T he extreme leftward lurch of the Democratic Party has created millions of disaffected liberals who feel alienated and abandoned by this new radical direction. Here are just a few noteworthy figures who have publicly broken with mainstream Democrat politics in recent years, signaling a potential brewing catastro- phe for the Democrat coalition as progressives and old liberals tear them- selves apart.
Democratic National Committee. She delivered a major speech at the 2012 DNC convention and was introduced by none other than Nancy Pelosi as “a rising star” within the party. Gabbard seemed to be everything that the modern left adores. She was a woman, the first Hindu elected to Congress, and the first Samoan-Amer- ican elected to Congress. Yet Gabbard maintained a streak of independent opinions that often conflicted with those held by main- stream Democrats. In 2016, she resigned from the DNC to endorse Bernie Sanders for president. In 2020, she ran against Joe Biden, Eliz- abeth Warren, and Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomina- tion on a relatively moderate platform, including calling for stronger border security. Though these positions are well within the mainstream of Ameri- can voters, in the radicalized Democrat Party, she was treated as an apostate. Gabbard also became an outspoken opponent of the left’s efforts to censor
free speech, making her an opponent of cancel culture and the increasingly mili- taristic streak in the Democratic Party. During and after her presidential race, she became a frequent guest on Tucker Carlson’s show. The final straw came when Gabbard opposed President Biden’s handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In October 2022, she officially left the Democratic Party. After her departure, the Democrats who hadn’t already turned on her instantly did, with many media outlets even labeling her a “Russian propagandist.”
Tulsi Gabbard Until 2020, Tulsi Gabbard had a promis- ing career as an up-and-coming Demo- cratic leader. After winning election to the Hawaii House of Representatives in 2002, she went on to win five terms in the US House. During her first term in Congress, Gabbard served as the Vice Chair of the
Bari Weiss Journalist and writer Bari Weiss was once considered a rising star in the media world — and a standard- issue liberal. continued on page 22
20 • AMAC Magazine
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