Former Hawaii Congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has left the Democratic Party, saying that it has been taken over by an “elitist cabal of warmongers” who are “dragging us ever closer to nuclear war.”
On her podcast on October 11, Gabbard recalled that, when she decided to run for the Hawaii State House in 2002 at the age of 21 and had to select a party affiliation, she settled on the Democrats because she was inspired by figures like Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, and by Democrats who opposed the Vietnam War and stood up for workers in Hawaii who were being exploited by large landowners.
The GOP by contrast appeared to her to stand for the interests of big business and the warmongering elite.
But today, Gabbard said, the Democrats are in the thrall of the military-industrial complex and use liberal rhetoric to support wars of aggression. They have pushed the world to the precipice of World War III and “don’t care who pays the price.”
The war in Ukraine, according to Gabbard was “not provoked by Vladimir Putin, but by the United States and some European nations in NATO that are using the Ukrainian military and people as chess pieces with the aim of regime change in Russia.”
The military-industrial complex is happy to send all those weapons to Ukraine, but, she asked, “if we vote to send these billions of dollars to Ukraine, is that strengthening our national security or undermining it?”
Gabbard said that she ran for president in 2020 because “she saw where we were headed.” She raised the danger of a potential nuclear holocaust in her campaign and on the national debate stage as a result of bellicose U.S. policies, but the “dominant politicians and media ignored her message and didn’t care—then or now.”
In an interview with Jesse Waters on Fox News, Gabbard noted that not one member of Congress on the left has opposed the war in Ukraine. “Where are the so-called progressives?” she asked. “Where are the peace champions, the AOCs, the Bernies, all the people who claim to be representing this movement? They’re absolutely silent, and they are the ones leading us into nuclear war.”
After making her announcement about leaving the Democratic Party, old smears were predictably revived about Gabbard’s “coziness with Syrian president and alleged war criminal Bashar al-Assad” (Max Burns, NBC News) and being “pro-Putin.” (Bill Kristol).[1]
According to Gabbard, whereas the Democrats once stood for civil liberties, today’s Democrats advance censorship under the guise of a campaign for “fighting misinformation”—which allows the government to cancel out its critics.
Gabbars suggests that the Biden administration has also a) prosecuted conservative groups like anti-abortion activists who have a right to protest, b) demonized and pushed for defunding the police who are needed in communities, c) divided Americans by racializing almost every issue, d) labeled as terrorists parents who questioned changes to their children’s curriculum; and e) forgotten that the U.S. Constitution stands for freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.
Gabbard clearly stands on the conservative side of the culture wars, adopting positions with which many on the left do not agree—though might consider.
However, she is right on the mark in her critique of the Democrats’ acquiescence to the military-industrial complex and advancement of dangerous foreign policies that threaten nuclear war.
The question is when will more self-styled progressives follow Gabbard’s lead and defect from a party that is as beholden to the oligarchic elite and national security complex as the Republicans?
And when will more Democrats speak out against the adoption of neo-McCarthyite tactics to silence critics—not just of the government’s Russia and China policies, but also its corrupted response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Gabbard filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton who had said that Russia was “grooming Gabbard [who served in the U.S. military] to be a third party candidate” and that Gabbard was a “favorite of the Russians.” Kamala Harris’ campaign meanwhile suggested that Russia was behind Gabbard’s scathing critique of Harris’ record as a prosecutor during one of the 2020 Democratic Party primary debates. ↑
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About the Author
Jeremy Kuzmarov holds a Ph.D. in American history from Brandeis University and has taught at numerous colleges across the United States. He is regularly sought out as an expert on U.S. history and politics for radio and TV programs and co-hosts a radio show on New York Public Radio and on Progressive Radio News Network called “Left on Left.” He is Managing Editor of CovertAction Magazine and is the author of five books on U.S. foreign policy, including Obama’s Unending Wars (Clarity Press, 2019), The Russians Are Coming, Again, with John Marciano (Monthly Review Press, 2018), and Warmonger. How Clinton’s Malign Foreign Policy Launched the U.S. Trajectory From Bush II to Biden (Clarity Press, 2023). Besides these books, Kuzmarov has published hundreds of articles and contributed to numerous edited volumes, including one in the prestigious Oxford History of Counterinsurgency . He can be reached at jkuzmarov2@gmail.com and found on substack here.
Gabbard is dangerous. She is a Hari Krishna Hindutva fascists that supports Modi in India.
Because there is no ‘media covered’ anti war voice, Gabbard is seen to be progressive, whatever the hell that means.
She can become part of the Third Position, made up of Greenwald, Dore, Bannon, and the rest of the individualistic scourges.
For more on the Third Position see PR.
[…] CovertAction Magazine […]
Tulsi Gabbard is very inconsistent and unpredictable in her political views. Like now she is supporting a Pro-Trump Republican candidate named Donald Bolduc. She seems to be transforming into a born again Republican.
After her eulogy to John McCain she might as well leave politics entirely.. I can see that she has done and said decent things..but thats not much use if your
still trying to appease the criminal neocons running things.
Recently Tulsi Gabbard posted the following comment on her twitter account:
“Putin’s threat and apparent willingness to use nuclear weapons should be condemned by every person in the world, including every Russian. If Putin really loved Russia/Russian people, he would not bring his country and people to the brink of annihilation for any reason”
Tulsi Gabbard is a strong supporter of Israel as shown in this comment that she made:
“I know how important our enduring alliance with Israel is. My vote upholds my commitment to maintaining and strengthening this alliance, as well as my long-held position that the most viable path to peace between Israel and Palestine can be found through both sides negotiating a two-state solution. While I remain concerned about aspects of the UN Resolution, I share the Obama Administration’s reservation about the harmful impact Israeli settlement activity has on the prospects for peace.”
[…] Tulsi Gabbard Leaves Democratic Party: Says It Has Been Taken Over By “An Elitist Cabal of Warmong… Democratic Party Moved From Uncomfortable To Intolerable For Members: #WalkAway Founder […]
Anyone who gets on a DNC/RNC ballot for president and is allowed to participate in their debates is surely controlled opposition. Compare how the DNC treated Gabbard and Sanders with their reaction to Stein and Nader attempting to attend – not participating in, mind you – a debate.
While Kumarov admits “[the Democrats are] as beholden to the oligarchic elite and national security complex as the Republicans”, he has not called out Gabbard for moving further to the dark side. His comment on her planting her culture war flag firmly in rabid right territory is insipid and provides her cover. Disappointing at the very least.
Has Gabbard said she’s joining the Republican party, or is she now going to be an “independent” like Sanders?
Two other points worth considering.
The DNC – and RNC – have been run by war mongers since at least the coup of 1963.
If Gabbard is anti-war, why did she serve two terms in the Bush gang’s war crime in Iraq and wider war of terror?
Too good to be true comes to mind. Her affiliation with the Council on Foreign Relations makes her highly suspect. If she is “theirs,” she sure as hell ain’t ours.
Bait and switch is a hard written rule in U.S. politics, especially after “the talk” as provided by AIPAC and especially the CIA/FBI. Something plenty-enough obvious was broken in American politics on November 22 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Irrevocably, and by conventional means, irretrievably as pertains the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Thank you for this article about Tulsi Gabbard. I am elated that she has finally realized there is not a place for her in the war mongering Dem Party and wonder what her next steps will be. While I realize I don’t agree with her on everything (I do believe the Constitution guarantees freedom of and from religion) to me that is something we can agree to disagree on. I also appreciate her statements on censorship.
The central foreign policy problem of our time is the aggression of NATO in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Long before the incompassionate and stupid attack on Ukraine, Tulsi Gabbard was upfront in her call for a sane nuclear policy. Leaving the Democrats is a positive response to the encroachment of Russia by NATO–led by the USA and Democrats.