Two years ago, Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and one-time Democratic presidential candidate, made waves by announcing her departure from the Democratic Party and became an independent. At the time, I was skeptical that she'd ever join the GOP, but on Tuesday, she finally took the next step and became a Republican.
"And it is because of my love for our country, and specifically because of the leadership that President Trump has brought to transform the Republican party and bring it back to the party of the people and the party of peace, that I'm proud to stand here with you today, President Trump, and announce that I'm joining the Republican Party," she said at Trump's rally in North Carolina. "I'm joining the party of the people, the party of equality, the party that was founded to fight against and end slavery in this country. It is the party of commonsense, and the party that is led by a president who has the courage and strength to fight for peace."
It's hard to believe it was actually two years ago that Tulsi first left the Democratic Party. She announced her departure in a bombshell video on X/Twitter, during which she delivered a scathing critique of her former party, effectively torching it for becoming to radical and oppressive.
"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 hostile to people of faith & spirituality, demonize the police & protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and above all, dragging us ever closer to nuclear war."
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"I believe in a government that is of, by, and for the people," Tulsi continued. "Unfortunately, today’s Democratic Party does not. Instead, it stands for a government of, by, and for the powerful elite. I’m calling on my fellow common sense independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic Party. If you can no longer stomach the direction that so-called woke Democratic Party ideologues are taking our country, I invite you to join me."
As an independent, Tulsi has been a thorn in the side of her former party. She has joined Donald Trump on the campaign trail, and Democrats weren't happy about it. In August, whistleblowers from the Federal Air Marshal Service revealed that Tulsi is currently being monitored under the TSA’s Quiet Skies program. This secretive surveillance initiative includes its own compartmentalized watchlist of suspected terrorists.
Welcome to the party, Tulsi!
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