Tag: tulsi gabbard

A Tale of Two “Traitors”

From the “What the Fuck Took You So Long?” Department, former Representative and current Leftist whipping woman Tulsi Gabbard announced she would be leaving the Democrat Party due to their extreme positions. This, of course, lead Leftists to thoughtfully consider the reasons Gabbard gave for leaving and took some time for personal reflection and introspection.

Just kidding! They lost their shit.

Meanwhile on the other side of the political aisle, Lincoln Project co-founder and batshit crazy Twitter user Steve Schmidt suggested soon-to-be former Representative and current member of the January 6 Debacle…I mean Commission Liz Cheney should run for President in order to put an end to the Make America Great Again movement. Cheney has received the ire of many supporters of President Donald Trump for participating in the January 6 Boondoggle…I mean Commission and for making anti-Trump statements.

And, as expected, many Trump supporters lost their shit.

Aside from the reactions from their respective ideological allies, Gabbard and Cheney share another distinction: they’re being called traitors. As a word guy, I take the term very seriously because it’s an accusation that carries a lot of weight. But right now it’s being tossed around like a football on fall weekends. Unless, of course, the team is more committed to the running game…

Nevertheless, I think we need to take a hard look at how cavalier we’re being with the use of “traitor” to describe politicians who doesn’t conform to what we believe 100%. To put it mildly, it’s a hyperbolic term, the most hyperbolic term of all time! (See what I did there?) Seriously, though, it’s not exactly a word that lends itself to softer interpretations.

Our good friends at Dictionary.com define traitor as follows:

1. a person who betrays another, a cause, or any trust.

2. a person who commits treason by betraying his or her country.

Although both definitions are workable, it’s the second one that people tend to gravitate towards because the definition carries a more significant implication. Not that betraying another person, cause, or trust is necessarily a less serious offense, mind you. But when you think about a traitor, your mind is going to go right towards the betrayal of the country.

And that’s where both the Left and Right lose me. By its very nature, politics is polarizing, even more so these days. We’ve gone from being able to respectfully disagree to coming to blows with anyone whose not 1000% on board with one of the major parties. Although a few families have broken up over political differences, the fact it happened in the first place is shocking to me. When you are willing to disavow your flesh and blood in favor of a politician or an ideology that doesn’t give one-millionth of a shit about you, it’s not the sign of a healthy society.

However, it is one of the signs you’re in a cult. And if you really think about it (and I have because there are only so many shows I can binge on Netflix these days), today’s political environment is cultish, as both Gabbard and Cheney have found out recently. And since they dared to…I can scarcely say the words…think for themselves, the Democult and Republicult have unleashed their anger and more than a few charged words.

But Gabbard and Cheney aren’t traitors to anything but the cults from which they associated, and even then it can be argued in both cases the cults left them. Regardless, calling them traitors throws a millstone around their necks designed to un-person them, making it easier to disregard what they have to say. To the faithful, it’s righteous justice. To the rest of us, it’s bullshit.

And if recent polling data is any indication, it’s political suicide (and not in Minecraft). Although the link I provided shows the data was last gathered in September 2022, it still shows people identify as Independents far more than they identify as Democrats or Republicans. Although the party they lean towards shifts on a regular basis, the fact remains the middle holds more sway than either extreme.

And guess who might just sit out elections by being called traitors.

The growing dissatisfaction with Democrats and Republicans as they are now is fueling a movement of self-reflection and self-determination. There’s a reason #WalkAway was and remains a thing (and why Democrats and Leftists in particular have tried to make it not be a thing). There’s a reason both major parties really don’t want potential voters to reject the two-party mindset: there are more of us than there are of them.

And that scares the absolute shit out of them.

Although I disagree with Tulsi Gabbard and Liz Cheney on various issues, I don’t see them as as any less of an American for it. The strongest patriots aren’t the ones who dig in and won’t be moved, but rather the ones who are willing to reach across ideological divides to find common ground. In other words, to disagree without being disagreeable.

The first major party to realize this will reap electoral benefits beyond their wildest expectations. Given how the Left is nuttier than elephant shit these days, it’s more likely the Right will figure it out and move towards it…provided they’re not as elephant-shit nuts as the Left is.

In the meantime, I make a humble request: save the “traitor” label for those who have betrayed the country, not just an ideology or a political party. If that’s too much of an ask, that’s fine. I won’t think any less of you. I’ll just know not to expect a Christmas card this year.

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

To say America is polarized right now is like saying “The View” is a moronic TV show: technically accurate, but severely understated. Everything is a point of contention. Whether we should teach children about sexual identity. Who is to blame for gas prices so high Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg look Mormon by comparison. The ongoing struggle between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin.

And now, we have a war to contend with between Russia and Ukraine.

If you thought the Exotic/Baskin conflict was bad, hoo boy, don’t try to express even a nuanced, factual opinion like former Congresswoman and current sane Democrat Tulsi Gabbard did regarding biolabs in Ukraine that might cause a global threat if Russia wins the war. In response, current Senator and former kinda sane Republican Mitt Romney called Gabbard out, stating she was “parroting false Russian propaganda” and “Her treasonous lies may well cost lives.”

Ah, there’s the million dollar word: treason. It’s a word being thrown around like a football in Tom Brady’s hands, especially by Leftists looking to drum up support for Ukraine and shut down even the smallest debates about the war. And, as we’re about to find out, it’s a heavy term that shouldn’t be used lightly.

treason

What the Left thinks it means – actions that undermine American ideals

What it really means – actions that undermine Leftist ideals

In the interest of transparency, I am undecided on whether to support Russia (extremely unlikely) or Ukraine (more likely, but not without further introspection) in their geopolitical Wrestlemania with heavy artillery. Both sides have a vested interest in putting a positive spin on what they’re doing, so for someone like me, it’s hard to take what is being presented/reported at face value.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is treason according to the Left, and to Senator Romney. After all, there’s a war going on, right?

Welllll…yes and no. Yes, there is a war going on, but we’re not one of the particulars. Given our history over the past couple of decades, this is a nice change of pace, but the fact we’re not directly involved as a combatant undermines the accusations of treason and simultaneously shows how the Left’s use of the word in such a manner is idiotic at best.

To quote Hannibal Smith, I love it when a plan comes together.

The primary definition of treason according to Dictionary.com is “the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign.” (More on that later.) Furthermore, Article III, Section 3, Clause 1 of our lovely and talented US Constitution addresses treason thus:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

And this is why we need to read the Constitution, kids. For as much as the Left love to try to muddy the waters, the Constitution is pretty clear most of the time, especially here. Maybe it’s just my wacky way of weeding out the bullshit and getting to the heart of the matter, but it seems to me nobody asking legitimate questions (or even illegitimate ones for that matter) is trying to help the enemy, whomever that is in the Russia-Ukraine battle because, well…how can I put this delicately…there is no fucking enemy!

Granted, a pretty good case can be made that Russia is the enemy here since they’re trying to get the former Soviet Union back together again and Vladimir Putin hates us like the Yankees hate the Red Sox. But right now no one here is waging war against us by asking questions about the motivations behind the war and our role in it.

Spoiler Alert: turns out we have a vested interest in seeing Ukraine win if only to hide some of the shady shit we’ve been doing there.

Like…oh I don’t know…funding biolabs in Ukraine.

Now, before you Leftists start trying to quibble over the facts, let me point out something you’ve missed in all of this treason talk. I mean, aside from the whole we’re not at war with Russia and/or Ukraine thing. As much as you want/need to discredit Mrs. Gabbard, she brought this little thing the kids call receipts. After her television appearance that got Romney’s magic underwear in a bunch, she dropped a lot of newspaper articles that not only backed up her claims, but made his “treasonous lies” claim seem pretty stupid (which they were).

Unless, of course, you want to start accusing the Washington Post of being in Putin’s back pocket, Mittens…

Now, for the big picture part the Left always seems to miss in these situations as they madly try to defend their incompetence. These biolabs may or may not house biological weapons. That, in and of itself, should be enough justification to ask the questions Gabbard did, but there’s another element. If we are to believe the federal government’s view of what these labs do, they are a storehouse of infectious diseases and cures. In the wrong hands, these can be weaponized, figuratively and literally.

Now, let’s take this little thought experiment a step further. You know what country known for a certain infection disease that caused a global lockdown is chummy with Russia right now? Can you say “China”? I knew you could.

Even if you are hesitant to assign blame to China for COVID-19, the fact they also have biolabs that work on infectious diseases (and, oddly enough, have security measures so weak it makes Barney Fife look like Walker Texas Ranger) should be enough to throw up some major red flags.

Especially for those “follow the science” folks. Hmmm…wonder what happened to them and what they feel about the current situation in Ukraine. I’m sure they couldn’t be completely oblivious to the possible danger and simply be throwing around a term like treason willy-noooooooh, wait.

Regardless of what you think about Gabbard’s political positions and connections to Russia, she has been staunchly anti-war and unafraid to call out people on all sides when they’re being dumbasses. And that isn’t treason, kids.

But that won’t stop the Left from throwing around the term like parade candy. Take the 1/6 “insurrection” for example (Told you we’d get to it!) Leftists are quick to point out the “traitors” who stormed the Capitol were trying to overthrow the duly elected government and threatened to kill Congresscritters and Vice President Mike Pence. Although there were some asshats who went that far and should be considered traitors for doing so, most of the 1/6 participants didn’t. If we’re going to throw the treason charge at them via guilt by association, let me be clear in saying that is going to backfire in a big way when Leftists who backed Antifa and Black Lives Matter get a one way ticket to Fort Fuck-Around-And-Find-Out for the crimes some of the “mostly peaceful” protesters did. And let me just say I think prison orange would look horrible on Maxine Waters, not because it’s an ugly color, but because Auntie Maxine looks horrible in just about anything.

For me, accusing someone of treason is a serious charge that needs to be backed up with more than hurt feefees. To date, Senator Romney hasn’t backed up what he tweeted with any evidence, let alone evidence to the extent Gabbard provided. And any Leftist who is praising him needs to back up the accusation or get called out. Gabbard accepted Russian money. You know who else was willing to take it?

Matt Romney, as in Mitt’s son.

Wow. That’s going to be an awkward conversation at Thanksgiving dinner. Provided, of course, Senator Romney is consistent. Spoiler Alert: the only thing he’s consistent at is being inconsistent. Just like Leftists! Then again, using “Leftist” and “Mitt Romney” in the same sentence is repeating one’s self, but that’s neither here nor there.

The larger point here is we shouldn’t be calling anyone or any idea treasonous unless it actually is treasonous. A bold position, I know, but one that has to be made in today’s contentious ideological environment. Tulsi Gabbard’s concerns over biolabs in Ukraine simply doesn’t rise to the level of trying to overthrow the government or kill its leader. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar, an idiot, or both.

Or Mitt Romney, but I repeat myself.