2020 Democratic Presidential Contender Leaves Party, Calls It an 'Elitist Cabal... Driven by Cowardly Wokeness'

Steve Warren
10-11-2022

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Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard announced Tuesday she has left the Democratic Party, denouncing the political party and its leadership who she called "an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness."

Gabbard, who ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary and served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Hawaii's 2nd congressional district for eight years before retiring in 2021, blasted Democrats for almost 30 minutes in the first episode of her new podcast titled The Tulsi Gabbard Show which is seen on YouTube. 

She explained she had been a Democrat for 20 years and was inspired by leaders like the late Martin Luther King, Jr. and U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY).  

"I was drawn to the ideals of a big tent inclusive Democratic Party that stood up for working men and women," Gabbard said, "that stood up for the little guy."

Then she called out the party's leadership and listed several issues that American voters will have the chance to address in the midterm elections next month. 

"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, who actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, who are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, who demonize the police, who protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, who believe in open borders, who weaponize the national security state to go after their political opponents. And above all, who are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war," Gabbard said in a short video clip that was shared on Twitter. 

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"I believe in a government that's 'Of the people, By the people, and For the people.' Unfortunately, today's Democratic Party does not. Instead, it stands for a government that is of, by, and for the powerful elite," she argued. 

The former U.S. representative then called on other Democrats to join her. 

"Now, 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 this so-called woke Democratic ideologues are taking our country, I invite you to join me," Gabbard said as her Twitter video ended. 

Strong Reaction to Gabbard's Announcement

Several Twitter users responded to Gabbard's announcement. Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D., a Democrat running for the U.S. House seat for New York's 16 District wrote, "Bye Felicia. Us 'woke' Democrats want empathy, compassion, truth, justice, women's rights & a multicultural democracy. If that's not your thing, aight. You can come back when you learn and care about our collective humanity."

Another user wrote, "Working on my book on how disinformation is sabotaging democracy at this very moment, and Gabbard's tweet is going in as an excellent illustration. Just can't decide whether it goes under the section on gaslighting or demonizing the opposition. Maybe both!"

Another user called Gabbard a "fake Democrat," writing: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU … Fake Democrat, Tulsi Gabbard, is finally leaving the party that she only belonged to ON PAPER. Goodbye and good riddance to an enemy within!"

But several users also applauded Gabbard's move. 

One user wrote, "Many say Tulsi's a Soros-backed, globalist WEF plant, yet she's denouncing the party & asking people to leave. I don't agree with many of her views, but she served & loves this nation & has more b*** to speak out against the extreme left than almost anyone in the @GOP! Kudos!"

Redstate columnist Buzz Patterson tweeted, "Finally, a common sense, pro-America Democrat who is brave enough to walk away. Well done, @TulsiGabbard."

Jenna Ellis, former President Trump's lawyer, who now has a show of her own, wrote: "Good for @TulsiGabbard. Love her."

Gabbard's Strong Independent Streak

She did not mention during her show if she was going to join the Republican Party or register as an Independent. 

Since dropping out of the 2020 presidential race in favor of Biden, Gabbard has become one of his most vocal critics of the president and his administration. 

Last May, she denounced Biden for calling millions of conservative Americans "terrorists in an attempt to intimidate them into silence."

"We know this because we have heard this before from both him and his attorney general," Gabbard told Fox News's Sean Hannity. "You'll remember when his attorney general said, 'Anyone who holds extremist or anti-authority views will be targeted for investigation and potential prosecution by their domestic terrorist unit.' So what he's essentially saying is this quote, unquote MAGA crowd are worse than terrorists. This is outrageous. So for every American, who's watching, every American who's seen this. No matter how you feel about the MAGA crowd, this is an authoritarian assault on our freedom and we need to stand together very strongly against this attempt to intimidate and silence anyone who holds political views that are different from or opposed to what this president and his administration are furthering. 

"This is an assault on our democracy," she added.

As CBN News reported in August, Gabbard said the FBI's raid on former President Donald Trump's home shows an "escalating, very dangerous trend of abuse of power" by the Biden administration.

"This is something that every American should be extremely concerned about because this raid is just the latest serious escalation of this disturbing trend that we've seen of blatant abuse of power by those in power, to not only protect their friends but to target their political opponents or frankly anyone who dares to dissent or challenge or disagree or even question what this administration is doing," Gabbard told Fox News.

The former U.S. Representative from Hawaii also listed several examples of this abuse of power in different agencies, including the FBI's investigation of Trump for the Russia Hoax. Gabbard also called out the targeting of conservative organizations by the IRS during the Obama administration. 

She spoke out about this administration's Department of Homeland Security and its recent attempt at creating "a Ministry of Truth to go after us, everyday Americans across the country to tell us, 'Hey, here's what we say the truth is and is not, and what you are allowed to say and what you are not allowed to say.'"

"It's hard to imagine given how blatant all of this is, that this is happening in the United States of America," Gabbard said. 

The former Democratic congresswoman later tweeted video clips of her Fox interview, writing: "Regardless of how you feel about Trump, this FBI raid throws fuel on that fire of distrust and sets a dangerous precedent that reduces our government to being no better than a banana republic, where dictators see federal law enforcement as their own personal goon squad."

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of
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