“Terribly Divisive”: Tulsi Gabbard Refuses To Join Fellow Democrats’ Calls For Impeachment

We’ve long commented that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) is certainly the most interesting and ‘outside-the-establishment-box’ candidate on the Democrat side running for president — a “Ron Paul of the Left” of sorts given her outspoken criticism of US regime change wars and standing against foreign policy adventurism as her central message.

She even once met in 2016 with then President-elect Trump to discuss Syria policy and non-interventionism at a private meeting at Trump Tower just ahead of his being sworn into office, after which she said both agreed to resist “the drumbeats of war [on Syria] that neocons have been beating to drag us into an escalation…”.

And now she’s resisting calls for Trump to be impeached, saying it would be “terribly divisive”. She told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday that she’ll remain consistent to her message that the road to 2020 can only be found in a clear victory and mandate, saying it’s for “the American people… making that decision” of who is in the White House, not impeachment. 

“I believe that impeachment at this juncture would be terribly divisive for the country at a time when we are already extremely divided. The hyperpartisanship is one of the main things driving our country apart,” Gabbard told host Brian Kilmeade.

Once again showing herself outside of the establishment and its blindly loyal partisan narrative, and perhaps more in-tune with the American public, she’s further setting herself apart from her main Democratic rivals and the presidential nominee front-runners on this one. 

“I think it’s important to beat Donald Trump, that’s why I’m running for president,” she said. “But I think it’s the American people who need to make their voices heard making that decision.”

Tulsi Gabbard, a House member and 2020 candidate, holds the line against impeachment on Fox this a.m.: “I’ve been consistent in saying…Impeachment…would be terribly divisive for the country at a time when we are already extremely divided.”https://t.co/60IdIqbsI1

— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) September 24, 2019

Top contender Elizabeth Warren, for example, tweeted early Tuesday, “The House must impeach. It must start today.”

A number of commentators pointed out this would likely end in failure as the Democrats double down on impeachment even after Trump agreed to release the full, unredacted transcript of the Ukraine call in question. 

One progressive journalist and political commentator, Aaron Maté warned, “They’re doubling down on failure: a failure to transform after losing 2016; & a failure to bring Trump down w/ the failed Russiagate conspiracy theory.”

Democrats moving on impeachment before they’ve even seen the transcript that Trump is releasing & the whistleblower complaint. They’re doubling down on failure: a failure to transform after losing 2016; & a failure to bring Trump down w/ the failed Russiagate conspiracy theory. https://t.co/g0Fevym0aP

— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) September 24, 2019

As we noted earlier, Democrats are now scrambling as it seems President Trump’s decision to release the transcript has spoiled their narrative.

Like the failed Mueller investigation, should this blow up in Democrats’ faces it will practically guarantee the reelection of Donald Trump. 

And likely for this very reason, Pelosi herself had for months resisted calls to start the impeachment process, and yet here we are, with Pelosi leading the charge.