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Former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is in the position any former presidential candidate would relish: Both Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr. have set their sights on adding her to their ticket. Gabbard seems to have the best of both worlds after leaving her original political party in 2022. Meanwhile, the former Republican Party chairwoman has defected to a biased left news organization after being displaced by the MAGA movement.
The folks in Middle America are suspicious of the party change. Tulsi endorsed socialist candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over Hillary Clinton in 2016. In 2020, she ran for president as a Democrat and went after now Vice President Kamala Harris’ dismal record in California at every turn. On the debate stage, Gabbard slayed the dragon on work ethic:
“[Harris] put over fifteen hundred people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana. She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Harris to be the punching ball with all her half-truths and weird giggling fits. But then Gabbard abruptly changed parties and became, much like RFK Jr., an independent.
Why Trump-Tulsi
US Air Force veteran George Lansky of Texas had a measured response to Tulsi being on the Trump VP short-list: “Selecting Tulsi Gabbard as his VP pick would indeed be a bold move; it may solidify support from pro-abortion voters but may hurt him among the pro-life voters,” Lansky posited. “I like Tulsi Gabbard; she has shown she has integrity, but that does not mean I support her every idea or policy position.”
Even the Libertarian Party has weighed in on where Miss Gabbard will land – but almost all agree it will be a high-profile position with Trump or Kennedy. Libertarian activist Matt Kibbe, president of Free the People, believes Gabbard’s political evolution will be as a disrupter – not unlike Donald Trump in 2016. “Some of the most interesting people in politics today are people who come from the left who have been sort of shocked,” referring to disinformation campaigns, especially concerning the COVID lockdowns.
Mark Longabaugh, a former top Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) strategist, didn’t agree:
“She’s articulate, she’s a good public speaker, she showed at that moment in that [Democratic presidential] debate that she could do a takedown — whether she made a good case for herself is another matter. Takedowns are kind of Trump’s brand. So if he was just looking for an aggressive negative campaigner, I suppose she could fill that bill.”
But Taylor Rowland in the Volunteer State was less adamant: “Might be a good choice.”
Kennedy-Tulsi
Here’s the problem with running against the two dominant political parties in the US: RFK Jr. must name a vice presidential candidate in a majority of states to be allowed on the ballot. Tulsi could cross a few demographics. At 42, with decent political stripes and a good handle on foreign and military affairs, Gabbard would round out the ticket nicely.
Kennedy has teased former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but his supporters didn’t react well to the suggestions. Kennedy is set to make his VP announcement this week, and betting odds say it won’t be Tulsi. In Marble Hill, GA, Tris James asked: ‘Tulsi loves her guns, so, uh, how’s that gonna work?”
James was immediately reminded by patriot John Shackford, “No, she loves the Constitution and America. She was one of the few true moderate democrats left, and look what they did to her. Glad she’s independent. We need more independents who aren’t tied to party-line politics, and then maybe we might actually be able to stop some of this madness.”
But the real kicker was from Mabel Wayne of Kentucky, who offered: “I love the fact Tulsi loves her guns.”
Pity, Party of One
Well, Ronna McDaniel, close kin to the bitter Trump hater Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), landed at NBC as a political commentator after being excused as chairwoman of the Republican Party. Oh boy. Displaced by Chairman Michael Whatley and co-chair daughter-in-law Laura Trump, what was the girl supposed to do? No one knows how she will comment – for or against her party – but heartlanders weren’t surprised.
Texans were typing furiously on social media, where we found Will del Valle in Huston, who wrote: “Well, there’s a shocker.” And del Valle summed up a lot of the commenters. But the last word goes to a pastor from Batesville, AR, Troy Driggers, who observed: “SWAMPERS gonna SWAMP.”
