Scare quotes around threat not because it’s a direct quote, but because I think very few people are actually worried that she won’t be on stage.
“I am giving serious consideration to boycotting the next debate on October 15th. I will announce my decision within the next few days,” Gabbard said in a video posted on social media Thursday.
Gabbard cited meeting voters in Iowa and New Hampshire who have “expressed to me how frustrated you are that the DNC and corporate media are essentially trying to usurp your role as voters in choosing who our Democratic nominee will be.”
Gabbard claims the DNC and corporate media are trying to replace the roles of voters in early voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, and replace them with polling and “other arbitrary methods which are not transparent or democratic.”
“They're holding so-called debates, which really are not debates at all, but rather commercialized reality television meant to entertain, rather than to inform or enlighten.”
The argument that the DNC is rigging the process by setting standards for who can appear on stage isn’t particularly new or creative, but it’s… an argument. There are 282 official candidates for the Democratic nomination. I’m not sure how much better served she’d be to have all of them onstage with her.
Her announcement (with transcript below):
Transcript:
I want to thank you all very much for your support. I need to share something with you. It is very important.
There are so many of you who I've met in Iowa and New Hampshire who have expressed to me how frustrated you are that the DNC and corporate media are essentially trying to usurp your role as voters in choosing who our Democratic nominee will be.
I share your concerns, and I'm sure that all our supporters throughout the country do as well.
The 2016 Democratic Primary election was rigged by the DNC and their partners in the corporate media against Bernie Sanders.
In this 2020 election, the DNC and corporate media are rigging the election again, but this time against the American people in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.
They are attempting to replace the roles of voters in the early states, using polling and other arbitrary methods which are not transparent or democratic, and holding so-called debates which are not debates at all but rather commercialized reality television meant to entertain, not inform or enlighten.
In short, the DNC and corporate media are trying to hijack the entire election process.
In order to bring attention to this serious threat to our democracy, and ensure your voice is heard, I am giving serious consideration to boycotting the next debate on October 15th. I will announce my decision within the next few days. With my deepest aloha, thank you all again for your support.