Politics

At the end of the 2020 Democratic debate, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders had a confrontation. The internet exploded with speculation as to what was said. Tonight, CNN has released the audio.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi signaled that the articles of impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate as soon as next week. This announcement comes after holding off sending them in an attempt to press Senate Majority Leader McConnell to conduct a “fair trial” and invite witnesses. “I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the Floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate,” said Pelosi on Friday.

The pressure on Pelosi to send the articles has been growing in recent weeks. Both Democrats and Republicans started expressing frustration over a fact that the vote on impeachment was rushed and then halted by Speaker’s refusal to move forward, creating uncertainty. “From the beginning, it’s been unclear what the goal of this hurry-up-and-wait tactic was or what the country stood to gain. We now know the answer was nothing,” said Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Several Democrats also called for the end of this standoff. “I respect the fact that she is concerned about the fact about whether or not there will be a fair trial. But I do think it is time to get on with it,” concluded Senator Chris Coons (D-DE).

McConnell, who recently backed a resolution that will allow dismissing impeachment if the House fails to submit the articles within 25 days, was pleased with Pelosi’s statement. “We’ve been anxious to get started … how many weeks has it been now?” he said in response to the announcement. He revealed earlier that he has enough votes to approve a set of rules similar to those used in Clinton’s case in 1999 for the impeachment trial. The rule will allow the Senate to vote on whether witnesses are needed only after the trial begins.

President Trump addressed the nation on Wednesday after Iran had launched 22 ballistic missiles at American military bases located in Iraq. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired rockets early morning in retaliation for the killing of Quassem Soleimani, Iranian Major General. Trump issued a statement, telling reporters that “no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime.”

American bases sustained minimal damage as a result of the attack, with some of the rockets not even reaching the target. “Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter,” said Javad Zarif, Iranian Foreign Minister. The nature of the strike raised a discussion about whether this avoidance of US troops casualties was deliberate.  Some recognized it as a way for the Iranian regime to save its face while begrudgingly seek to de-escalate the conflict.

“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world,” said the President. Nonetheless, Trump promised “punishing” economic sanctions against Iran in addition to those already placed since US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. They will remain in effect until Iran changes its behavior.

“The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it,” said the President seemingly trying to reduce the tensions between two countries. He refrained from issuing further military threats, but called on Iran to stop “nuclear ambitions.” Trump also added that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon while he is President.

When Pete Buttigieg first appeared on the national political stage as one of the Democratic contenders, he seemed to be well equipped to run for Office. A young well-spoken mayor with elite credentials and military experience under his belt, Buttigieg quickly gained national prominence as a rising star of the Democrats. He basked in this new admiration of the media, piquing everyone’s interest whether the United States can elect its first openly gay President. Barack Obama once named him a future leader of the Democratic Party among others. He is currently one of the top-tier contenders in the crowded 2020 race. And his success is yet to be explained after he hit a few political roadblocks along the way.

One of the major critiques was his political inexperience that puts him at a disadvantage, considering that most of his competitors are seasoned politicians. He became a mayor of a small South Bend with fewer than 11 000 votes. Many questioned whether a presidential hopeful with a small victory in his hometown can manage to win the Democratic nomination, let alone the country. “Washington experience is not the only experience that matters. There’s more than 100 years of Washington experience on this stage, and where are we as a country?” said Buttigieg in an attempt to rebut this criticism. However, Senator Klobuchar (D-MN) quickly shut him down during the last Democratic debate in December, reminding him that Mayor Pete lost his statewide election for state treasurer by 20 points.

Buttigieg is also finding it hard to appeal to black voters, especially after a white police officer shot an African American in mayor’s South Bend last June. That prompted Pete to step off his campaign trail for a short while and cancel several events.  Buttigieg expressed his remorse, acknowledging that his administration had not succeeded in efforts to recruit minority officers. However, his apology didn’t convince many, and the mayor was met with protests at a town hall in South Bend. “Are you really here because you care about blacks, or are you just here because you want to be the president?” one frustrated protestor yelled at Buttigieg.

Mayor Pete struggles to garner support from communities of color not only in his home state of Indiana but in other parts of the country as well. Only 1% of African Americans in South Carolina, a state with a substantial black population, back his campaign. His inability to appeal to voters of color across the United States highlighted and echoed in almost every publication, can easily call into question his qualification for the Oval House. And certainly – his claim for the nomination of the Democratic Party.

Buttigieg is not particularly liked by young millennials either despite him checking every box for a progressive. He supports the Green New Deal and the Paris Climate Accord. He advocates for universal background checks. He favors a single-payer healthcare system though he takes more middle of the road approach that doesn’t force people to opt in into a government plan and allows to keep their private insurance. More importantly, Mayor Pete supports the DACA program and would like to see a pathway to citizenship not only for those benefiting from it but for all 11 million illegal immigrants. He was the first presidential contender to propose reparations for separated at the border families.

And yet, Buttigieg is not so popular among young voters who tend to back left-leaning policies. The poll conducted by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics last fall showed that only 4% of likely voters aging between 18 and 29 favorably view his agenda, placing him in fifth place after Warren, Sanders, Biden and Yang. He is the third choice for young voters in the Iowa causes that are just a few weeks away.

This situation certainly puzzled Buttigieg and his campaign. He even confessed once that it’s hard for him to understand this pattern with his campaign being more appealing to older voters. After all, it happened when he ran for mayor of South Bend as well. Though he seems to understand why young people prefer other Democrats. “I was a big fan of Bernie Sanders when I was 18 years old,” Mayor Pete said CBS in one of the interviews.

What is interesting is that FiveThirtyEight recently placed Buttigieg second and third in Iowa and New Hampshire polls, respectively. He has been gaining his momentum in these key states for a while. “Pete has spent a lot of time in these places. One of the things we’ve found is the more people know Pete, the more they like him,” his spokesperson confirmed. However, these overwhelmingly white states don’t reflect the real picture Mayor Pete is facing. His numbers are much lower nationwide, putting him behind other contenders with more recognizable names. But if Barack Obama’s experience can teach us anything, we shouldn’t underestimate the early states because Iowa can help Buttigieg walk away with the Democratic nomination straight to the White House.

A US airstrike in Iraq near Baghdad International airport ordered by President Trump on Friday killed Iranian Major-General Qaseem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The deaths were confirmed by the Pentagon. “General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” the US Department of Defense stated. “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world.”

Qaseem Soleimani, a veteran of Iran-Iraq war, was the leader of the elite Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force that armed and trained Shiite militias in Iraq who were responsible for the deaths of thousands of American troops during Iraq War. He was responsible for “attacks on U.S.-led coalition bases in Iraq in recent months,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

General Soleimani is also believed to be behind the most recent attack in Northern Iraq by Kataib Hezbollah militia that killed a US contractor. The United States responded by launching missiles against militia bases in Syria and Iraq, killing 27 people.  Pro-Iranian supporters of the militia, angered by this attack, tried to storm the US Embassy in Baghdad and set some outbuildings on fire.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Iraqi deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella for several militias, also died during a strike on a convoy in Baghdad. He was an adviser to Soleimani. Al-Muhandis kept close ties with Iran and founded Kataib Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian paramilitary group. “He has history with basically every major network Iran had in Iraq. You would not have found a stronger ideal,” said Phillip Smyth, a researcher that studied Shia Islamist militarism.

“The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism,” responded Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zafir, condemning the US strike that escalated a US-Iran conflict overnight. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Friday to protest the killing of Soleimani, chanting “Death to deceitful America.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared 3 days of national mourning for Soleimani, pledging to avenge the General. “His departure to God does not end his path or his mission, but a forceful revenge awaits the criminals who have his blood and the blood of the other martyrs last night on their hands,” Ayatollah said in a statement.

This move sparked debates in the US, with several Democratic lawmakers accusing Trump of an attempt to start a war. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on President Trump to brief Congress on the details of the operation that can raise tensions in the Middle East. She criticized the decision of Trump administration to launch a strike without consultation with lawmakers. She warned that this will provoke “further dangerous escalation of violence.” “We’re now at a boiling point, and Congress must step in before Trump puts even more of our troops in harm’s way,” said Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA). Several Republicans supported Trump and welcomed bold actions of his administration against Iranian aggression. “No man alive was more directly responsible for the deaths of more American service members than Qassem Soleimani,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

The White House responded that their action was an attempt to stop a war, not start one. “Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel but we caught him in the act and terminated him,” Trump said to reporters. The US will send 3500 additional troops to the Middle East, US Defense officials confirmed. Meanwhile, the State Department issued a warning urging US citizens to depart Iraq immediately.

Julian Castro, the former United States Housing and Urban Development secretary and mayor of San Antonio, announced on Thursday the end of his presidential campaign. “It’s with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today,” he wrote in his Twitter account.

Castro has been struggling to generate financial support for his candidacy throughout his entire campaign. He considered ending his bid earlier after October donations started dwindling. However, he stayed for a short while after raising enough money to meet his goal. He also failed to gain enough traction in the polls that could qualify him for the last two Democratic debates.

“I’m so proud of the campaign we’ve run together. We’ve shaped the conversation on so many important issues in this race, stood up for the most vulnerable people and given a voice to those who are often forgotten,” he said in a video addressing his dropping out of the race. He urged his supporters to keep fighting for the values they believe in.

Castro ran on a progressive platform of decriminalizing border crossings, criminal justice reform, and universal healthcare. The latter sparked an exchange between him and Joe Biden during the last Democratic debate Castro qualified for. “I’m fulfilling the legacy of Barack Obama, and you’re not,” he said, criticizing former VP for his healthcare vision that will not guarantee coverage for all Americans. He took a shot at Biden’s age and forgetfulness on the stage. This attack later translated into a wave of criticism and backlash against Castro’s campaign that never recovered.

After Tulsi Gabbard announced her bid for the presidency earlier this year, Americans didn’t see it as something unprecedented. The Democratic field of presidential hopefuls was crowded enough to notice the difference. She was an unknown Representative from Hawaii with not an impressive legislative achievement to show off. On top of that – a disturbing for a Democrat trail of opposing same-sex marriage and working for an anti-gay organization founded by her father, Mike Gabbard. Even though Tulsi Gabbard wholeheartedly apologized for her past as her views evolved over the years into the support of LGTQ equality, some liberal voters didn’t find it convincing. It’s hard to say if that was the reason behind low polling that barely qualified her for the Democratic debates. If some Democrats had any second thoughts about her that translated into backing Gabbard’s platform, she can find her support dwindling after she voted “present” on Trump’s impeachment. Can a few stinging headlines blasting Gabbard for crossing party line hurt her campaign? It’s too early to say. But if the last few years taught us anything it’s that Gabbard is not your ordinary Democratic candidate.

“Throughout my life, whether through serving in the military or in Congress, I’ve always worked to do what is in the best interests of our country,” Gabbard wrote explaining her vote on the House floor. “Not what’s best for me politically or what’s best for my political party. I have always put our country first. 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.” It takes some courage to break with the party on such a divisive matter as impeachment. However, that vote was not in favor of the President either. Gabbard still considers Trump “guilty of wrongdoing.” And yet she defied the choice she was given, urging others to escape “the zero-sum game mindset.”

Having been the youngest legislator ever elected in the state of Hawaii at just 21, Gabbard became the first woman to finish the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy as the Distinguished Honor graduate in its history. She was also twice deployed in the Middle East, serving as a legislative aide to Sen. Akaka between the tours. Being a veteran, Gabbard built her campaign in part on the pledge to end regime change wars. As she said before, opposing such wars was her motivation to run for Congress in the first place. Gabbard has been touting her foreign policy as anti-interventional, which can put her squarely on the left.

This doesn’t mean though that she is against wars completely. “In short, when it comes to the war against terrorists, I’m a hawk,” she said in one interview in 2016. The Congresswoman also heavily criticized Barack Obama for his refusal to link ISIS with radical Islam. This position got her in hot water: she got accused of Islamophobia, a stance she vehemently denied. Later she came under fire from both the left and the right for her meeting with Bashar Al Assad while touring Aleppo in 2017. She defended her position, refusing to apologize for an attempt to better understand the problems that led to the Syrian conflict.

Gabbard’s position on foreign policy is not the only thing Establishment has problems with. She endorsed Bernie Sanders back in 2016, in part, again, because she saw him more interested in keeping the peace than the other candidate. “We can elect a president who will lead us into more interventionist wars of regime change, or we can elect a president who will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity,” she said in her statement. She didn’t call Hillary Clinton by name, but it was clearly understood who she meant. This hasn’t gone unanswered. Clinton allegedly insinuated that Gabbard is being groomed as a third-party candidate by the Russians during a podcast last October. Congresswoman didn’t wait long with a fiery respond, accusing Clinton of plotting to destroy Gabbard’s reputation: “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.”

This is not the first time Tulsi comes after an establishment candidate. During the second Democratic Debate earlier this year, she slammed Kamala Harris hard, ripping Harris’ record as a prosecutor and damaging her campaign. And after Harris tried to attack Gabbard on her appearances on Fox News later, Tulsi emerged practically unscathed. Gabbard was still rising the polls when Harris announced her drop out of the race.

Interestingly, despite Gabbard being a progressive with all political talking points that entail, she finds her support coming not exclusively from the left. “Gabbard’s supporters are also likely to fall outside of traditional Democratic circles,” concluded FiveThirtyEight. They also cited YouGov poll asserting that 24% of Democratic primary voters who back Gabbard’s campaign voted for Trump in 2016. Congresswoman checks all the boxes off for a progressive: she supports universal health care, federal funding for abortions and an idea to make community colleges free, advocates for rational gun control, favors environmental causes. However, her past and certain current positions, like on immigration, seem off-putting for some Democrats.

Gabbard is not afraid to lose that support if it means she can stand her ground while breaking with her party. As she said, her loyalty is to the country, not the party. She doesn’t hesitate to fire back as well. And she found some respect from conservatives for doing so. But it shouldn’t give an illusion that Tulsi Gabbard is a moderate candidate. She is still a progressive even if some on the left are puzzled by her positions. She is a paradox, but it’s only for the left to solve.