Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 11, 2022 / 15:00 pm

Former Hawaii congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard announced Tuesday that she is leaving the Democratic Party, citing a long list of reasons including its hostility to “people of faith.”

“Any political party that is trying to erase the presence of God from every facet of public life and is hostile towards those who choose to worship God cannot be trusted to protect our inalienable God-given rights enshrined in the Constitution, and therefore should not be in power,” Gabbard said in a 30-minute YouTube video explaining her decision.

Gabbard did not indicate whether she would be joining the Republican Party, but she unleashed a litany of condemnations against President Biden and Democrats, focusing largely on the party’s infringement on the freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Gabbard defends pro-life activists, religious freedom

In her message, Gabbard recounted the Department of Justice’s recent arrests and indictments of pro-life activists such as Catholic father of seven Mark Houck, saying security agencies have been “weaponized” against Americans.

“Seven of these 11 pro-life protesters are facing 11 years in prison and fines of $250,000,” she said. “They didn’t use physical force, they weren’t dangerous.”

Gabbard’s defense of pro-lifers contradicts her voting record. While serving as a member of Congress from 2013 to 2021, Gabbard consistently voted against pro-life measures and received a 90% rating from national pro-abortion organization NARAL Pro-Choice America.

In the 2020 presidential race, she campaigned saying she would codify Roe v. Wade with some restrictions.

“I support codifying Roe v. Wade, while making sure that during the third trimester abortion is not an option, unless the life or severe health consequences of the woman are at risk,” she said in a 2019 debate.

Gabbard contrasted the Biden administration’s treatment of pro-lifers with the way it handled pro-abortion activists after Roe v. Wade was overturned this summer.

“The Biden administration stood by and did absolutely nothing as activists protested outside the homes of Supreme Court justices during all hours of the day and night in clear violation of federal law,” Gabbard said.

“Go back and look again. How did the Biden administration treat those pro-life, nonviolent protestors?” she said.

Gabbard also condemned Vice President Kamala Harris and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for “proclaiming that the Supreme Court was illegitimate, just because they disagree with its rulings.”

Gabbard cites Democratic Party’s ‘wokeness’

“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,” Gabbard explained. 

On the question of religion, Gabbard accused Democrats of being “hostile to people of faith” and said that Democrat leaders “actively try to undermine our religious freedom.”

“High-profile Democrat leaders openly mock and discriminate against people of faith, especially Christians,” Gabbard — who was the first Hindu member of Congress — said.

Giving examples, she referred to then Sen. Harris’ remarks that Brian Buescher’s membership in the Knights of Columbus disqualified him from serving as a federal judge.

She also mentioned California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s attack on Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett for her devout Catholic faith.

“The Democrat Party of today has forgotten that freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion,” Gabbard added, recalling the party’s decision to omit the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance at its 2020 convention.

Gabbard also discussed the party’s adoption of “critical race theory,” efforts to defund the police amid rising crime, and the “self-identified Marxists” who lead the Black Lives Matter movement.

She pointed to how Democrats were silent after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot refused to be interviewed by white reporters due to their “overwhelming whiteness and maleness.”

“Modern-day segregation in schools is being promoted,” she said, speaking of critical race theorist proponents such as Robin DiAngelo. “They embrace these people and their ideology.”

“Democrats have reduced each of us as God’s children to the color of our skin, using identity politics to tear us apart,” Gabbard said, adding, “They have become the racists that they claim to hate.”

Gabbard denounced Democrats for teaching children gender ideology and pushing access to sexually explicit content in schools.

“The Biden Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security have focused their newly-formed domestic terror unit to target parents who are vocally standing in opposition to radical curriculums and explicit sexual content being taught to their kids in public schools,” she said.

Gabbard railed at the party for “rejecting the objective truth and reality that women exist,” calling it “anti-woman.”

“They can no longer even define what a woman is and they’re demanding that we replace words like ‘mother’ with ‘birthing person,’” Gabbard said.

Condemning transgender males playing on women’s sports teams, she said that the Biden administration’s proposed Title IX changes will “absolutely [take] away opportunities for millions of women.”

The since-viral video is the first episode in Gabbard’s new podcast, The Tulsi Gabbard Show.

Gabbard’s team did not immediately respond to CNA’s request for comment Tuesday.