User:RoninMacbeth/Tulsi Gabbard Reorganization

Tulsi Gabbard (b. 1981) is one of two Congressional Representatives from Hawaii, whose reputation as a left winger is what will save the party wholly undeserved. overblown. She is of European and Samoan ancestry, as well as an Iraq War veteran.

She was vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee until 2016, when she resigned to endorse Bernie Sanders for President. (Without her support, Bernie might not have won Hawaii.)

However, her behavior suggests that she is a formerly conservative Democrat trying to keep on top of the increasingly large progressive tide on the left, just like the rest of the party. Supporting Bernie was her way of de-fanging a primary challenger from the left.

=On the issues=

The Good
Like most other Democrats, Representative Gabbard was opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Similarly, she calls for the restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act She co-sponsored the United States National Health Care Act, a bill that would establish a single-payer healthcare system in the United States. She supports gun rights and marijuana legalization. She's also on the Foreign Affairs Committee and supports U.S.-India ties. Nowadays, she has received an endorsement from the Human Rights Watch. Gabbard herself once cited her time in the military, seeing the dangers of theocratic rule, that made her change her mind on her public position on marriage equality.

The Bad
"To try to act as if there is a difference between 'civil unions' and same-sex marriage is dishonest, cowardly and extremely disrespectful to the people of Hawaii who have already made overwhelmingly clear our position on this issue... As Democrats we should be representing the views of the people, not a small number of homosexual extremists."

Her record on LGBT rights is… spotty for a politician this green, from a state as liberal as Hawaii. A news site asked her directly if she supported same sex marriage; she immediately said yes on Twitter. Yet the Hawaii Democratic Party's LGBT Caucus does not like her. Ten years earlier, Gabbard was a pro-life opponent of same-same marriage, just like her Republican father, Mike Gabbard, and indeed like much of the Democratic Party. She opposed Hawaii House Bill 1024, which would have established legal parity between gay couples in civil unions and married straight couples, and led a protest against the bill outside the room where the House Judiciary Committee held the hearing.

Middle East
Gabbard voted to add extra investigation on Syrian refugees coming into into the US, even though the current process can last up to three years. She went to Damascus, got wined and dined by the regime,  returned and dedicated herself to supporting Assad (the man who used poison gas in civilian areas). Neither Pelosi nor Paul Ryan knew about this. Tulsi decided to drink tea with him just because Trump told her to. Now that Tulsi is up for reelection (and a possible run for the Presidency in 2020), she doesn't want to be associated with Trump.

Gabbard voted for the Iran deal, albeit while still talking up anti-Iran propaganda. She also said the US has to stand up for Israel because they're our biggest ally.

The Bizarre
The Gabbards started in politics as homophobic activists. Her father, Mike, hired her as his "campaign manager" to convert campaign funds into family funds. Despite being followers of Hare Krishna cult (within Chris Butler's, a.k.a. Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa, subsect), he publicly claims to be Catholic while Tulsi identifies as Hindu.

He and Tulsi have been running a string of "nonprofits" for a while. Tulsi claims to have distanced herself from her father's politics, but her staff and supporters are straight out of the original anti-gay group. Just what we need, more grifter politicians.

Suffice to say, Tulsi's base of support comes from Indian expatriates, many of whom are BJP sympathizers or supporters. She's networked with plenty of them. The signals she's thrown out over the years, whether it's doing a Ted Cruz impression while trying to chastise Obama for not saying "Islamist" enough, or saying some pretty revealing things about Islam, can be spun however you want, but she is totally onboard with the crazy ideology coming from Hindutva. It's as if Bill Clinton supported Israel by quoting Old Testament verses about the Chosen Ones smashing the skulls of infants.

Conclusion
Representative Gabbard