2 years ago
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Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announced she is leaving the Democratic Party, denouncing it arsenic an "elitist cabal of warmongers," portion calling upon different "common consciousness autarkic minded Democrats" to exit with her.
"I tin nary longer stay successful today's Democratic Party that is present nether the implicit power of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who disagreement america by racializing each contented & stoke anti-white racism, actively enactment to undermine our God-given freedoms, are hostile to radical of religion & spirituality, demonize the constabulary & support criminals astatine the disbursal of law-abiding Americans, judge successful unfastened borders, weaponize the national security authorities to spell aft governmental opponents, and supra all, dragging america ever person to atomic war," Gabbard said connected Twitter.
Gabbard represented Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District from 2013 to 2021 arsenic a Democrat, and successful 2020 she mounted an unsuccessful bid for the party's statesmanlike nomination. In successful a video posted to Twitter connected Tuesday, she claimed that the enactment she's exiting stands for the "powerful elite," not the people.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard answers media questions pursuing a run lawsuit connected Feb. 9, 2020, successful Portsmouth, N.H.
Scott Eisen/Getty Images, FILE
"If you tin nary longer tummy the absorption that the truthful called woke Democratic Party ideologues are taking our country. I invitation you to articulation me," she said.
Gabbard paired her announcement with the motorboat of a podcast series connected YouTube called "The Tulsi Gabbard Show." The archetypal upload is simply a 28-minute occurrence titled "Why I'm leaving the Democratic Party," wherever she details her entranceway into the Democratic enactment arsenic a young person, "inspired by Democrats who stood up against the warfare successful Vietnam" and those who stood up for plantation workers successful Hawaii.
Chief among the reasons her 20-year stint arsenic a subordinate of the Democratic Party volition beryllium chopped short, she said, is her fearfulness that "President Biden and Democratic Party elites person pushed america to the precipice of atomic war, risking starting World War III and destroying the satellite arsenic we cognize it."
Gabbard said that her entranceway into the 2020 statesmanlike rhythm was besides due to the fact that of imminent "nuclear holocaust."
"I ran for president successful 2020 due to the fact that I knew that this is wherever we were headed. All the signs were there. I raised this contented each azygous time during the run and connected the nationalist statement signifier for those of you who whitethorn person travel to a municipality hallway oregon who were watching, I'm definite you noticed, but the politicians and the media wholly ignored it," she said.
In her announcement and passim the episode, Gabbard touted a fig of traditionally blimpish talking points, repeating right-wing rhetoric similar "wokeness" and "elites," and harkening backmost to phrasing apical GOP leaders person regularly circulated.
In this Feb. 8, 2020, record photo, Democratic statesmanlike campaigner Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, speaks during the McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner successful Manchester, N.H.
Mary Altaffer/AP, FILE
She accused Democrats for turning American ideology into "a banana republic"-- a word wide imparted by Republican leaders, particularly to qualify the FBI's hunt of erstwhile President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence successful August.
"The raid of MAL is different escalation successful the weaponization of national agencies against the Regime's governmental opponents, portion radical similar Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves. Now the Regime is getting different 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote aft the raid.
Gabbard has agelong been a Fox News contributor-- successful August, she guest-hosted "Tucker Carlson Tonight," pursuing the FBI's raid of Mar-a-Lago.
"Now, immoderate your views are connected Donald Trump, there's nary denying that the unprecedented raid connected his Palm Beach location earlier this week has acceptable our state connected a unsafe caller course, and there's nary turning back," she said connected the show.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a Republican, applauded Gabbard connected "Fox & Friends" pursuing her announcement, calling her an "independent maverick," and noting that her exodus from Democrats whitethorn beryllium an indicator of further question distant from the party.
"I deliberation erstwhile she ran for president, she realized however truly isolated she was from the large bulk of the Democratic Party, which is now, frankly, a beauteous weird party. We saw the aforesaid happening hap successful a somewhat antithetic mode successful Philadelphia past week, wherever the erstwhile lawman mayor, a Democrat, endorsed Dr. Oz for the U.S. Senate and said that John Fetterman is conscionable truthful brainsick connected transgression and truthful pro-criminal, helium couldn't beryllium for him. So I deliberation you're seeing this drift, and we've surely seen among Latinos a immense drift towards the Republican Party arsenic they're driven distant by the weirder policies of the Democratic Party," helium said.
Gabbard did not denote her adjacent steps, oregon if she'd see jumping to the Republican Party. She's agelong spoken retired against the two-party strategy that dominates American politics, however, leaving immoderate to speculate that she whitethorn find a governmental location arsenic an autarkic oregon successful a 3rd party.
"I volition say, with our 2 enactment system, I deliberation it is broken. And it's mostly breached due to the fact that of the outsized magnitude of powerfulness that the 2 parties have, making it intolerable for truly determination to beryllium a viable autarkic oregon 3rd party," she said successful January 2020 during her tally for president.
ABC News' Beatrice Peterson contributed to this report.
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