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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='color:#333333'>DNC Scrambles to Change Debate Threshold After Gabbard Qualifies<o:p></o:p></span></h1><div style='margin-top:1.5pt;margin-bottom:7.5pt;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'>March 5, 2020 • <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2020/03/05/dnc-scrambles-to-change-debate-threshold-after-gabbard-qualifies/#comments"><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#DD0000'>2 Comments</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-top:1.5pt;margin-bottom:7.5pt;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'><a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2020/03/05/dnc-scrambles-to-change-debate-threshold-after-gabbard-qualifies/">https://consortiumnews.com/2020/03/05/dnc-scrambles-to-change-debate-threshold-after-gabbard-qualifies/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;max-width: 800px;min-width: 424px' id="LPBorder_GTaHR0cHM6Ly9jb25zb3J0aXVtbmV3cy5jb20vMjAyMC8wMy8wNS9kbmMtc2NyYW1ibGVzLXRvLWNoYW5nZS1kZWJhdGUtdGhyZXNob2xkLWFmdGVyLWdhYmJhcmQtcXVhbGlmaWVzLw.."><table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%;border:solid #C8C8C8 1.0pt'><tr><td valign=top style='border:none;padding:9.0pt 27.0pt 9.0pt 9.0pt'></td></tr><td width="100%" valign=top style='width:100.0%;border:none;padding:9.0pt 27.0pt 9.0pt 9.0pt'><div style='margin-right:6.0pt;margin-bottom:9.0pt' id=LPTitle393463><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI Light","sans-serif"'><a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2020/03/05/dnc-scrambles-to-change-debate-threshold-after-gabbard-qualifies/" target="_blank"><span style='text-decoration:none'>DNC Scrambles to Change Debate Threshold After Gabbard Qualifies – Consortiumnews</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div style='margin-right:6.0pt;margin-bottom:9.0pt;max-height: 100px;overflow:hidden' id=LPDescription393463><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Segoe UI","sans-serif";color:#666666'>No surprise here, says Caitlin Johnstone. This is just the latest move to erase a candidate who challenges bipartisan support for endless wars. By Caitlin Johnstone CaitlinJohnstone.com On a CNN ...<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div id=LPMetadata393463><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Segoe UI","sans-serif";color:#A6A6A6'>consortiumnews.com<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></td></table></table></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><strong><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>No surprise here, says Caitlin Johnstone. This is just the latest move to erase a candidate who challenges bipartisan support for endless wars.</span></strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style='border:solid #E2E2E2 1.0pt;padding:8.0pt 8.0pt 4.0pt 8.0pt;margin-top:3.75pt;margin-bottom:3.75pt;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word;max-width: 100%'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;background:#F6F6F6'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><a href="https://consortiumnews.com/tag/caitlin-johnstone/"><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>By </span></strong><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'>Caitlin Johnstone</span></strong></a></span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><br></span><em><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/">CaitlinJohnstone.com</a></span></em><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><strong><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>O</span></strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>n </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="http://archive.is/8Buwe">a CNN panel on Monday</a>,</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> host John King <a href="https://twitter.com/parisencorecom/status/1235013004011458561"><span style='color:red'>spoke with <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Politico</span></em> reporter Alex Thompson</span></a> about the possibility of Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard qualifying on Super Tuesday for the party’s primary debate in Phoenix later this month.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>“I will note this, she’s from Hawaii,” King said of Gabbard. “She’s a congresswoman from Hawaii; American Samoa votes on Super Tuesday. The rules as they now stand, if you get a delegate, you’re back in the debates. As of now. Correct?”</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>“Yeah, they haven’t, I mean, that’s been the rule for every single debate,” Thompson replied. “And the DNC has not released their official guidance for the March 15 debate in Phoenix, but it would be very obvious that they are trying to cancel Tulsi, who they’re scared of a third party run, if they then change the rules to prevent her to rejoin the debate stage.”</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>And indeed, as the smoke clears from the Super Tuesday frenzy, this is precisely what appears to have transpired.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>“The Gabbard campaign said it was informed that it would net two delegates from the caucuses in American Samoa, which will allocate a total of six pledged delegates,” <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>The Hill</span></em> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/485832-gabbard-claims-first-delegates-of-primary-race">reported</a>.</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> “However, a report from CNN said that the candidate will receive only one delegate from the territory on Tuesday evening.”</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>“Tulsi Gabbard may have just qualified for the next Democratic debate thanks to American Samoa,” </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="http://archive.is/IRrMl">reads</a></span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> a fresh <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Business Insider</span></em> headline. “Under the most recent rules, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii may have qualified for the next televised debate by snagging a delegate in American Samoa’s primary.”</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>“If Tulsi Gabbard gets a delegate out of American Samoa, as it appears she has done, she will likely qualify for the next Democratic debate,” </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1235004725944356864?s=20">tweeted</a></span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>The</span></em> <em><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Washington Post</span></em>‘s Dave Weigel. “We don’t have new debate rules yet, but party has been inviting any candidate who gets a delegate.”</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>Rank-and-file supporters of the Hawaii congresswoman enjoyed a brief celebration on social media, before having their hopes dashed minutes later by an announcement from the DNC’s Communications Director Xochitl Hinojosa that “the threshold will go up.”</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>“We have two more debates — of course the threshold will go up,” </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://twitter.com/XochitlHinojosa/status/1235009904634728448">tweeted</a></span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> Hinojosa literally minutes after Gabbard was awarded the delegate. “By the time we have the March debate, almost 2,000 delegates will be allocated. The threshold will reflect where we are in the race, as it always has.”</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>“DNC wastes no time in announcing they will rig the next debates to exclude Tulsi,” Journalist Michael Tracey </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1235014122712031232?s=20">tweeted</a></span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> in response.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>This outcome surprised nobody, least of all Gabbard supporters. The blackout on the Tulsi 2020 campaign has reached such extreme heights this year that you now routinely see pundits saying things like </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1234273256099610624?s=20">there are no more people of color</a></span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> in the race, or that </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1234962318045278208?s=20">Elizabeth Warren is the only woman remaining</a></span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> in the primary. They’re not just ignoring her, they’re actually erasing her. They’re weaving a whole alternative reality out of narrative in which she is literally, officially, no longer in the race.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>After Gabbard announced her presidential candidacy in January of last year I </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/01/14/five-reasons-im-excited-about-tulsi-gabbards-candidacy/">wrote an article</a></span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> explaining that I was excited about her campaign because she would severely disrupt establishment narratives, and, for the remainder of 2019, that’s exactly what she did. She spoke unauthorized truths about Syria, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia; she drew attention to the plight of Julian Assange and Edward Snowden and said she’d drop all charges against both men if elected; she destroyed the hawkish, jingoistic positions of fellow candidates on the debate stage and arguably single-handedly destroyed Kamala Harris’ run.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>The narrative managers had their hands full with her. The Russia smears were relentless, the fact that she met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was brought up at every possible opportunity in every debate and interview, and she was scoffed at and derided at every turn.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>Now, in 2020, none of that is happening. There’s a near-total media blackout on the Gabbard campaign, such that I now routinely encounter rank-and-file liberals on social media who tell me they honestly had no idea she’s still running. She’s been completely redacted out of the narrative matrix.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>So, it’s unsurprising that the DNC felt comfortable striding forward and openly announcing a change in the debate threshold literally the very moment Gabbard crossed it. These people understand narrative control, and they know full well that they have secured enough of it on the Tulsi Problem that they’ll be able to brazenly rig her right off the stage without suffering any meaningful consequences.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>The Establishment narrative warfare against Gabbard’s campaign dwarfs anything we’ve seen against Sanders, and the loathing and dismissal they’ve been able to generate have severely hamstrung her run. It turns out that a presidential candidate can get away with talking about economic justice and plutocracy when it comes to domestic policy, and some light dissent on matters of foreign policy will be tolerated, but aggressively attacking the heart of the actual bipartisan foreign policy consensus will get you shut down, smeared and shunned like nothing else. This is partly because U.S. presidents have a lot more authority over foreign affairs than domestic, and it’s also because endless war is the glue which holds the empire together.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>And now they’re working to <a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/dems-converge-around-dementia-addled-warmonger-ahead-of-super-tuesday-37f510044d15"><span style='color:red'>install a corrupt, right-wing warmongering dementia patient</span></a> as the party’s nominee. And from the looks of the numbers I’ve seen from Super Tuesday so far, it looks entirely likely that those manipulations will prove successful.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>All this means is that the machine is exposing its mechanics to the view of the mainstream public. Both the Gabbard campaign and the Sanders campaign have been useful primarily in this way; not because the Establishment would ever let them actually become president, but because they force the unelected manipulators who really run things in the most powerful government on earth to show the public their box of dirty tricks.</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularly </span></strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone"><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>at Medium</span></strong></a></span><strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>. Follow her work on </span></strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CaitlinAJohnstone/"><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Facebook</span></strong></a><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>,</span></strong></span><strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> </span></strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://twitter.com/caitoz"><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Twitter</span></strong></a></span><strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>, or her </span></strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="http://caitlinjohnstone.com/"><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>website</span></strong></a></span><strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>. She has a </span></strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'><a href="https://soundcloud.com/going_rogue"><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'>podcast</span></strong></a><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'> and a book, </span></strong></span><strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'>“</span></strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Woke-Field-Guide-Utopia-Preppers/dp/064823455X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8"><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers</span></strong></a><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>.”</span></strong></span><strong><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'> </span></strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><em><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>This article was re-published with permission.</span></em><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><em><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of </span></em><strong><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:black'>Consortium News.</span></i></strong><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align=center style='text-align:center;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><em><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:green'>Please </span></b></em><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://org.salsalabs.com/o/1868/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=14124&okay=True"><em><b><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Donate</span></b></em></a></span><em><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:green'> to Consortium News.</span></b></em><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><em><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:blue'>Before commenting please read Robert Parry’s </span></b></em><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:red'><a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2012/01/20/comment-policy/"><strong><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>Comment Policy</span></strong></a><em><b><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>.</span></b></em></span><em><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:blue'> Allegations unsupported by facts, gross or misleading factual errors and ad hominem attacks, and abusive or rude language toward other commenters or our writers will not be published. If your comment does not immediately appear, please be patient as it is manually reviewed. For security reasons, please refrain from inserting links in your comments, which should not be longer than 300 words.</span></b></em><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>800<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p style='box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>Tags: <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/tag/caitlin-johnstone/"><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:#333333;border:solid #E2E2E2 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:#F6F6F6'>Caitlin Johnstone</span></a> <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/tag/dnc/"><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:#333333;border:solid #E2E2E2 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:#F6F6F6'>DNC</span></a> <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/tag/endless-war/"><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:#333333;border:solid #E2E2E2 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:#F6F6F6'>endless war</span></a> <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/tag/tulsi-gabbard/"><span style='font-size:9.5pt;color:#333333;border:solid #E2E2E2 1.0pt;padding:0in;background:#F6F6F6'>Tulsi Gabbard</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style='margin-bottom:15.0pt;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word;overflow:hidden'><h3 style='background:#EDEDE3'><span style='color:#333333'>Post navigation<o:p></o:p></span></h3><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:#EDEDE3'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'><a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2020/03/04/the-angry-arab-the-lessons-of-the-taliban/"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";background:#444444'>←</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;background:#444444'> THE ANGRY ARAB: The Lessons of the Taliban</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><div><h2 style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:#EDEDE3'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;color:#333333'>2 comments for “</span><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#333333'>DNC Scrambles to Change Debate Threshold After Gabbard Qualifies</span><span style='font-size:16.0pt;color:#333333'>”<o:p></o:p></span></h2><div style='border:solid #E2E2E2 1.0pt;padding:15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word;float:left;z-index:100'><div><ol start=1 type=1><li class=MsoNormal style='color:#555555;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:#F6F6F6'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=60 height=60 id="_x0000_i1028" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D5F2CD.AD3FE180" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li></ol></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#222222'><a href="http://sleslie525@gmail.com/"><i><span style='color:#333333'>Susan J Leslie</span></i></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6'><i><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#888888'>March 5, 2020 at 08:28<o:p></o:p></span></i></p></div><div><p style='margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'>The DNC is disgraceful!<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'><a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2020/03/05/dnc-scrambles-to-change-debate-threshold-after-gabbard-qualifies/?replytocom=395977#respond"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;background:#444444'>Reply</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div><div style='border:solid #E2E2E2 1.0pt;padding:15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word;float:left;z-index:100'><div><ol start=2 type=1><li class=MsoNormal style='color:#555555;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;background:#F6F6F6'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><img border=0 width=60 height=60 id="_x0000_i1029" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D5F2CD.AD3FE180" alt="Image removed by sender."></span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li></ol></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#222222'><a href="http://hedwardschmidt.com/"><i><span style='color:#333333'>Herman</span></i></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6'><i><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#888888'>March 5, 2020 at 07:59<o:p></o:p></span></i></p></div><div><p style='margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'>Tulsi’s recent piece about smears of Sanders regarding Russian support calling for leakers and the complicit media to account was powerful not only because it needed to be done but because of the impact this leaking has on the behavior of a President.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'>Tulsi makes a strong case that the Trump presidency might have been very different if he hadn’t been ambushed beginning before he could make his inaugural speech and that it so weakened him that he had to take actions contrary to what he promised in campaign in order to survive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'>I think the case can also be made that his embrace of Israel regarding Jerusalem and the Golan Heights and his Middle East policy generally were influenced by the relentless attacks on him. Israel, through its supporters in America, served as a shield.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'>There are of course other influences on this very political President but I think Tulsi Gabbard’s point were very powerful nevertheless.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'>The leakers and their complicit media partners do need to be exposed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:.5in;background:#F6F6F6;box-sizing: border-box;overflow-wrap: break-word'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";color:#555555'>As to Tulsi, the American elites just were not willing to allow her a national forum any longer. She threatens too many just by her words. Kind of like the little boy and the emperor.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div></body></html>