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More Details About Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, DNC Vice Chair That Resigned To Endorse Bernie Sanders Before Super Tuesday

By Dawn Papple
Published on: 04:41 PST, Feb 29, 2016

Many democrats were reportedly shocked when the Democratic National Committee vice-chair Tulsi Gabbard resigned from her post on Sunday so that she could endorse Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. Reuters initially reported a breaking news brief about Congresswoman Gabbard’s announcement on Meet The Press, and other media outlets scurried to cover the story that was trending on social media by Sunday evening.

Very quickly after Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s announcement, her page was wiped from the Democratic National Committee’s website, but before that, the DNC described Gabbard as “inspirational.”

“Congresswoman Gabbard is the first American Samoan and Hindu member of Congress, and along with her colleague Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, she is also one of the first female combat veterans to serve in Congress. Her story is an inspiration, and her dedication to public service showcases the best of our party’s values.”

On the Issues, a non-partisan informational website that rates and categorizes lawmakers and candidates, describes Tulsi Gabbard as a “Libertarian-Leaning Progressive” based on her voting record. Ballotpedia describes the lawmaker endorsing Sanders as “an average Democratic member of Congress.”

“I think it’s most important for us, as we look at our choices as to who our next commander in chief will be, is to recognize the necessity to have a commander in chief who has foresight, who exercises good judgment,” Representative Gabbard of Hawaii said on the MSNBC show.

Tulsi Gabbard has been a strong supporter of veterans’ issues. Partnered with Representative Chellie Pingree, Gabbard introduced the Chris Kotch VA Education Access Act as a means to fix a loophole in the Post 9-11 GI Bill, according to a press release. According to Gabbard, the loophole prevented too many injured Reservists from getting full benefits.

“Too often, our service members have to fight through bureaucratic red tape to get the benefits they have rightfully earned and deserve,” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said while introducing the legislation. “This bill would ease the financial burden for wounded warriors, like Army Reservist Chris Kotch, who were discharged due to a service-connected disability, and have taken on student loans and other personal debt for education rather than receiving the full VA education benefit they earned.”

Gabbard has been endorsed by VoteVets.org, but military and veteran issues are only one area where Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is aligned with Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Gabbard also has a progressive stance on social and environmental issues as well. Gabbard earned a 100 percent score from the Alliance for Retired Americans, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of retired trade union members affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

She also received a 100 percent score from Environment America.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also has been a strong supporter of sustainability, including fighting invasive species and supporting local, environmentally responsible food sources.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also earned the respect of animal lovers and earned a 100 percent score from the Humane Society. She supported legislation restricting the ivory trade, promoting humane cosmetics, and enforcing the Animal Welfare Act. She supported the Endangered Species Act and the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act as well.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, Tulsi Gabbard had been trying to fight for a more democratic DNC for some time. Rep. Gabbard has been clear that she felt there were too few debates held by the DNC and that it discouraged free speech. Although much mainstream reporting now shines a negative light on Gabbard for her resignation and endorsement of Bernie Sanders, as the earlier Inquisitr article pointed out, she has consistently been held in very high esteem among her constituents and within the party. Gabbard won her reelection by a landslide, taking about eight out of every 10 votes.

Tulsi Gabbard has been interested in public service since she was a teenager, co-founding Healthy Hawai?i Coalition (HHC), a non-profit organization that is still protecting the environment, watershed, and health in the island state. Tulsi Gabbard graduated from Hawai?i Pacific University with a degree in International Business. At just 21, Gabbard was the youngest person in the state to be elected to the state legislature.

As a young adult, she served two tours of duty, where she received several distinguished honors for her service in the Army National Guard, according to an earlier Inquisitr report. The Inquisitr previously revealed that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also still holds the title Major Tulsi Gabbard. Major Gabbard’s honors include a Combat Medical Badge, which is awarded for providing medical care under fire, a Meritorious Service Medal, and a German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge, which is one of few approved foreign awards and one of the most sought after awards to achieve, according to U.S. Army literature. Tulsi graduated from the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy, where she was the first woman to finish as the distinguished honor graduate.

Almost six years ago, after her deployments, Gabbard was elected to Honolulu City Council, where she served as the Chair of the Safety, Economic Development, and Government Affairs committee, as the vice chair of the Budget committee, and as a member of the Zoning and Public Works committee for the city. After that, she went on to U.S. Congress.

In her second term in the U.S. House of Representatives, she sits on both the House Foreign Affairs and House Armed Services Committees. She also previously sat on the Committee of Homeland Security.

Although Sanders has picked up some important endorsements in just the past week after losing to Hillary Clinton in the South Carolina primary, as the former vice chair of the DNC, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s endorsement has even led to countless suggestions that she should be either Bernie Sanders’ running mate or the next Secretary of State.

Gabbard earned the praise of Americans who supported privacy rights with her vote against CISPA and with her vote in favor of House Amendment 413, which would have prohibited the NSA from collecting private records under the Patriot Act. Like Senator Sanders, Rep. Gabbard strongly favors small businesses over large corporations, green energy, taxing the wealthy on all income, incentives for biomass, solar, and wind energy, and the idea that marijuana is not a gateway drug. Like Sanders, Gabbard strongly supports the right to marriage equality and reportedly believes that the separation of church and state is the only way to ensure true religious freedom.

Listen to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s official endorsement and leave us a comment below letting us know what you think.

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