The Good Liberal
The news of the day is that Tulsi Gabbard is officially leaving the Democrat Party. You can read her full announcement on her Substack at this link.
“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 and stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, demonize the police and 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, are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war.
Here are some of the main reasons I’m leaving the Democratic Party, in brief. I’ll be tackling each of these in more depth in the coming weeks.”
There is much to like about Tulsi Gabbard…she is an intelligent, articulate woman with an exemplary record of military service. She has long presented herself as a reasonable person who is legitimately open to a variety of ideas and opinions, and is respectful even of those she disagrees with. She seems like a person you could sit down with over a cup of coffee and have an honest discussion, and she would listen to what you had to say. In today’s politically divided society, that is extremely appealing. I certainly can’t disagree with her assessment of today’s Democrat Party.
Still, when it comes to the Second Amendment, she fails the test; those on the right who are excited at the prospect of Tulsi Gabbard as either a potential member of the GOP or an independent whom they could support need to pump the brakes. She has repeatedly voiced support for many anti-gun policies, including banning the most commonly owned rifle in the country, requiring background checks for private transfers of firearms, and banning common standard capacity magazines. From her 2018 campaign website:
“Tulsi has a consistent record of advocating for sensible gun control. She has long called for reinstating a federal ban on military-style assault weapons and high capacity magazines, requiring comprehensive pre-purchase background checks, closing the gun-show loophole, and making sure that terrorists are not allowed to buy guns. Tulsi has an F-rating from the NRA, a 0% rating by the Hawaii Rifle Association, and a 100% rating by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. She is focused on building bipartisan solutions that can actually be passed into law, rather than using the issue as a partisan political football.”
She is no friend to gun owners, and her addition to the GOP would be a disaster for those of us who value the freedoms protected by the Second Amendment…think of it as adding another Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, or Susan Collins to the mix. The fact is that even though many may view Gabbard as a “good liberal,” there is no such thing when it comes to gun rights and we would all do well to remember that.
