Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 11, 2022 / 15:00 pm (CNA).
Former Hawaii congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard announced Tuesday that she is leaving the Democratic Party, citing a long list of reasons including its hostility to “people of faith.”
“Any political party that is trying to erase the presence of God from every facet of public life and is hostile towards those who choose to worship God cannot be trusted to protect our inalienable God-given rights enshrined in the Constitution, and therefore should not be in power,” Gabbard said in a 30-minute YouTube video explaining her decision.
I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms, are… pic.twitter.com/oAuTnxZldf
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) October 11, 2022
Gabbard did not indicate whether she would be joining the Republican Party, but she unleashed a litany of condemnations against President Biden and Democrats, focusing largely on the party’s infringement on the freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
Gabbard defends pro-life activists, religious freedom
In her message, Gabbard recounted the Department of Justice’s recent arrests and indictments of pro-life activists such as Catholic father of seven Mark Houck, saying security agencies have been “weaponized” against Americans.
“Seven of these 11 pro-life protesters are facing 11 years in prison and fines of $250,000,” she said. “They didn’t use physical force, they weren’t dangerous.”
Gabbard’s defense of pro-lifers contradicts her voting record. While serving as a member of Congress from 2013 to 2021, Gabbard consistently voted against pro-life measures and received a 90% rating from national pro-abortion organization NARAL Pro-Choice America.
In the 2020 presidential race, she campaigned saying she would codify Roe v. Wade with some restrictions.
“I support codifying Roe v. Wade, while making sure that during the third trimester abortion is not an option, unless the life or severe health consequences of the woman are at risk,” she said in a 2019 debate.
Gabbard contrasted the Biden administration’s treatment of pro-lifers with the way it handled pro-abortion activists after Roe v. Wade was overturned this summer.
“The Biden administration stood by and did absolutely nothing as activists protested outside the homes of Supreme Court justices during all hours of the day and night in clear violation of federal law,” Gabbard said.
“Go back and look again. How did the Biden administration treat those pro-life, nonviolent protestors?” she said.
Gabbard also condemned Vice President Kamala Harris and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for “proclaiming that the Supreme Court was illegitimate, just because they disagree with its rulings.”
Gabbard cites Democratic Party’s ‘wokeness’
“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism,” Gabbard explained.
On the question of religion, Gabbard accused Democrats of being “hostile to people of faith” and said that Democrat leaders “actively try to undermine our religious freedom.”
“High-profile Democrat leaders openly mock and discriminate against people of faith, especially Christians,” Gabbard — who was the first Hindu member of Congress — said.
Giving examples, she referred to then Sen. Harris’ remarks that Brian Buescher’s membership in the Knights of Columbus disqualified him from serving as a federal judge.
She also mentioned California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s attack on Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett for her devout Catholic faith.
“The Democrat Party of today has forgotten that freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion,” Gabbard added, recalling the party’s decision to omit the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance at its 2020 convention.
Gabbard also discussed the party’s adoption of “critical race theory,” efforts to defund the police amid rising crime, and the “self-identified Marxists” who lead the Black Lives Matter movement.
She pointed to how Democrats were silent after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot refused to be interviewed by white reporters due to their “overwhelming whiteness and maleness.”
“Modern-day segregation in schools is being promoted,” she said, speaking of critical race theorist proponents such as Robin DiAngelo. “They embrace these people and their ideology.”
“Democrats have reduced each of us as God’s children to the color of our skin, using identity politics to tear us apart,” Gabbard said, adding, “They have become the racists that they claim to hate.”
Gabbard denounced Democrats for teaching children gender ideology and pushing access to sexually explicit content in schools.
“The Biden Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security have focused their newly-formed domestic terror unit to target parents who are vocally standing in opposition to radical curriculums and explicit sexual content being taught to their kids in public schools,” she said.
Gabbard railed at the party for “rejecting the objective truth and reality that women exist,” calling it “anti-woman.”
“They can no longer even define what a woman is and they’re demanding that we replace words like ‘mother’ with ‘birthing person,’” Gabbard said.
Condemning transgender males playing on women’s sports teams, she said that the Biden administration’s proposed Title IX changes will “absolutely [take] away opportunities for millions of women.”
The since-viral video is the first episode in Gabbard’s new podcast, The Tulsi Gabbard Show.
Gabbard’s team did not immediately respond to CNA’s request for comment Tuesday.
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Wow. Developing story. Stay tuned.
Prediction – The feces will hit the air circulator in great abundance in the party of death – there will be wailing and the gnashing of teeth – here there and everywhere, MSNBC will get even funnier than it already is, Rachel Maddow’s head will explode, etc.
OR
They will say NOTHIN’ or alap (as little as possible) and hope their usual practice of ignoring that which doesn’t fit THEIR narrative works, if that don’t work they’ll turn to tactic #2 – demonize anyone who dares disagree with them.
Personally I look for a little of both, given their past history.
But – this is BIG news, and they know it.
Joe and Mika show can t comment this one out of existence. Joe can compare to when he left the Republican party or when they left him.
Yes, it’s big news. It will give people permission to leave the Democratic party.
Gilberta!
One might have hoped that any of the insane, diabolical Democratic policies mentioned by Miss Gabbard would have been enough to give people whatever “permission” necessary to refuse to participate in the Democrats’ attempts to destroy humanity.
But apparently Nancy Pelosi was right several years ago when, holding her glass up to the cameras, she said, “Democratic voters will vote for this glass of water if it has a ‘D’ behind it.”
Catholics who vote for Democrats ought to be mortified.
None of this contradicts her pro-abortion voting record. It’s quite possible to be pro-abortion and at the same time horrified that peaceful anti-abortion activists are prosecuted like terrorists whilst pro-abortion activists who terrorise judges at thtur homes to intimidate them into changing their decisions, are let off scot free and indeed praised by the government.
Peter, you’re right. Abortion is but one of the myriad of hideous, inhuman evils advocated by the Democratic Party.
But we can have common cause with anyone who rejects the satanic Democrats over any one of them.
She is only half way home because she can not connect the dots. When people are hysterically violent about their political ideology it is because they are repressing a barely suppressed awareness of their own involvement in evil for which they are experiencing a failure of success in trying to project it onto others. She should be able to figure out pro-aborts act the way they do because they are trying to defend intrinsic evil.
Peter – this is true, but what she has said suggests to me that she is perhaps thinking over what she has voted for in the past. But it is undeniable that this is a BIG step – a crack in the wall?
We can only pray.
Of course nobody needs permission. But for someone of her stature to spell it out so clearly will validate the uneasiness many have to be feeling. It should be fun to watch what the Democrats/MSM do with this!
Hmmm? As a strong conservative Republican with born Ukrainian genes, how are Democrats warmongers? Hopefully, this is not about the war in Ukraine, because not defending Ukraine would only be for cowards.
Just like everything else.The MSM will not report this possible change of heart from
Miss Tulsi. If they don’t report it? It never happened.The MSM is Public Enemy #1
in the United States since 2007.
MSM tilted left long before 2007. Try 1960.
I almost never vote Democrat. Republican’s aren’t perfect, but they at least aren’t generally pro-unborn-baby-murderers. I might vote for an anti-sodomite, anti-mutilation, and “radical pro-life” Democrat, but they are (almost) “extinct.”
I was very disappointed that in 2020 there were only 4 members of one chamber of the state legislature who resolved to impeach Ohio’s Governor Michael DeWine for his unjust “COVID-19” executive decisions. They were all Republicans. That said, 4 is more than 0.
The biggest issue with Republicans is that historically and largely they still don’t care about workers. However, it is more important to punish murderers than it is to be very concerned with employment issues.
On the other hand, based on my experiences with the “justice” system, even Democrats don’t really care about workers. I live in a “blue” county in a “red” state.
Be glad didn’t have to live under the tryanny in MI via Gretchen Whitmer.
Watch the debate between she and Dixon last night 10.13 (search for replay whitmer dixon debate)
or is it tyranny
We have to thank the Lord for inspiring good, honest and sincere politicians like Tulsi Gabbard to leave the corrupted, leftist and anti- American-values, Democratic party. It is about time that decent people who love the USA stop supporting the party who is doing so much damage to our American democracy and to our Judeo-Christian and other religions’ values.
Bravo Congresswoman Gabbard. God bless you.
It would be interesting to see if Tulsi goes up against Hillary in the Democrat nomination fight in ’24. Hillary has clearly said she plans to run. Tulsi could turn that decision into another electoral disaster for the Queen of Lies.
The focus of Gabbard’s announcement was clearly on the Democrat’s warmongering and wokeness, and the focus on this article is shifting that as though Gabbard’s views were about wokeness and faith. It is extremely frustrating to read mainstream media and how they twist the truth to tell you what they want you to hear, and it is equally frustrating to see it from CWR. Gabbard rejects the Democratic party for their warmongering. Catholics should too. Unfortunately, most don’t. Please write articles that are true. Don’t just tell us what you want to tell us or what you think we want to hear.