Hillary Clinton suggests that Tulsi Gabbard and Jill Stein are Russian assets.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. 

Hillary Clinton suggested in an interview that both congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and third party Green Party Jill Stein are Russian assets. NBC News. Clinton didn't mention Gabbard by name but said a Democratic candidate was getting "groomed" by the Russians for a third party run. When asked if it was Gabbard, Clinton said "If the nesting doll fits..." Gabbard blasted Clinton on Twitter calling her a coward who should join the race. Clinton also said that Jill Stein was a Russian asset and that "they" couldn't win without a third party challenger. 

Great! Thank you @HillaryClinton. 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. From the day I announced my candidacy, there has been a ...

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 18, 2019

My Comment:
I think Hillary Clinton might be losing her mind. Normally I would say that this was a cynical attempt to hurt a potential primary challenger to a hypothetical Hillary Clinton run, but it seems like she really believes that both Gabbard and Stein are Russian assets. 

This is, of course, an extremely serious accusation. Clinton essentially accused a military officer and current member of congress of being a traitor. And she provided no evidence of her claims. There is no evidence at all of either Gabbard or Stein actively working with the Russians.

It's also not clear at all that the Russians want a 2nd term of Donald Trump. They hated Clinton yes, but that was based on her personality and policies, not her party. It's not a guarantee that the Russians wouldn't prefer a President Sanders or Biden over a 2nd term of President Trump.

It really seems like the Democrats playbook will be from now on that anyone who disagrees with the Democrats will be accused of being a Russian stooge. It has happened to President Trump, it happened to his supporters, it happened to Jill Stein and now it's happening to Tulsi Gabbard.

I think this might be personal for Hillary Clinton as well. She never took any responsibility for losing in 2016. She blames the few votes for Jill Stein got for losing, despite the fact that she didn't campaign in Wisconsin and insulted millions of people and was totally unlikable. Gabbard criticized Clinton at the last debate so she probably wanted revenge on her as well.

It seems pretty clear that Clinton is considering jumping back into the race. Why else would she be attacking Gabbard so publicly? She could have dealt with Gabbard in a more private way but she had to give an interview that went viral. I think she's jumping back in.

I do have to wonder why so many Democrats hate Tusli Gabbard. Though I like her foreign policy, Gabbard is just as left wing as any of the other Democrats. She's anti-gun, pro-socialism and generally opposed to many of the beliefs I hold dear. She's better than the rest of the field, largely because of her more isolationist policy, but that's damning by faint praise. That being said, she didn't back the United States pulling out of Syria even though she had been demanding that since the beginning.

I think the reason Democrats hate Gabbard is the fact that she's and anti-war candidate in a party that is no longer anti-war. Back in the Bush years it was the cool thing to be anti-war, but as soon as Barack Obama got elected the anti-war movement died. President Trump and some of the Republicans have taken up that mantel but there isn't room in the Democratic Party for someone who would have fit in just a few years ago...