Tulsi Gabbard makes a good point
Tulsi Gabbard was elected to represent Hawaii’s very liberal, 2nd congressional district in 2013. She served in Congress until 2021. When elected, she became the rage of the Democrat Party and was touted as their new face and soon appointed National Party vice-chair.
How did she win the office? She was a Democrat, attractive, with strong family values, an effective communicator and has military service. She was the perfect candidate for Democrats.
Yet, this October 11, Tulsi Gabbard announced she was leaving the Democrat Party. The reasons why should make us all think.
Announcing her exit, Gabbard pointed out the Biden administration was not supporting equal justice by wrongly ignoring the protesters outside a Supreme Court justice home, to influence the Row v. Wade decision. Section 1507 of Title 18 of the US Code makes that a federal crime. However, the Biden Justice Department did jail pro-life activists for alleged violations while demonstrating at abortion centers.
Gabbard said, “When the party in power does not believe in the rule of law but they’re responsible for writing and enforcing laws, our democracy is doomed,”
Continuing in a video, she said, “I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party. It’s now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism, who actively worked to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, and 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, are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war.”
Before running for Congress, Gabbard joined the National Guard and served in Kwait and Iraq. She is currently in the Army Reserve and holds the rank of lieutenant colonel. When she ran for president in the Democrat primary, she promised never to get us into another endless war. When she dropped out of the primary, she endorsed Joe Biden.
I have to say, I identify with her reasons for leaving and respect her for doing so.
While drifting from the Democrat platform, how did she continue to get elected? A lot of her popularity was in her persona, without consideration of her gradual political departure from Democrat ideals.
Here in New Mexico, we have some good candidates from both parties so, this is not a hit on Democrats. The point is, before we vote, we must consider; are we voting for the candidate or the party? If the candidate, is it because of their political positions or superficial values? The “Why” is important.
Let’s face facts New Mexican voters, we have sent some real doozies to state and county office. In Rio Aribia County, two recent sheriffs are in the penitentiary. A secretary of state was removed, guilty of fraud and embezzlement. In the last twenty-five years, three elected members of the PRC were removed for law violations and one for sexual harassment and there is Sheryl Williams Stapleton, forced to resign from the legislature for alleged crimes.
I could go on, but you get the point. Did we send them to office because of party affiliation, good looks, race, popularity or character?
In this election cycle, let’s all take a good look at the candidates, their political positions and promises to further the state and opportunity in New Mexico.
Before you vote, consider how you like our childhood educational accomplishments, wokeism and sexual orientation being taught to grade-schoolers, rising crime rates, no bail release for criminals, open borders with increased fentanyl flow, a two-tier justice system, politicians’ unlawful enrichment, abortion rights and inflation.
Example: I have a business owner friend who credits the governor with keeping her safe from COVID. At what price to the rest of us, I asked? Her business was allowed to stay open and her kids were beyond school age. She was not affected by the emergency powers mandates. Pretty selfish reason, I thought. Many businesses closed, education suffered and supply chains were interrupted. We all suffered and why?
It is time to consider the consequences of our vote. We need to know our candidates, their character values, and why they want an elected office. Is it for political power or for service?
Vote for your future, your freedom. It is your choice. No political party has a lock on what is right. Here in New Mexico, many politicians kowtow to the green machine, but how will that affect PNM customers? Within a week of the San Juan Generating Station closure, 3000 New Mexicans suffered a blackout and several hundred New Mexicans lost their jobs. The power station, the mine and associated businesses generate 80% of the tax revenue which funds the Central Consolidated School District. At Judy Nelson Elementary, 1 in 4 students have left with their families who worked at the station or coal mine. They are mostly Navajo.
The energy transition agenda initially caused President Biden to cancel pipelines, curtail leases on public lands and restrict exploration by asking banks not to fund oil and gas exploration. The price at the pump went up and now he is relaxing sanctions on Iran, courting Venezuela and draining oil from our strategic petroleum reserve. This may be a national issue, but it is being felt at the pump in New Mexico. Tom Wright is a Santa Fe writer and columnist.