.
On top of all that, Gabbard this week was promoted from聽captain to the rank of major by the Hawaii Army National Guard.
If things keep going at this pace, “General” Gabbard will be a聽vice presidential candidate in 2016, or defense secretary in 2017, or senator in 2019.
Whether it will be as a Democrat or a Republican, we’ll have to find out.
Gabbard brushed off the speculation about her political future.
“There are聽so many serious聽issues facing us in Hawaii聽and across the聽country,” she said, “and that is what I am most聽focused on 鈥 how best to serve聽Hawaii and our聽country.”
I admire Gabbard’s meteoric rise. She is poised and articulate on TV, and it’s nice to see Hawaii getting some national plugs. Gabbard might聽even eclipse聽the renown of Hawaii’s best-known national figure, politically speaking: the late Dan Inouye.
Which isn’t to say that Gabbard has surpassed Inouye’s tremendous contributions. That’s a high hurdle.
With her greater national profile, it looks like the national political punditry is already casting a more critical eye toward her.
The WaPo article, for example, noted Civil Beat’s 2014 story on Gabbard skipping a Veterans Affairs hearing聽in Honolulu 鈥 one led by her colleague, Sen. Mazie Hirono, and attended by fellow veteran Mark Takai, then still a state legislator 鈥 to go surfing with a Yahoo News reporter.
“Gabbard’s office blamed traffic but was largely unapologetic about missing the hearing,” the Post observed.
The article also聽linked to Civil Beat’s 2012 story on how Gabbard’s politics on social issues have聽evolved from right to left. Meanwhile, the Washington Examiner linked to 聽at Gabbard in .
and
鈥 Deepak (@intodust_in)
There are grumblings, too, in political circles聽about how the only Hindu serving in the U.S. Congress seems to prefer the prime minister聽of India to the president of the United States.
It may not matter. Gabbard has consistently polled as the most popular member of Hawaii’s congressional delegation, and more popular than our governor and Honolulu’s mayor, too.
But, in her climb to the pinnacle, she might want to also keep an eye on where she came from and聽what local voters are thinking about her now.
One clue as to how she’s currently being perceived was revealed in one of the biggest hits at the聽Gridiron show in August, the biennial聽skewering of the high and not-so-mighty sponsored by the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Starring former KITV anchor Mahealani Richardson playing聽Gabbard and singing聽along to Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” the parody nailed it:
I’m always ready for Blitzer, O’Reilly or Morning Joe,
But I might miss the hearing if my photo shoot is slow,
Because you know it’s all about my face, ’bout my聽face on cable,
It’s all about my face, ’bout my face on cable.
聽Debbie Wasserman-Schultz would no doubt agree.
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About the Author
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on X at .