Would Chelsea Manning make a good Senator? | The Tylt
Chelsea Manning has confirmed she's running for Senate and plans to take on Democratic Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin in the Maryland primary. The former US Army intelligence analyst was found guilty of leaking more than 700,000 government files to WikiLeaks in 2013. Critics say even if Manning did not betray the country, she isn't qualified to be a senator. But her supporters say she is a whistleblower and hero, and exactly who we need in our government right now. What do you think?

Manning has an enthusiastic following, and her supporters say she will do a far better job of actually advocating for justice than the Democratic Party has.
yup, we're running for senate 😎🌈💕 #WeGotThis https://t.co/ynFv6w32np
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) January 14, 2018
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) is running for U.S. Senate in Maryland to challenge a Democrat (@BenCardinforMD) who just voted to let Trump keep authoritarian, warrantless domestic surveillance powers this week. #AreYouBeingServed #DemandOfByFor #RunChelseaRun
— #ImagineBerniePotus (@MsEddieD) January 14, 2018
Manning's critics say her act was treasonous and should not be rewarded with a powerful legislative position.
Please. @xychelsea is no different than @Snowden. Both, under performers angry at not being recognized for their greatness, decided to feed their massive egos and inflated self-worth by betraying their country. #WhitePrivilege https://t.co/w7SvRc8TQu
— Naveed Jamali (@NaveedAJamali) January 14, 2018
Others on the left say whether or not you support the actions that landed her in prison, Chelsea Manning is simply not qualified.
9) If Chelsea Manning wants my vote and my support, she also has to be qualified to do the job. Otherwise, she won’t achieve anything other than embarrassing us, and sending the false message that maybe LGBT people aren’t qualified after all.
— John Aravosis (@aravosis) January 15, 2018
While some on the right say Manning's supporters will only vote for her because she's trans, many leftists argue they support her because she will actually fight for justice.
To claim the left likes Chelsea Manning simply because she's trans is idiotic. We like her because she exposed what our government does in our name.
— Redacted Tonight (@RedactedTonight) January 14, 2018
Others say they could never vote for someone who betrayed her country.
I might be an outlier on this, but Chelsea Manning for Senate is not something I can get behind. My husband was in the Army, and even as a normal US citizen, I am not at all comfortable with the way she handled classified information. Should be a disqualifier.
— Dani Bostick (@danibostick) January 13, 2018