Tulsi Gabbard, the Republican?

Topic: Perspective

In case you missed the news, Tulsi Gabbard is no longer a member of the formal Army of Darkness, the Democrat Party.  The former U.S. congresswoman from Hawaii, who is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, has long been hated by rank-and-file Democrats, just as most conservative Republicans revile Lisa Murkowski, or the soon-to-be former Senator Ben Sasse.

This is not because she isn’t ideologically aligned with much of the party agenda.  After all, she would have never been a member to begin with if there wasn’t at least some commonality.  She is certainly sympathetic to and supportive of socialistic viewpoints and is not as hardcore traditional on social views as some wings of the left believe.

The machine hates Tulsi Gabbard because Tulsi Gabbard hates one of the most powerful mechanisms of the permanent bureaucracy – the military industrial complex.  Truly, no one can identify the waste and brokenness of modern-day military operations like a post-9/11 veteran with service in Iraq or Afghanistan can.  I have outlined this sentiment on numerous occasions.  Decades of failure, loss of life, depreciation of the national morale, and weakness on the global stage all stem from our disastrous involvement in these distant rockpiles, or jungles from decades past.

Since Tulsi Gabbard is no longer a Democrat and certainly no “conservative,” what does all this mean?  Is she a Republican?  Well, she may become one.  Look at many elected in the 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 Republican rebounds, and you’ll remind yourself of the futility of electing people just because of the “R” following a name.

Is she America First?  In some ways, most certainly.  Most notably, most of her foreign policy views, mainly a resistance to and constant criticism of warmongers and ruinous war policy, are welcome to the political arena.  For this news, patriots should commend her for standing her ground and no longer going on to get along, like running for constant re-election or moderating a sincerely held position gained by years of experience.

If we are to have a political future, there will be “rights” and “lefts” to come, divided along economic, military, foreign policy, and social lines.  Painting with a broad brush and assigning others to their special boxes alienates a rational discussion that may stem from a piece of news like a prominent member of a party breaking long-held ties.

My prediction is that Joe Manchin is the next Democrat domino to fall, and probably by 2024.  We must welcome open debate nationally if our ideas are to spread.  Gabbard’s announcement is much more consequential than many seem to think.