Tulsi Gabbard has not walked or talked or looked like a Democrat in years, so the collective response to her announcing yesterday that she was leaving the Democratic Party was … 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃.
The intentions behind her party-ditching announcement became a bit more clear when she launched her new podcast, the pivot-to-video for a certain type of celebrity, media person or politician in 2022. The podcast will seemingly involve her discussing her decision to leave the party that she believes is now run by an “elitist cabal of warmongers,” among other politically “independent” topics. The former congresswoman likely has some political ambitions behind the podcast/party switch — which may have begun to emerge today in an appropriately bizarre way.
The on-again, off-again election denying GOP Senate candidate in New Hampshire Don Bolduc announced this afternoon that while he and Gabbard “don’t agree on every issue,” the former congresswoman who ran in the Democratic presidential primaries in 2020 will be joining him on the campaign trail.
“I am honored to have the support of Tulsi Gabbard who shares my view that the status quo is broken, and we need a change of direction,” he said in a statement. He declared the two of them plan to “barnstorm the Granite State,” hand-in-hand.
Though she has not aligned with traditional Democratic policy positions in awhile, Gabbard’s team-up with Bolduc is a little out of left field.
Bolduc is one of the most far-right candidates running for the Senate this fall, with some of the most extreme views. And that’s saying a lot. Bolduc not only won his campaign on the back of his adherence to Trump’s Big Lie conspiracy theory, but, since winning the primary, has also made it clear that he still believes the election was stolen and has only toned down his messaging on the issue because it doesn’t go over well with voters in New Hampshire. The former Army general has pushed bizarre policy ideas throughout his campaign as well, including suggesting the 17th Amendment — which allowed voters to directly elect their senators — be repealed.
While it’s unclear whether the ex-Dem Gabbard can actually stomach the conspiracy theorist’s views, it seems as though the two find a unifying theme in clearing “career politicians” out of Washington, as Bolduc said in his statement.
After all, Bolduc’s primary win over a Mitch McConnell-backed conservative in the state was seen as a boon for incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH). Gabbard may see an opportunity in boosting Bolduc — to prove her political prowess against a traditional Democrat, to test her future electability and to get people talking about Tulsi Gabbard.
The Best Of TPM Today
Here’s what you should read this evening:
NEW: Ken Chesebro Hit With Ethics Complaint Over Big Lie Involvement
Report: Trump Ordered Docs Moved After Subpoena
Walker’s Ex Says She Had To Repeatedly Push Him To Pay For Abortion He Wanted Her To Get
Pre-hearing homework: Jan. 6 Hearing Will Focus On New Secret Service Docs Showing Trump Was Warned About Violence
Tucker Edited Out Kanye’s Deranged Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories In Interview
In TPM Cafe: The Jan. 6 Committee Is Having A Measurable Impact On Voter Attitudes
Burning your life down to own the libs: Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty After Burning Down His Own Camper And Blaming It On Antifa ‘Hate Crime’
How Ron DeSantis Blew Up Black-Held Congressional Districts And May Have Broken Florida Law
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Sasse Flees Protesters At University Of Florida — Cristina Cabrera
What We Are Reading
Wife of GOP Gov. Pete Ricketts doubles down on support of Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks in congressional race — Jon Kipper
Washington State GOP Pays a White Nationalist, Pro-Nazi Blogger — Zachary Petrizzo
The Vulnerability of John Fetterman — New York Magazine